Incubation progress of Muscovy eggs

[charlindabob]

Very nice bator, now any progress? course it seems like it takes forever.

Pictures were taken just a short time ago and no progress. I did a quick candle and several seem pretty vigorous in their shell which I take to be a good sign. But I must remember, this is the time many are lost and die in the shell. Like being on pins and needles. I've hatched well over a couple hundred chickens and over a hundred turkeys, quite a few pheasants with no major problem. But ducks are a PITA for me and Muscovys are noted for being hard to hatch. I used to have Mandarins and had many of their eggs in this incubator and had 100% failure. So, I am a little excited at this time......

 

[Miss Lydia]

Pictures were taken just a short time ago and no progress. I did a quick candle and several seem pretty vigorous in their shell which I take to be a good sign. But I must remember, this is the time many are lost and die in the shell. Like being on pins and needles. I've hatched well over a couple hundred chickens and over a hundred turkeys, quite a few pheasants with no major problem. But ducks are a PITA for me and Muscovys are noted for being hard to hatch. I used to have Mandarins and had many of their eggs in this incubator and had 100% failure. So, I am a little excited at this time......

I bet you are excited. look forward to updates.

 

[yinepu]

Just keep an eye on them.. if you think a few are starting to get weak go ahead and enlarge the hole a teeny bit.. but remember.. there is a difference between resting and being weak and ready to die.. so you will have to use your gut to tell you if one needs help

If you do decide to assist.. GO SLOW.. blood vessels and the yolk take time to be drawn into the body.. and ducks and goslings are slower about it than chickens are

btw..
I've hatched out shipped mandarin eggs that never saw a broody hen.. so they CAN be hatched out in a bator too... I just used the exact same method I used for my muscovys and had a pretty good hatch rate on them.

 

[charlindabob]

Just keep an eye on them.. if you think a few are starting to get weak go ahead and enlarge the hole a teeny bit.. but remember.. there is a difference between resting and being weak and ready to die.. so you will have to use your gut to tell you if one needs help

If you do decide to assist.. GO SLOW.. blood vessels and the yolk take time to be drawn into the body.. and ducks and goslings are slower about it than chickens are

btw..
I've hatched out shipped mandarin eggs that never saw a broody hen.. so they CAN be hatched out in a bator too... I just used the exact same method I used for my muscovys and had a pretty good hatch rate on them.

OK, I've followed you so far........lol. How long should one wait after an internal pip before intervention? I realize there isn't a set time and it's not an exact science, but a ball park figure? In other words, when should I begin to worry....

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
hmmm... good question... how about this

give them 24 hours and check.. if they are still bouncing around leave them be.. if they are acting weak mark the egg and check again in an hour.. if there's no change then start to enlarge the hole a teeny bit .. once you can see what's going on then check the membrane and see how much progress the duckling has made.. see if you can easily see his beak and if he's gasping go ahead and intervene... but GO SLOW.. I know you will be able to see more as you chip away the shell... check for blood in the veins (a wet cotton swab run across the membrane should give you an idea if the veins are still filled with bright red blood or not).. if you get to where the duckling looks ok just cover the opening with a wet paper towel and then check again in a few hours... remember too that by making a hole into the shell you are letting in more oxygen .. so his progress will slow down a bit... the main thing is not to rush things.. you don't want them dying in the shell.. but you also don't want them popping out before the yolk is absorbed or break blood vessels and have the little guy bleed to death on you..

edited to add: It's always better for the duckling for them to hatch on their own.. so the longer you can keep the little bugger in his shell the better.. it will make for a stronger duckling if he hatches on his own.. using his legs to push out of the shell... sometimes you do have to help.. but I try to resist as long as I can.. some people will argue that if they can't hatch on their own that they just "weren't meant to live".. I call BS on that.. what we are doing is called ARTIFICIAL incubation.. there are a lot of reasons why a duckling or chick may have a hard hatch.. very rarely is it a problem with the duckling or chick.. usually it's a problem with humidity or fans.. so it's up to us to right the wrong and give them the best chance possible (and for those who feel differently.. well.. they are their eggs.. so it's their choice).. I'm not saying you HAVE to assist.. just don't get an attitude with me because I choose to!...

