BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Other BackYard Poultry › Ducks › Pekin Duck Eggs! Help!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Pekin Duck Eggs! Help!

post #1 of 8
Thread Starter 

I have (had) 3 White Pekin ducks in my yard. We have a pond and a lot of acreage with woods. 1 of the Pekin ducks is a male the other 2 are females.

 

Recently, both females made nests and started laying. I was surprised because before, they never really cared about taking care of their eggs. About a week ago, one of the females hatched 3 ducklings. When we went away for the weekend and returned, only 1 duckling remained. We almost instantly assumed a coyote ate the other 2. I got the 1 duckling and took him inside to protect him. He is growing like a weed and very healthy and social.

 

Just this morning, I went to check on the other mother and she was not there. I saw a lot of feathers around the nest, and began looking for a trail. I followed a trail of feathers to the wood line and there she was, killed and ripped to pieces. I instantly thought about the 15 eggs she has in the nest.

 

I went inside, got a foam cooler and filled it with straw like a nest. I put the eggs in the foam cooler and put a lamp overtop of them with a thermometer. The current temp is hovering around 96 degrees. I also have a damp cloth hanging on the edge for humidity. 

 

I do not remember when the mother laid these eggs, so I have no clue how far along the embryos are. I candled some of the eggs with a very bright flashlight. There are visible veins through the lighter fluid and a dark blob that takes up about 1/2 of the egg which I assume is the growing duckling? The air pocket is visible below. 

 

If I candle the eggs and take pictures, would anyone know how far along the ducklings are? Also, I believe I saw some of the embryos moving. Will the setup of my incubator be able to continue to warm them until they hatch? I am very worried now that the eggs are without a mother.

 

Any help is appreciated. I will be coyote hunting tonight.

 

-Dominic

post #2 of 8

Maintaining constant temperature may be difficult, but not necessarily impossible with that set up.  From your description, I would guess that the eggs are at approximately 2 weeks of incubation.  Good luck with the predator hunting.

 

Protect your remaining ducks.  They will be the next target.

Friends are the family you make for yourself.
There are no coincidences- only providences.
Reply
Friends are the family you make for yourself.
There are no coincidences- only providences.
Reply
post #3 of 8
Thread Starter 

2 weeks sounds about like the time she started laying on them. Any tips on creating a better setup? This was sort of a spur of the moment thing. I just want to make sure the ducklings have a chance at living. How long does is take a duck egg to hatch? Anything special I need to know when it gets closer to the day they will possibly hatch?

post #4 of 8

28 days to hatch.  Your temperature is a little on the low side so it might take a little longer.  Slightly increased humdity as they are hatching is helpful to assure that they don't become 'shrink wrapped' by the shell membrane.

Friends are the family you make for yourself.
There are no coincidences- only providences.
Reply
Friends are the family you make for yourself.
There are no coincidences- only providences.
Reply
post #5 of 8
Thread Starter 

Is the wet cloth a suitable method for maintaining humidity, or should I use some other method, I can increase the temp, although you are correct, the heat is concentrated in the center of the box and the eggs on the outside may be a little colder than the ones towards the middle.

post #6 of 8
Sorry to hear about your female. We lost our mating pair of pekins the end of may when their ducklings were almost 2 months old. We figure it was a coyote because there was no sign of them anywhere and they never left our property. Just keep a close eye on the eggs after they start hatching, we had to help out one of the ducklings after it got stuck. Good luck, enjoy.
post #7 of 8
Thread Starter 

I candled every single egg today. 11/15 eggs had very definitive movement. I can make out a silhouette of the little ducklings in the eggs. Some of the movement is very lively and often. Others are a little slower and more lethargic.

 

I am unsure about 2 of the remaining 4 I am almost certain the embryo has died. The other 2 I might have saw movement but not enough to be definitive, so I will wait. I would like to take a picture of one of my live ones, and post so that someone could give me a pretty good idea of when to expect hatching.

 

-Dominic 

post #8 of 8
I went on to Metzer farms website, they have pictures of the embroyos on each day. Their site was extremely helpful!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Ducks
BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Other BackYard Poultry › Ducks › Pekin Duck Eggs! Help!