Incubating eggs may seem like a simple process, and it is, but there are a lot of things that can go wrong while incubating eggs, like the egg developing a soft eggshell
This article explores whether an egg with a soft shell will hatch or not.
Table of Contents
Will soft duck eggs hatch?
The eggshell is meant to keep the contents of the egg safe, this is why it is so hard, it takes a lot to crack an eggshell, but if the eggshell is soft then there is something wrong with the egg as a whole.
The egg isn’t fertilized:
Your bird may lay soft-shelled eggs on the first try, these are likely not fertilized by a male duck and will thus not hatch anyway. Young birds who are just starting to lay eggs will usually lay these kinds of eggs
Pathogens in the eggs:
The hard shell of the egg is made up of calcium and this keeps pathogens from getting into the egg and damaging the embryo of the egg
Because the shell is soft, pathogens will easily get into the egg, infect it, and cause the embryo in the egg to die and the duckling will not hatch.
Too much moisture loss:
An egg that has a soft eggshell is usually laid soft because there isn’t enough calcium in the shell to maintain the strong shape that we are used to.
The calcium allows the egg to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide from the inside to the outside of the egg and vice versa.
It also allows moisture to enter and leave the egg but not too much to where the contents of the egg dries out.
If too much moisture leaves the egg because the eggshell is soft then the egg will let out too much water and the bird inside will become too dry.
Weak bones:
Even if the egg were to produce a duckling the duckling would have weak bones and won’t be able to survive. Ducklings in eggs need to absorb calcium from the shell just before they hatch.
If the eggshell is soft and thus does not have much calcium to offer then the duckling won’t be able to absorb enough calcium and will thus not hatch with strong bones should it eventually hatch.
What to do:
There isn’t anything that you can do once the duck lays a soft-shelled egg, you can try to see if the egg hatches but this is very unlikely. The best thing you can do is to get rid of the egg and allow the duck to lay more eggs
You can keep this from happening again in the future by making sure that the birds have all the nutrients that it needs to lay strong eggs in the future. A lack of calcium and vitamin D can cause these birds to lay soft-shelled eggs.
A bird who is stressed can also lay soft-shelled eggs and younger birds who are not used to laying may also lay soft-shelled eggs.
Preventing this from happening again in the future entails making sure that the bird has enough calcium and vitamin D in its diet, making sure that your bird is not stressed during laying time, and waiting until the bird is old enough to lay strong eggs
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: How To Get Rid Of Duck Poop Smell, My Mallard Duck Flew Away Will It Come Back?, My Mallard Duck Flew Away, Do Ducks Get Jealous?, Do Ducks Remember Humans?,