Eggs and a question

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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I got enthused and went out to my primary pen to try to dig up some eggs that I know are there. But the soil is so hard packed that digging and removing eggs without destroying them was very hard. Its been raining and theyve trampled the soil.
The five I found. I only actually got two undamaged.
Before I could dispose of the cracked eggs, I found this.
Breakfast?

20170706_100230.jpg
 
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ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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I gave up on removing any more eggs from the pen and placed the two in an incubator.
Inspection of the other eggs in there showed this speckled egg.
I'm thinking it is rotten.
Any input?
The black marks are not marker. The yellow is and the two dots indicate early March.
 

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Anyfoot

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I gave up on removing any more eggs from the pen and placed the two in an incubator.
Inspection of the other eggs in there showed this speckled egg.
I'm thinking it is rotten.
Any input?
The black marks are not marker. The yellow is and the two dots indicate early March.
I'd say it's a dud, probably rotten and stinks like mad.
Now then Ed, you showed your torts eating a raw egg, watch them go mad for a rotten one, I found out by accident that they love rotten eggs, the dirty ...............
 

Anyfoot

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Eating their own eggs just seems wrong LOL.
To me and you yes, but they go mad for a raw egg. I've found a few empty shells in our enclosure where a female has dropped a random egg then another has eaten it.
On numerous occasions I've caught males watching a female laying with interest, their either thinking, ooooh that's how it works or if only I could get one of those eggs. :D
 

Redfool

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Are you going to wait the 120 days to know for sure? Last year I rototilled a section in my pen. Couldn't believe how many missed unhatched eggs.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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I wait untill they crack, stink and explode or hatch. I've had some hatch earlier and much later.
I'm aware that there are at least two dozen eggs also out in the pen and I have 43 in incubators.
I placed my male(s) on Craigslist yesterday.
I already got one scammer. But nothing else....
 

Redfool

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Does anybody/everybody clean the slime off of newly laid eggs. I've always rinsed mine to keep from mini fly infestation. Any opinions? I also bed eggs in wet Spanish moss (It's abundant,free and easy to change)
 

treefrog010

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Cleaning the eggs is always a bad idea. when the slime dries it acts like a plastic bag to protect the egg from bacteria. I cleaned one large clutch once and my hatch rate dropped by 50% with most showing bacteria when I opened them.
 
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