My Duck Egg Adventure - Day 16 Update

[Jelibaen]

Alright!! So the incubator is GREAT. I got the Nuture Right 260 and love it.
Though I'm a little bit too handsy. I'm candling once daily because I want to see how everything is developing, but I'm just taking the lid off and shining my phone flashlight on the egg to check for veins - not actually moving the eggs. I haven't been spraying or allowing to cool down too much. This is only my second incubation ever, so I'm kind of trying some things out.

We started off with 20 BYM eggs. 1 was cracked when I got it. Accidentally dropped another when I was filling the incubator. RIP egg.
March 16th - Day 1 - Put 18 eggs in. Temp set at 100F, humidity controlled around 50%
Day 4 - 17 eggs have veins and tiny things!! 1 didn't develop, so it was removed. Added 5 khaki eggs.
Day 7 - Thought the khaki eggs weren't developing. Removed them. Candled again 12 hours later and there was development. Put them back in. So they're roughly 3-4 days behind the others. 2 early quitters today - removed.
Day 10 - 2 khaki eggs quit. Probably from my mistake of moving them around and losing heat for 12 hours. My bad.
Day 14 - 2 more quitters. One looked like one of the blood vessels had burst when it was opened and the embryo was still very small. The other was more developed - maybe around day 12 it quit?
**Today** Day 16 - 2 more quitters. One was adhered to the shell. My friend will come get them and open them for me - I can't do it myself, it makes me sad. Down to 13 eggs - 10 from original batch and 3 from khaki mix. Approx 50% survival rate so far.

Lockdown - April 10
Hatch day for batch 1 - April 13
Hatch day for batch 2 - April 16-18?

Still happy with everything though! Even if I get one duckling, it will be worth it. I'm going to be hatching most of the summer, so I will be trying out which incubation procedures work better. My next batch is going to be some high quality purebred eggs, so I may try spraying and cooling at that point.

Thanks for reading!

 

[nchls school]

Sounds like your having a time of it. That many quitters may indicate that the temperature is incorrect. I'd suggest you check thermometer to be sure it is accurate. Quitters during the first week is about normal, but after that...

50% hatch is average for shipped eggs. With your next eggs, find a local supplier or as close to home as you can. Having eggs shipped long distance increases the chance of having a bad hatch.

Don't be afraid to pick the eggs up to candle. You will get a much better view and it WILL NOT hurt the eggs as long as you make sure to have clean hands. Candling every day is OK too, just be careful not to drop any.

If these are shipped eggs research how to do an assisted hatch. When I have shipped eggs hatching there is always some that need help. Shipped eggs often have a saddled air cell. The ducklings are frequently malpositioned. Knowing how to assist will save you healthy ducklings.

BYC has a great article on assisted hatching-do yourself a favor and read it well before hatch time. When ducklings need help, there is not time to research the topic.

When you start misting (and I don't) do not overdo it. Too much and liquid will build up in the air cell and the duckling will drown when it internally pips.

Good luck!

 

[Jelibaen]

Sounds like your having a time of it. That many quitters may indicate that the temperature is incorrect. I'd suggest you check thermometer to be sure it is accurate. Quitters during the first week is about normal, but after that...

50% hatch is average for shipped eggs. With your next eggs, find a local supplier or as close to home as you can. Having eggs shipped long distance increases the chance of having a bad hatch.

Don't be afraid to pick the eggs up to candle. You will get a much better view and it WILL NOT hurt the eggs as long as you make sure to have clean hands. Candling every day is OK too, just be careful not to drop any.

If these are shipped eggs research how to do an assisted hatch. When I have shipped eggs hatching there is always some that need help. Shipped eggs often have a saddled air cell. The ducklings are frequently malpositioned. Knowing how to assist will save you healthy ducklings.

BYC has a great article on assisted hatching-do yourself a favor and read it well before hatch time. When ducklings need help, there is not time to research the topic.

When you start misting (and I don't) do not overdo it. Too much and liquid will build up in the air cell and the duckling will drown when it internally pips.

Good luck!

