# How can you tell if a baby died in the egg?



## Raven2322 (Mar 1, 2008)

I still haven't had any of the fertile eggs hatch and so I thought i should ask.


----------



## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Iam not sure, I would say if they are really really over due and you open them and there is a baby inside, that passed away. I would not recommend opening the eggs though. Hopefully someone who has breeding experience will be on soon.


----------



## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

a lot of times they turn dark Grey to a black or almost black 

I've had several like this, Some were just yolk and the yolk itself was black and it was extremely rank when i opened the egg (rotted)

and the ones that were that color that had babies in them - the babies were grey/black as well instead of pink. 

but sometimes they don't change, I've opened up normal white ones to find dead babies inside (and most were well over 2 weeks past due)


----------



## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

They turn dark and stop going through the growth process. I've opened Baby and Ziggys once I realized they died. It's really sad to see.


----------



## Raven2322 (Mar 1, 2008)

atvchick95 said:


> a lot of times they turn dark Grey to a black or almost black
> 
> I've had several like this, Some were just yolk and the yolk itself was black and it was extremely rank when i opened the egg (rotted)
> 
> ...


-sighs- I think I have dead babies then.  I noticed that a few of the eggs that were growing and should be hatching around now have turned a darker color. I picked one up today to look at it and did the flash light thing and I can't see anything at all. I saw one egg that looked like there was a starting crack but who knows. With the luck I've had lately their all dead and none will hatch. the parents have been great about sitting but there has been regurgitated food on the eggs and I'm wondering if that killed them. In which case it would be my fault for not removing the male. Of course I only recently hit 21 days, so who knows, maybe If I'm lucky some will live.


----------



## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

Raven2322 said:


> but there has been regurgitated food on the eggs and I'm wondering if that killed them. In which case it would be my fault for not removing the male. Of course I only recently hit 21 days, so who knows, maybe If I'm lucky some will live.


That wouldn't effect them -is it the male that regurgitated on them? Don't remove anyone yet-you never know. If there is a crack in one it might be pipping.


----------



## Duckie (Feb 13, 2008)

M&M laid 7 eggs, and when day 18 came for the 7th egg to hatch, I found it buried a couple of inches away from the clutch, and it was ice cold. I dug it out, and replaced it underneath the hatched chicks. The next day, I found it again, this time pushed to the side, and cold again. Well, I left it in the nest, and sometimes it was underneath the chicks and warm, and other times it was off to the side and cold. I removed it on the weekend. From the candling I did, I knew there was a chick developing, and the egg was heavy compared to a newly hatched egg. When I removed it, I gently opened it, and indeed there was a baby inside, and it was dead. I figured it died shortly before I found it buried the first time, because the baby looked almost like a newly hatched chick.


----------



## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

Duckie said:


> M&M laid 7 eggs, and when day 18 came for the 7th egg to hatch, I found it buried a couple of inches away from the clutch, and it was ice cold. I dug it out, and replaced it underneath the hatched chicks. The next day, I found it again, this time pushed to the side, and cold again. Well, I left it in the nest, and sometimes it was underneath the chicks and warm, and other times it was off to the side and cold. I removed it on the weekend. From the candling I did, I knew there was a chick developing, and the egg was heavy compared to a newly hatched egg. When I removed it, I gently opened it, and indeed there was a baby inside, and it was dead. I figured it died shortly before I found it buried the first time, because the baby looked almost like a newly hatched chick.




They knew something was wrong that's why they kept pushing it to the side.


----------



## Duckie (Feb 13, 2008)

Aly said:


> They knew something was wrong that's why they kept pushing it to the side.


That's what I figured too.


----------



## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

Mine will do that as well, but You should always be persistent and put it back, because at times it was an accidental move (almost learned the hard way there) not just with eggs but already born chicks as well 

I had a pair that kept moving 2 eggs, and sitting on the others, I kept putting it back and they kept moving it,then the other eggs hatched and they kept moving it even after the babies were born, Well it was the last egg laid So i was determined they would keep it eventually (I gave up on candling eggs a while back!) then i read they do it because it's a "dud" but as with my candling they were WRONG! it hatched and there was nothing wrong with it, it's now going on 9 months and healthy as a horse

but of course that isn't always the case, I've had dud's and they've done the same thing But you can't always pass it off as a dud, and in my case candling just doesn't work (the ones that showed up as dud's hatched, the ones that showed up as fertile, didn't hatch and were nothing but yolk - thats why i gave up candling) and now i just wait about 2 weeks (give or take a few days) before deciding they're duds


----------



## Raven2322 (Mar 1, 2008)

Aly said:


> That wouldn't effect them -is it the male that regurgitated on them? Don't remove anyone yet-you never know. If there is a crack in one it might be pipping.


Yes the male has had a problem with his foot and he is being treated with meds. However he has still regurgitated food onto his foot while in the nest box and has gotten it on the eggs. I was wiping them down, but I was told to stop because moving them this far along was bad. I'm worried about any that are alive getting enough air because of the food on the outside of the egg. they have not pushed any aside and are still very serious about sitting on all the eggs. So who knows everything could be ok. Once you see pipping how long does it take though.


----------



## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

Two days at the most. They rest in between since it's alot of work. Here are details: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~geoffwatts1/Cockatiel_Egg_Hatching.html


----------



## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

You will find that dead in the shell eggs will often turn dark.


----------

