candling/hatching question

[tbevans]

High 20s is fine! Have you taken any more candling pics?

Ok!! I do have one, but all you can make out is the air cell.

 

[tbevans]

It will take awhile for the air cell to grow bigger, but it should get a little bit bigger each day with the lower humidity. Nothing is "too low" at the moment since your air cell is so small, so don't worry about that. It will just need humidity again once it pips the shell (starts to hatch out) so that the membrane doesn't dry out inside. For now it needs to be as low as possible, so no worries! 

Ok! Lockdown should start Saturday so should I bring the humidity up tomorrow??

 

[WVduckchick]

That air cell looks pretty good size to me. If they are all about that size, and you don't see a lot of clear goo between the duckling and the air cell (when you candle), then they are getting close!

Why would you up the humidity tomorrow if lockdown date is not until Saturday?

 

[tbevans]

That air cell looks pretty good size to me.  If they are all about that size, and you don't see a lot of clear goo between the duckling and the air cell (when you candle), then they are getting close!  

Why would you up the humidity tomorrow if lockdown date is not until Saturday?  

This is the only one I have left. All the rest died. I don't really see any goo between the air cell and duckling.

Tomorrow will be day 25. I thought I had read on here to up the humidity the day before lockdown which would start day 26. Am I wrong?? Sorry, this is my first time. I've tried to soak in all the info, please forgive me if I'm wrong! Lol

 

[Orca5094]

Quote:
You don't need to raise the humidity until lock-down, especially in your case since your air cell is smaller than it should be. People may raise it a day early just "in case" an egg pips a little early I guess, but it's not necessary.

It looks like it might be a little bigger, but hard to tell since we can't see your old mark of the air cell in your newest pic. Have you marked where the air cell is now so you can see how much/if it's grown? Don't freak out too much though, ok? You are doing everything possible right now to help this guy. Not much time left now, so it's just a waiting game. Keep that humidity as low as possible and hopefully the air cell start to "drop" soon.

 

[WVduckchick]

This is the only one I have left. All the rest died. I don't really see any goo between the air cell and duckling.

Tomorrow will be day 25. I thought I had read on here to up the humidity the day before lockdown which would start day 26. Am I wrong?? Sorry, this is my first time. I've tried to soak in all the info, please forgive me if I'm wrong! Lol

I'm sorry, I was confused too

Usually lockdown is day 25, some wait till day 26, some do it day 24. That's why monitoring your air cells is important. The air cells and development of the duckling can guide you as to when they are ready to be locked down.

Lockdown and raising the humidity happen at the same time. Lockdown is just a term used to remind ourselves to NOT open the incubator unless its absolutely necessary. The last 3 days are when its most important to maintain humidity and stability.

No goo between the air cell and duckling is good... it should be filling up the majority of the egg (minus the air cell area) by now, so that's a good sign! Best of luck and keep us posted!

 

[tbevans]

This is my side by side of the first pic of marked air cell (on the left) and the updated picture of the marked air cell(the one on the right that says good egg on it..lol) Now that I have marked it on the outside, I see how it has grown! Yay!

 

[tbevans]

I just want to be sure..I bring humidity up tomorrow right??? How high should it be? It will be day 26.

 

[Orca5094]

Honestly, I think you should wait to raise your humidity until this little one for sure internally pips. You are keeping such a close eye on this egg, I think you will notice it. You can check the egg once a day, hold it up to your ear and peep at it. You can gently scratch on the shell as well with a fingernail at the same time. When you hear it peep or tap back at you, it is internally pipped and you can raise the humidity. You can also usually see an internal pip when you candle, you will see a dark pointy thing sticking up in the air cell, that would be the duckling's bill. They don't need higher humidity until that point. So raising it any earlier than that is not necessary and I think you should wait as long as possible for that since you have a special case. I just want your air cell to get a little bigger before the humidity is raised, but this is just my opinion! Anyone else is more than welcome to chime in if you have a better plan. This is just what I would do if it were my egg.

Oh, and when it's time to raise the humidity, around 55-60% is usually good.

 

[tbevans]

Ok! Will do!! Thanks!!!