They aren't shipped! Just from local people that happened to have drakes in their flock. Nobody fertility tested or anything like that.
My next batch in April will be from two farms that both have 80-90% fertility rates and hatch rates. I'm hoping they do better.

But I have read the article on assisting hatches. It freaks me out a bit but I'm hoping that everything goes well!

My friend did an eggtopsy on one of the day 14 quitters and it was really underdeveloped - its head was huge, the top part of the bill was about half as long as the bottom, and it hadnt formed limbs. So there may be a genetic issue with them too, I'm not sure!

Thank you so much for your advice though! I'm going to reread the thread again and try not to let this last week drag on!

 

[nchls school]

They aren't shipped! Just from local people that happened to have drakes in their flock. Nobody fertility tested or anything like that.
My next batch in April will be from two farms that both have 80-90% fertility rates and hatch rates. I'm hoping they do better.

But I have read the article on assisting hatches. It freaks me out a bit but I'm hoping that everything goes well!

My friend did an eggtopsy on one of the day 14 quitters and it was really underdeveloped - its head was huge, the top part of the bill was about half as long as the bottom, and it hadnt formed limbs. So there may be a genetic issue with them too, I'm not sure!

Yes, doesn't sound good. I just assumed about the shipping because of the problems. With decent eggs and a good incubator (and yours likely is), the mortality rate would be much lower with few quitters.

Thank you so much for your advice though! I'm going to reread the thread again and try not to let this last week drag on!

You're welcome. The best of luck with the remaining eggs and your next attempts to hatch eggs.

 

[Jelibaen]

Day 23 update - lost one more between Day 16 and Day 21. Eggtopsy today showed it was very small and there was a bigger yolk to duckling ratio than expected.
Also - if I talk to my eggs they wriggle! Its so cute!!

 

[Vicktoria Giuergia]

Sounds like your having a time of it. That many quitters may indicate that the temperature is incorrect. I'd suggest you check thermometer to be sure it is accurate. Quitters during the first week is about normal, but after that...

50% hatch is average for shipped eggs. With your next eggs, find a local supplier or as close to home as you can. Having eggs shipped long distance increases the chance of having a bad hatch.

Don't be afraid to pick the eggs up to candle. You will get a much better view and it WILL NOT hurt the eggs as long as you make sure to have clean hands. Candling every day is OK too, just be careful not to drop any.

If these are shipped eggs research how to do an assisted hatch. When I have shipped eggs hatching there is always some that need help. Shipped eggs often have a saddled air cell. The ducklings are frequently malpositioned. Knowing how to assist will save you healthy ducklings.

BYC has a great article on assisted hatching-do yourself a favor and read it well before hatch time. When ducklings need help, there is not time to research the topic.

When you start misting (and I don't) do not overdo it. Too much and liquid will build up in the air cell and the duckling will drown when it internally pips.

Good luck!

I enjoy reading all the information. I candle every day also, trying to see if the eggs are all right. I never throw any away unless it's deffinately expired.

 

[Vicktoria Giuergia]

Day 23 update - lost one more between Day 16 and Day 21. Eggtopsy today showed it was very small and there was a bigger yolk to duckling ratio than expected.
Also - if I talk to my eggs they wriggle! Its so cute!!

Jelibaen: You sound just like me! I love to read your excepts! Please continue even after they hatch & you are raising them. Love to hear about that.

 

[Jelibaen]

Jelibaen: You sound just like me! I love to read your excepts! Please continue even after they hatch & you are raising them. Love to hear about that.

I added another thread here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/25603842/
They've all hatched and are doing great!!

 

[Vicktoria Giuergia]

Good for you & congratulations.

 

[abenardini]

Sounds like you're having a blast - that's awesome! Another suggestion I might have missed. I wouldn't remove eggs day 4 if you don't see immediate veins. There is a chance that you will miss out on a good egg that will still develop normally. As an example, for the set I have in my incubator - I candled day 4 with the 18 eggs. I had 3 that had non-existent veins but then magically appeared the next day. I usually don't toss eggs until day 6 unless I smell something amiss - you definitely don't want a putrefied egg exploding. :-x