 

[charlindabob]

hmmm... good question... how about this

give them 24 hours and check.. if they are still bouncing around leave them be.. if they are acting weak mark the egg and check again in an hour.. if there's no change then start to enlarge the hole a teeny bit .. once you can see what's going on then check the membrane and see how much progress the duckling has made.. see if you can easily see his beak and if he's gasping go ahead and intervene... but GO SLOW.. I know you will be able to see more as you chip away the shell... check for blood in the veins (a wet cotton swab run across the membrane should give you an idea if the veins are still filled with bright red blood or not).. if you get to where the duckling looks ok just cover the opening with a wet paper towel and then check again in a few hours... remember too that by making a hole into the shell you are letting in more oxygen .. so his progress will slow down a bit... the main thing is not to rush things.. you don't want them dying in the shell.. but you also don't want them popping out before the yolk is absorbed or break blood vessels and have the little guy bleed to death on you..

edited to add: It's always better for the duckling for them to hatch on their own.. so the longer you can keep the little bugger in his shell the better.. it will make for a stronger duckling if he hatches on his own.. using his legs to push out of the shell... sometimes you do have to help.. but I try to resist as long as I can.. some people will argue that if they can't hatch on their own that they just "weren't meant to live".. I call BS on that.. what we are doing is called ARTIFICIAL incubation.. there are a lot of reasons why a duckling or chick may have a hard hatch.. very rarely is it a problem with the duckling or chick.. usually it's a problem with humidity or fans.. so it's up to us to right the wrong and give them the best chance possible (and for those who feel differently.. well.. they are their eggs.. so it's their choice).. I'm not saying you HAVE to assist.. just don't get an attitude with me because I choose to!...

Thank you and I agree 100%. They appear pretty vigorous right now and I will check again in the AM. It has been at least 24 hours since most internally pipped and I drilled a hole. Oxygen "shouldn't" be a problem since I drilled a hole, all vents are open including the one I made (they were always open) and now I have the door ajar. IF they don't dry out, and they shouldn't I would think, they should be good until in the morning at least which would be the beginning of day 33. Maybe they will hatch tonight....................

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you and I agree 100%. They appear pretty vigorous right now and I will check again in the AM. It has been at least 24 hours since most internally pipped and I drilled a hole. Oxygen "shouldn't" be a problem since I drilled a hole, all vents are open including the one I made (they were always open) and now I have the door ajar. IF they don't dry out, and they shouldn't I would think, they should be good until in the morning at least which would be the beginning of day 33. Maybe they will hatch tonight....................

 

[charlindabob]

Day 33.......some are hatching !!


@ 0600 this morning, this is what I had:


It is now 1230 and I have two more out for a total of three. Nine more are moving around in the shell and I may intervene later this afternoon if they don't hatch. So far, so good, none have died in the shell (knock on wood). I really hate helping them out of the shell as I never know if I should or how far I should go or if it's too early or not. Slow but sure and watch for blood I suppose. The little fellow in the picture I washed off in warm water and used a hair dryer to gently dry him off. He looks a lot better now.

 

[Dianne88]

Day 33.......some are hatching !! @ 0600 this morning, this is what I had: It is now 1230 and I have two more out for a total of three. Nine more are moving around in the shell and I may intervene later this afternoon if they don't hatch. So far, so good, none have died in the shell (knock on wood). I really hate helping them out of the shell as I never know if I should or how far I should go or if it's too early or not. Slow but sure and watch for blood I suppose. The little fellow in the picture I washed off in warm water and used a hair dryer to gently dry him off. He looks a lot better now.

Congratulations!!! So pretty!!! You're doing a great job!!

 

[yinepu]

Day 33.......some are hatching !!


@ 0600 this morning, this is what I had:


It is now 1230 and I have two more out for a total of three. Nine more are moving around in the shell and I may intervene later this afternoon if they don't hatch. So far, so good, none have died in the shell (knock on wood). I really hate helping them out of the shell as I never know if I should or how far I should go or if it's too early or not. Slow but sure and watch for blood I suppose. The little fellow in the picture I washed off in warm water and used a hair dryer to gently dry him off. He looks a lot better now.

Lol.. see.. my page on how to hatch muscovys isn't too bad after all!

so many people complain that it's impossible to hatch them.. but I think they are one of the easier species to hatch out