Lost ducklings at 21-25 days of incubation

Sfraker

Songster
5 Years
Feb 17, 2014
560
72
151
Western NC
I just got a new cabinet incubator. It has kept the temperature rock steady. I use the digital thermostat included with it, a regular old fashioned glass thermometer and a back up digital thermometer. None of the temperatures moved unless I opened the cabinet to take the eggs out to candle.

The humidity fluctuated some, but no major swings, just a couple % up and down here and there. I double checked it with a wet bulb weekly. My humidity was right around 60% and temp was rock steady at 99.5.

The eggs were only a couple days old at the oldest, they are in a turning tray in the incubator.

I lost 18 of 25 fertile eggs. 10 were developing nicely and looked good with lots of movement at candling on day 20, then when I candled on day 24 to lock them down they were dead. 6 were alive at lock down and didn't make it to hatch. One pipped internally and died, another pipped through the shell and died. I opened all the eggs and they all looked good, air cells were appropriate sized for how far into incubation they each were and the ducklings all looked normal for the time frame. Out of 25 eggs I ended up with 7 hatching

My ducks are not related to each other and are all healthy. The reason I bought this incubator is because the little styrofoam one was no longer holding a consistent temperature or humidity. I assumed that was the issue with my earlier hatch this year. However the same thing happened again. Other people have succesfully hatched my ducks eggs this season so while I am double checking the quality of their feed and the amount I don't think that is the issue.

I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong.


One thing I did not do was move the eggs around in the turning tray. I've now read that you should move them in case you have warmer or cooler spots in the incubator.

Any other thoughts? I am getting ready to put more in and I don't want to go through that again. It was heart breaking. I feel like I brought them to life, then did not give them what they needed to make it.
Thanks!
Sara
 
Is your incubator still or circulated air? Do any of your thermometers give you a high/low reading (so you know for sure there wasn't a dip or spike)?

If your air cells looked good and the ducklings didn't appear real wet inside (which I assume they didn't, since you didn't mention it), I'm guessing the humidity wasn't the problem. I dry incubate my duck eggs, so it seems high to me, but different strokes, different folks n all. The only other thing that comes to mind is lack of oxygen. Hows the ventilation on the cabinet?
 
It is circulated air.
They do not give a high and low. Maybe I need to invest in a new thermometer.
400
I had the vents partially open. I'll open them all the way this time around.
400
 

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