Added eggs while incubating - update: all 6 ducklings hatched and younger egg in incubator

[Kroelies]

Hello! I'm incubating eggs for the first time!

I got a small incubator (Brinsea Mini Eco) and I put in 6 duck eggs on Sunday afternoon (April 5th)

But a few days later friendly family duck Donsje wasn't herself and she laid in the garden like she was really tired. She seemed upset, I think she had a nest that got destroyed

The next morning she had laid an egg in the grass. I didn't know what to do so I put it in the incubator with the other eggs. That was Wednesday 8th of April.

Also she laid 2 more eggs after that and I put these in the incubator too on Thursday April 16th. Donsje is a very sweet duck, so I hope to get ducklings from her. But now the eggs should start to hatch on 3 different days, how do I manage that with the humidity? Wouldn't it kill them if the humidity is way to high for 3 or even 5 days?

And now for the stupid part: I'm going on vacation on May 13th, the date the last 2 eggs should be hatching... Oh what should I do??

Here's a picture of Donsje, she's an adorable duck! She's been acting like her usual self lately, so she should be fine! I think she's started a new nest

 

[Kroelies]

 

[WVduckchick]

I wanted to move them into the guinea pig cage.. Turns out they can escape through the bars! Now they're in a swimming pool, they like the space but I'm afraid it's not high enough to keep them in

My mum and I put a small table in it and covered it with a blanket. It looks like a circus tent. I hope they stay inside and behave themselves.

As you can see the duckling in the second picture has bright orange spots on his feet, I've never seen that before is it normal for ducklings? The other ones also have it a bit, but not so bright.

The pool is a cute idea. Can't tell exactly how deep it is, but ducklings should have a hard time getting out of it. Curved sides, and slick. Mine are 6+ weeks old and still have a little trouble getting in and out of their plastic kiddie pool! But they can climb, so just don't put anything around the edges that they could use to get out. Otherwise, I think its fine! Chicks on the other hand, I'm having fun keeping my week-old chicks in an 18-inch deep plastic tote! They can hop like nobody's business! I actually found some poop on top of my quart-jar waterer! How did that get there?? LOL


Spotted feet? Yea... check out my girl's stripes!

 

[Lacrystol]

Having little ones makes it all worth it!

Yeh it does

 

[Kroelies]

She hatched! She's really small, I think even smaller than the others when they were born




She seems so fragile I'm worried a bit

I put her in the guinea pig cage under the heating plate. I hope she can join the others tomorrow or the day after that

 

[DuckPan]

I did the same thing a few years ago, lol. Um lets see, i have a solution, sit back and let the incubator do its work. If you have any problems Please feel free to PM me.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Hello! I'm incubating eggs for the first time!

I got a small incubator (Brinsea Mini Eco) and I put in 6 duck eggs on Sunday afternoon (April 5th)

But a few days later friendly family duck Donsje wasn't herself and she laid in the garden like she was really tired. She seemed upset, I think she had a nest that got destroyed

The next morning she had laid an egg in the grass. I didn't know what to do so I put it in the incubator with the other eggs. That was Wednesday 8th of April.

Also she laid 2 more eggs after that and I put these in the incubator too on Thursday April 16th. Donsje is a very sweet duck, so I hope to get ducklings from her. But now the eggs should start to hatch on 3 different days, how do I manage that with the humidity? Wouldn't it kill them if the humidity is way to high for 3 or even 5 days?

And now for the stupid part: I'm going on vacation on May 13th, the date the last 2 eggs should be hatching... Oh what should I do??

Here's a picture of Donsje, she's an adorable duck! She's been acting like her usual self lately, so she should be fine! I think she's started a new nest

What I'm doing might work for you if you're able to get another incubator. I write the date on the eggs as they're collected and put them in one incubator, then I move them to another incubator that's slightly cooler and much more humid when the date for their lockdown rolls around. That's really the only thing that's practical for me since I get eggs almost every day and would need 30 incubators to put a single date in each one.

If you can't buy or borrow another incubator, could you possibly give them back to your duck now that she's herself again? A nest pad or some straw in a safe place might entice her to set on them. The one that was set on the 8th might do okay being in the higher humidity three days early, but that probably won't work so well for the two that were set on the 16th.

 

[Kroelies]

Bad news, I candled the eggs and I think Donsje's first egg has died

The 6 oldest eggs all look the same, really dark with the air sack on the bottom and sometimes a vein. Donsje's first egg was put in only 2.5 days later but it's mostly clear and there's no veins, only a red blur. One of the eggs from the 16th looks the same

The other one does have very clear veins and a little embryo with an eye =)

I've searched around for a second hand incubator but those are still pricey and not many small high-quality incubators are for sale. Donsje isn't a pet duck, she's wild and likes to hang around our garden. I don't know where she builts her nests.

So I'll just wait for now to see if the last egg stays alive.

Also lockdown is the last 3 days right? When the humidity goes up and you stop turning?

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Bad news, I candled the eggs and I think Donsje's first egg has died

The 6 oldest eggs all look the same, really dark with the air sack on the bottom and sometimes a vein. Donsje's first egg was put in only 2.5 days later but it's mostly clear and there's no veins, only a red blur. One of the eggs from the 16th looks the same

The other one does have very clear veins and a little embryo with an eye =)

I've searched around for a second hand incubator but those are still pricey and not many small high-quality incubators are for sale. Donsje isn't a pet duck, she's wild and likes to hang around our garden. I don't know where she builts her nests.

So I'll just wait for now to see if the last egg stays alive.

Also lockdown is the last 3 days right? When the humidity goes up and you stop turning?

Some people lock down at 4 days prior to the expected hatch date, but I use 3 days. I move my eggs from the first incubator into the lockdown incubator on day 23. That would be day 25 for you. The lockdown incubator is already set to a lower temp and higher humidity and isn't on a turner.

I'm hoping you get other responses. I'm not sure how well that last egg is going to take high humidity for 3-4 days in the middle of its development, assuming it's still a viable embryo at that point. You might be able to make up for it by lowering the humidity again as soon as the others hatch, but there's no guarantee that will work.

 

[Kroelies]

My uncle borrowed an incubator to hatch chickens. But it's an old incubator and I believe those are prone to temperature change when air pressure changes? I could check out his incubator, maybe there's place in it for an extra egg. Would my egg survive transport? It's not even 10 minutes by car.

I searched around about this, but whenever it comes up people say "don't do it!", but now I don't know what to do