Incubation progress of Muscovy eggs

[charlindabob]

I'm thinking once you get the membrane pulled away enough for them to breathe they should be able to get out on their own right? pulling away the membrane and shell till you see blood then stopping or are you not that far yet? If you candle can you see the one ducklings bill? [the one that hasn't internally pipped yet] if you can see the bill then you'll know where he is in the shell. When I had to intervene thank goodness I never saw blood,she was just so stuck in the membrane she couldn't get out. So sorry for the loss of this lil one that died

I have exposed all their heads (or most of it anyways) and all are breathing oxygen except the one that hasn't internally pipped for some unknown reason. Now that being said, the hatchling will dry out, the membrane will dry and become a hard crust in a matter of a couple of hours and in doing so, it constricts them from movement which INCLUDES breathing. Just as a constrictor snake squeezes its prey, these egg membranes will constrict the hatchling once they become dry and the end result is death.

By opening them up to reveal their heads, I have committed myself to a constant watch to make sure they don't dry out, both around their head and within the shell.
I have gently misted doing my best to keep it out of their nostrils and I have dribbled distilled water inside the shell between duckling and shell where I could which was really quite a bit. I figure the distilled water can't hurt (as long as they don't drown in it) and water between them and the shell will keep the membrane from drying out and constricting the little buggers where I can't see.

The problem child I probably just killed............It is the one that hasn't internally pipped and I removed the shell over the air sac. I have been keeping the membrane moist and thought I seen the bill, ever so gently with a small pick I pried a small opening, really just a prick, into the membrane and it is bleeding like a stuck hog!
I am so mad at myself for not waiting, but it is done now and it probably won't recover.

Looks like a sleepless night in central Florida......................

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
yeah.. that's the problem with helping them out.. once you begin the assist you're committed til the end... i think you're using a cabinet incubator if I remember right?.. since all the eggs are now open (and I am assuming you haven't seen any yellow goo) go ahead and raise up the humidity.. it WILL drop the oxygen holding content of the air a bit.. but they should have plenty there to last them..

make sure too that all eggs face AWAY from the air flow of the fans.. that will help a bit too in the moisture loss of the membranes.. if you can bandage over the openings, moisten the membranes and the pad of a bandaid then cover the hole with a bandaid AND wrap the egg with wet paper towels.. that will also slow moisture loss.. recheck every few hours for bright red veins and move the membrane a bit when you see that the blood in the veins has dried up.. remember too that once the blood has dried that the navel will probably still be open.. but if the membrane is pushed back enough the duckling SHOULD be able to hatch the rest of the way on it's own... try to make sure you don't give them too much space to move or they may push out of the shell too soon..

 

[charlindabob]

yeah.. that's the problem with helping them out.. once you begin the assist you're committed til the end... i think you're using a cabinet incubator if I remember right?.. since all the eggs are now open (and I am assuming you haven't seen any yellow goo) go ahead and raise up the humidity.. it WILL drop the oxygen holding content of the air a bit.. but they should have plenty there to last them..

make sure too that all eggs face AWAY from the air flow of the fans.. that will help a bit too in the moisture loss of the membranes.. if you can bandage over the openings, moisten the membranes and the pad of a bandaid then cover the hole with a bandaid AND wrap the egg with wet paper towels.. that will also slow moisture loss.. recheck every few hours for bright red veins and move the membrane a bit when you see that the blood in the veins has dried up.. remember too that once the blood has dried that the navel will probably still be open.. but if the membrane is pushed back enough the duckling SHOULD be able to hatch the rest of the way on it's own... try to make sure you don't give them too much space to move or they may push out of the shell too soon..

Wish I would have thought that......lol. You are absolutely correct. I will take a shallow bowl and make a nest out of it and add paper towels and put the eggs in it. Maybe a glass pie plate.........my wife just loves me!! That might also help keep those little mean kids (the ones already hatched) from pecking and pulling on the ones that haven't. If luck is with me, I might hatch 10 or 11 out of 14.

I have to give Jon at WOWSAFARM a great big THANK YOU for sending me 14 fertile eggs and being kind enough to continue to support me via emails. He has some awesome White French Muscovies and is a credit not only to eBay, but to the community. Thank you Jon !

And a heartfelt thank you to yinepu who has made this incubation a success so far. Without the knowledge of the yinepu page on hatching Muscovy ducks, there is no doubt that my hatch rate would be far less, possibly even zero. Thank you!

Also to those on here that have given me words of encouragement, thank you!

Now I'm not done posting, I just wanted to say thank you. I'm on an hour by hour check now. Gives me a chance to get out of the shop and into the AC.
More later.............

 

[Dianne88]

Sounds like what I was doing a week ago!! You have already had better luck than me! So happy for you! Can't wait to see pics of all the fluffy butts!!

I was so upset when I came home today, I'm usually home by 3 but had to work late today, the temp in my incubator had spiked and no one had checked it. I think I have it all under control and now I want to candle them all to see if they've survived. There are 14 eggs that go into lockdown on Sunday, I would hate to loose them all now

wish me luck!!

 

[charlindabob]

Sounds like what I was doing a week ago!! You have already had better luck than me! So happy for you! Can't wait to see pics of all the fluffy butts!!

I was so upset when I came home today, I'm usually home by 3 but had to work late today, the temp in my incubator had spiked and no one had checked it. I think I have it all under control and now I want to candle them all to see if they've survived. There are 14 eggs that go into lockdown on Sunday, I would hate to loose them all now

wish me luck!!

