Incubating eggs from 3 different mothers...

I don't have ducks, so take this as you will. Chickens can survive temperature fluctuations - they may accelerate or delay the hatching time is all. The internal temperature of the eggs did not change right away. It does take some time for that to change. I would think you can still hatch them even if they are set on different dates (note: in the future, collect how many you want to set over a few days, then set them all at the same time - it makes life a lot easier). Maybe you and the kids want to do a science project and make a DIY hatcher, so you can still turn the other eggs as needed. Any growth and development is a good sign. Keep us posted as to how this works out. If nothing else, it's a great learning experience!

My experience is with chicken and turkey eggs, not ducks, but the basics are the same. I’m not sure about something. You said you gathered them on those dates. When did actual incubation start? Hatch date does not depend on when you gathered them or when they were laid, it depends on when incubation starts.

What breed are the ducks? Muscovy eggs take about 35 days to hatch, all others about 28 days. I don’t know if that is important to you or not, depends on your breeds.

There are two main reasons the eggs need to be turned. When body parts are forming early in incubation, turning helps them form in the right places. If they are not turned, certain body parts may not form in the correct places. When that happens the chick usually dies in the week before hatch. The other reason for turning is that if the yolk or developing chick touch the inside of the egg shell, it can get stuck and dry out through the porous shell. Those chicks also die late in incubation. But with chicken eggs, after about 14 days the body parts are formed and a membrane has developed around the chick to keep it from sticking to the egg shell if it touches. So with chicken eggs, they really don’t need to be turned during the last week of incubation. I’m sure the same is true for duck eggs too, but I’m not sure what the exact cut-off date is for them when they don’t need to be turned. I feel confident the last week is safe.

You’ll notice I said “may not form” or “can get stuck”. I did not say it will absolutely happen each and every 100% of the time without fail. It’s possible those things can happen. It’s also possible they may not. The same is true of practically all the guidelines you read online about taking care of chickens. Some things are more likely to happen than others, but you are dealing with living animals. You don’t get absolute guarantees with living animals. The guidelines are intended to help you do things right and to improve the odds that you will be successful, but they are mostly just guidelines, things to strive for but not something that automatically dooms you to failure if you are not perfect. Just do the best you reasonably can and you will probably be successful.

The reason it is best to not open the incubator during “lockdown” is that it is possible to shrink-wrap a chick by doing that. Shrink-wrap is when that membrane that forms around the developing chick dries out and shrinks around it, trapping it and preventing it from hatching. The same thing can happen if your incubating humidity is too low. There are a lot of “ifs” involved in shrink-wrapping a chick by opening the incubator. If the egg has not external pipped, the odds are tremendously good that you will not shrink-wrap that chick. If the egg has pipped, your odds of shrink-wrapping it are higher, but not really all that high. There are a lot of different variables but the reasonable precaution is to avoid opening the incubator during the hatch if you can. If I have a reason to open it I will, but I have to have a good reason to take that chance.

I don’t know when incubation started on your eggs or when they are due to hatch. Hopefully you have a handle on that. If it were me I’d probably stop turning them all when I went into lockdown on the first batch and raise the humidity then for all of them. When the ducklings that hatch first dry off, I’d take them out trying to drop the humidity as little as possible when I did that. That means don’t open it up then OOOH and AAAH with your tongue hanging out while you admire them. Grab them and get the lid closed. Maybe mist the other eggs real quickly with warm (not hot) water to help keep them from drying out. Is this the ideal solution? No, of course not, but you don’t have the ideal conditions. Just do the best you reasonably can and you have done the best you reasonably can.

thanks much for the thoughtful reply, Ridgerunner. you said "Hatch date does not depend on when you gathered them or when they were laid, it depends on when incubation starts"... i actually did not know that! but that being said--eggs were all placed in the incubator on the day they were gathered. and our ducks are an assortment of pekin, rouen and golden 300 crosses. so by that 28 day rule, sounds like i have 2 eggs slated to hatch on july 24, 4 on july 29 and 4 on july 31!!

so then--i'd theoretically stop turning the earliest batch on july 21... and possibly turn up the temperature slightly on the incubator to accommodate any quick opening i'd have to do (if necessary) to turn the later eggs? misting is a good idea.

i guess it sounds like the question is this: what is the greater risk: stopping turning the later eggs too soon, or opening the incubator during "lockdown" to turn/mist the later eggs?

galaxie400 said:

thanks much for the thoughtful reply, Ridgerunner. you said "Hatch date does not depend on when you gathered them or when they were laid, it depends on when incubation starts"... i actually did not know that! but that being said--eggs were all placed in the incubator on the day they were gathered. and our ducks are an assortment of pekin, rouen and golden 300 crosses. so by that 28 day rule, sounds like i have 2 eggs slated to hatch on july 24, 4 on july 29 and 4 on july 31!!

so then--i'd theoretically stop turning the earliest batch on july 21... and possibly turn up the temperature slightly on the incubator to accommodate any quick opening i'd have to do (if necessary) to turn the later eggs? misting is a good idea.

i guess it sounds like the question is this: what is the greater risk: stopping turning the later eggs too soon, or opening the incubator during "lockdown" to turn/mist the later eggs?

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Not the temperature. It's the humidity that needs to be raised. Not the temperature.

semi-lockdown started this morning... incubator is set at full humidity and going to TRY to do some turning of eggs that still need to be turned by having one person misting with warm water while another quickly turns the remaining eggs quickly. obviously, as was said, not ideal, but we'll see what comes of it. any other thoughts or suggestions i'd be glad to read them!

so, the last time all the eggs were turned was monday 7/21 at about 1030 PM. since then, only the "newer" eggs have been turned, with quick warm water misting by one person while the other turns. "lockdown" eggs have not been touched. it is now wednesday, close to 530 pm, and there has been no peeping, no pipping, nothing. eggs were candled sunday afternoon and were very much alive. for reference, incubation began bedtime on 6/26, so the 7/21 evening "lockdown" was exactly at 25 days from when they were incubated. any cause for concern? when (if at all) should we candle them to check?

galaxie400 said:

so, the last time all the eggs were turned was monday 7/21 at about 1030 PM. since then, only the "newer" eggs have been turned, with quick warm water misting by one person while the other turns. "lockdown" eggs have not been touched. it is now wednesday, close to 530 pm, and there has been no peeping, no pipping, nothing. eggs were candled sunday afternoon and were very much alive. for reference, incubation began bedtime on 6/26, so the 7/21 evening "lockdown" was exactly at 25 days from when they were incubated. any cause for concern? when (if at all) should we candle them to check?

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I read they aren't due to hatch til the 24th...I would give them a day or two after that before I tried to candle them again...right now is where that patience is a virtue quote comes into play

UPDATE--now we're getting absurd...

as per my posts above, 28 days was july 24th. well, early this morning, july 29, we awoke to a fully hatched duckling. from the earliest eggs!! that makes 33 days!! (and no, not muscovy). others are now on lockdown with this first duckling happily in a brooding box. the other egg from this "first" batch was wobbling briefly around day 22... but that was it. no more motion. no more otion when candled today.

so... now i am completely out of sorts as to what to do about the remaining eggs, since apparently the 28 day rule is out the window? should i keep turning some? any input appreciated!

there's probably no one reading this thread anymore, but i'll finish what i started... SOMEHOW, we ended up with 9 healthy ducklings out of the 10 eggs... despite having to regularly open the incubator during "lockdown", despite new hatchlings bothering and rolling around eggs that weren't set to hatch until days later... guess we inadvertently beat the odds on this one. now to figure out what to do with 9 ducklings' worth of stink living in my daughters closet, haha!