Ancona Duck eggs first pip 10 hours ago.

HI all , Long story short.. 9 eggs in incubator. today is day 25 and lock down day.. immediately I notice 3 eggs with pips.. that was 10 hours ago, one is pipping at wrong end. probably 3 hours later I notice 2 more with pips.. so 5 out of 9.. it is 10 hours from the start and nothing more has happened.. worried the membrane will dry out. I have humidity at 65- 69% ( its very humid here today) . Worried something is wrong... I will post pictures later...

maybe just over reacting but,,, yikes...

For some reason I cant attach pictures..

ahhh there we go... sorry..cant think straight Im on delivery duty

Day 25 is a bit early for Anconas to pip, but you likely don't have anything to worry about other than the one that's pipping at the wrong end. You might have to assist that one with hatching. You can check here for help with that if you need it. It's normal for the duckling to pip the egg, then seem to be doing nothing for hours or even a day. Hatching is very hard work for them, and they take rest periods.

I don't think you need to worry at this point about the membrane drying out with your RH where it is. The first pips are such tiny breaks that they don't allow enough moisture loss to cause rapid drying of the membrane. You do want to keep a close eye on the eggs since some have pipped so early. It's possible that they'll hatch early, but you may end up needing to dampen the membrane periodically once they break through the shell. What temp are you keeping your incubator?

Sorry for the late update. 7 out of the 9 eggs hatched Sunday and Monday. I had to help 4 out of the seven by keeping membranes moist and keeping air hole open until all veins dried and yolks consumed. I kept track of first pip and after 24 hour I assisted the little buggers out. I will post pictures.

Vicki53813 said:

Sorry for the late update. 7 out of the 9 eggs hatched Sunday and Monday. I had to help 4 out of the seven by keeping membranes moist and keeping air hole open until all veins dried and yolks consumed. I kept track of first pip and after 24 hour I assisted the little buggers out. I will post pictures.

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Congratulations! Beautiful babies. Did the one that had pipped at the wrong end make it?

Vicki53813 they are so cute, I just ordered 6 Anconas eggs what kind of incubator did you use? I just ordered a brinsea the dome kind with automatic turner. I have a hovabator and little giant not happy with ether one. you did a good job I hope I am successful.

Sorry for the late reply. I used a Janoel24. very good incubator. Pretty much factory settings ran the whole thing. I think I only had to adjust the heat up on notch to get it set correct.I hope to hatch more in the spring because it was so much fun .

@JadeComputerGal He Jade, I was searching for some help with my Runner duck eggs.
a short history... Jan 26, 2016 I put 10 duck eggs in bator/hatcher (Day 25)... 2 hatched within a day of eachother, on Day 28 & Day 29. the bator got stinky and dirty..
sally sunshine and others advised me it would be ok to open bator and take 2 ducklings out and their egg shells, place a wet papertowel over the poo and yuck, doing all this quickly of course, since I had 4 other eggs pipping.
The eggs are on DAY 30, runner and buff duck eggs.
since the last 12+ hours there has not been any advanced pipping.
just after taking the 2 hatched ducklings out of the bator, one of the eggs did rock/jump. And one (when I checked this morning) had pipped a little more and had light brown oozing from a crack. now 8 hours later the oozing has stopped and is dark brown (dried, i believe) and no more advanced pipping from ALL 4 eggs.
Do you have any suggestions for me?
Do I open the bator/hatcher and assist? Do I leave them alone and wait more hours or days?
Temp is set at 100, but thermometers on floor next to eggs shows 98 and 96, fluxing 2-4 degrees when heater goes off and on. Still air incubator and humidity is approxly 70-75%, i am not exact because i do not have a hygometer.
thanks for any suggestions.

This is a pic of the egg that has oozing from a pip/crack in shell.