You have it girl !! Lotsa luck being sent your way. If the temperature didn't stay high for very long you might be ok. Air temperature can increase much faster than inside the egg temperature. I am interested to see what you find out when you candle. And, I am interested in your hatching procedures too. I hope you hatch all 14. Unfortunately two and very possible three out of my 14 didn't survive.
OK, back to the 'bator for me..................

 

[charlindabob]

I must keep these guys from drying out.....





I'm not the only one waiting................lol

So far, 8 are out of the shell and the three that you see above (in the shell) are all that's left to hatch, unless there is a miracle and the one hatched that didn't internally pip and I broke a blood vessel in it. I have it in a small dish wrapped with a very damp wash cloth in a tray above.

Better pictures when I'm done with this hatch. Next time I will move that incubator in the back room (I don't care what the wife says) because this old man with painful knees is tired of making the trek back and forth to the shop which is about 100 yards away.

If these guys hatch, that would be 11 out of 14 or 78.6%. Not too bad for Muscovy eggs I think. Of course I was hoping for 100%, but that was a pipe dream I guess.

 

[Dianne88]

Did any of them hatch themselves or did you have to assist all of them? I love the pic with all the babies waiting for the eggs to hatch. That's how I had to hatch Solo, chip away at his shell a little at a time and then let him kick his way out. He rested for a long while half way out until he absorbed his yoke. So glad your babies are doing well! Keep sending the pics! Oh yeah, I candled my eggs and they are all still alive

 

[charlindabob]

Did any of them hatch themselves or did you have to assist all of them? I love the pic with all the babies waiting for the eggs to hatch. That's how I had to hatch Solo, chip away at his shell a little at a time and then let him kick his way out. He rested for a long while half way out until he absorbed his yoke. So glad your babies are doing well! Keep sending the pics! Oh yeah, I candled my eggs and they are all still alive

That is GREAT news. I am so glad you didn't lose them, especially at this stage of incubation.

A couple of them hatched by themselves and I intervened on the rest. I think, in retrospect, I would still drill the hole but I believe I would up the humidity at that time to as high as I could get it. I'm having a problem with them drying out and it could be, and very well possibly is, because I drilled the 1/8th inch holes. But, I really believe that if I hadn't, they would have died in the shell of suffocation. Catch 22. I could be wrong, and I'll never know for sure. I do believe that I would not be quite so ready to chip away at the shell as that just makes them dry out even faster. That could be why I had the "panic attack" and chipped bigger holes in all of them. I had chipped a little bit to "see" and in a couple of hours an apparently healthy duckling was dead because the membrane dried up and it suffocated. So far, my over reaction has caused two deaths IMO. I'm not happy about that at all, but I am learning, but at what expense? I've tried hard not to make mistakes and here I am at the critical time, and guilty of doing just what I didn't want to do. But, on-the-other-hand, if I hadn't intervened all might be dead. Hmmmm. Hind sight is definitely 20-20.

 

[charlindabob]

Well, it's 0230 and I'm going to bed. The one that never internally pipped is dead.

I have two remaining that haven't completely hatched.

One is out of its shell, but weak and still has a protruding navel which means it hasn't absorbed all the yolk, etc. I have isolated it within the hatching tray so the hatched ducks cannot bother it.

The other one has the shell half off, but still absorbing the yolk and appears weak also. I have isolated it too. One this one, I did wet between the remaining shell and hatchling with distilled water to keep it moist.

Hopefully both will be ok in the morning, but I give them a 50/50 chance.

If these two don't make it my hatching rate dropped from 78.6% to 64%.................

I've got to pinion the survivors tomorrow......or rather later today......more stress.

I'd love to have 11 bouncing baby ducks in the morning, but if I only have 9 I'll still be thankful. I could have None.

Ya know, I sure wouldn't want to do this for a living !! I've hatched out a lot of birds, but I've worried over this clutch more than any other clutch. They either hatched or they didn't. This one I am like a Coach, a Cheerleader, a Band Director and a new father.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well, it's 0230 and I'm going to bed. The one that never internally pipped is dead.

I have two remaining that haven't completely hatched.

One is out of its shell, but weak and still has a protruding navel which means it hasn't absorbed all the yolk, etc. I have isolated it within the hatching tray so the hatched ducks cannot bother it.

The other one has the shell half off, but still absorbing the yolk and appears weak also. I have isolated it too. One this one, I did wet between the remaining shell and hatchling with distilled water to keep it moist.

Hopefully both will be ok in the morning, but I give them a 50/50 chance.

If these two don't make it my hatching rate dropped from 78.6% to 64%.................

I've got to pinion the survivors tomorrow......or rather later today......more stress.

I'd love to have 11 bouncing baby ducks in the morning, but if I only have 9 I'll still be thankful. I could have None.

Ya know, I sure wouldn't want to do this for a living !! I've hatched out a lot of birds, but I've worried over this clutch more than any other clutch. They either hatched or they didn't. This one I am like a Coach, a Cheerleader, a Band Director and a new father.

I love the pictures and the commentary , sorry also for the ones you lost it's never easy. But hopefully the rest will be fine and today you can sit back and enjoy your new ducklings. This just makes it all the more clear why I DON'T want an incubator. Whew