Preparing to set call and pekin duck eggs! Hatch day should be March 4, 2021 if all goes well!

[FunnyfarmMidwest]

Hello all! I am preparing to set 4 pekin/crested mix and 10-12 call duck eggs this Saturday! I have hatched Pekins for years with good luck but haven’t had good luck with calls. Last spring I had one call duckling make it all the way to hatch day but never internally pip and die. I also had one that I had to assist in hatching because it was backwards That little fella sadly had some defects and didn’t make it. His leg was fused at the joint and he couldn’t move it. I’m hoping to have a good hatch this time around. These eggs are from my own flock. I have black bibbed, pastel, grey, white, blue fawn, snowy, and blue fawn pied. I have collected them daily and have marked dates + hens on each egg. The oldest one is from January 31, 2021. I have been storing them at room temp ( around 55 degrees). I have stored them air cell up and have rotated them once daily. I started my incubator yesterday, checked the temp (it is a forced air nr 360), and I salt tested my hygrometer and double checked the humidity. The readings on the incubator are correct. It is running stable at 99.5 degrees and the humidity is around 47. I am going to put the pekin eggs in tonight and the call eggs on Saturday because the calls usually take 26 days and pekins take 28. I figure by doing this then hatch day will be around the same day. Does this all sound good? I will continue to update this thread throughout incubation!

@Isaac 0 @WVduckchick @shawluvsbirds
@Conan
Any input? You guys and countless others helped me so much last time with my little call duckling that was backwards.

 

[sourland]

Best wishes for a successful hatch.

 

[FunnyfarmMidwest]

Best wishes for a successful hatch.

Thanks so much! Hoping all goes well!

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Hello all! I am preparing to set 4 pekin/crested mix and 10-12 call duck eggs this Saturday! I have hatched Pekins for years with good luck but haven’t had good luck with calls. Last spring I had one call duckling make it all the way to hatch day but never internally pip and die. I also had one that I had to assist in hatching because it was backwards That little fella sadly had some defects and didn’t make it. His leg was fused at the joint and he couldn’t move it. I’m hoping to have a good hatch this time around. These eggs are from my own flock. I have black bibbed, pastel, grey, white, blue fawn, snowy, and blue fawn pied. I have collected them daily and have marked dates + hens on each egg. The oldest one is from January 31, 2021. I have been storing them at room temp ( around 55 degrees). I have stored them air cell up and have rotated them once daily. I started my incubator yesterday, checked the temp (it is a forced air nr 360), and I salt tested my hygrometer and double checked the humidity. The readings on the incubator are correct. It is running stable at 99.5 degrees and the humidity is around 47. I am going to put the pekin eggs in tonight and the call eggs on Saturday because the calls usually take 26 days and pekins take 28. I figure by doing this then hatch day will be around the same day. Does this all sound good? I will continue to update this thread throughout incubation!

@Isaac 0 @WVduckchick @shawluvsbirds
@Conan
Any input? You guys and countless others helped me so much last time with my little call duckling that was backwards.

I'm thinking that humidity is a little high.. but it's been a day or two since I incubated.
Also I am pretty sure I've been told to incubate duck eggs at 100 instead of 99.5.
Lets ask @Pyxis too.

 

[FunnyfarmMidwest]

I'm thinking that humidity is a little high.. but it's been a day or two since I incubated.
Also I am pretty sure I've been told to incubate duck eggs at 100 instead of 99.5.
Lets ask @Pyxis

Thanks for the response. I really appreciate the input. I’m trying to do all I can and hopefully have a decent hatch this time.
Pyxis will probably be able to share her knowledge. I’m glad I’m getting all of this figured out before setting them. I have little experience hatching calls. Hopefully I’ll have a few fluffy call ducklings!
I can’t express how grateful I am for all the help you gave me for little peepers the call that I hatched with a deformed leg. I was really hoping he would’ve pulled through but I’m grateful for the time I spent with him.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Thanks for the response. I really appreciate the input. I’m trying to do all I can and hopefully have a decent hatch this time.
Pyxis will probably be able to share her knowledge. I’m glad I’m getting all of this figured out before setting them. I have little experience hatching calls. Hopefully I’ll have a few fluffy call ducklings!
I can’t express how grateful I am for all the help you gave me for little peepers the call that I hatched with a deformed leg. I was really hoping he would’ve pulled through but I’m grateful for the time I spent with him.

Awh.. you are welcome but there wasn't much I could do to help.

I have not had very good luck hatching calls in the incubator myself. I figured if they hatch under mama so easily I should just stop trying to interfere and let them hatch on their own. I didn't interfere at all with the last batch I set.
Only 1 hatched. The rest all internally pipped and died without going any farther.
It's a darned if I do and darned if I don't situation here. I give up I'm just going to let the broodies do the work.

 

[FunnyfarmMidwest]

Awh.. you are welcome but there wasn't much I could do to help.

I have not had very good luck hatching calls in the incubator myself. I figured if they hatch under mama so easily I should just stop trying to interfere and let them hatch on their own. I didn't interfere at all with the last batch I set.
Only 1 hatched. The rest all internally pipped and died without going any farther.
It's a darned if I do and darned if I don't situation here. I give up I'm just going to let the broodies do the work.

My call Squeegee was acting broody last week, she made a nest and rolled 2 of my pekin Crazy’s eggs under her! She tried to sit on those so I figured I’d give her a couple call eggs and leave her be but after I did she only sat for about 12 hours then gave up and went to hang out with the other calls. I guess she wasn’t committed. It was darn funny seeing her try to sit on jumbo Pekin eggs!

So sorry your last hatch didn’t go well. I’m sure Broodies are much better at hatching them though.

 

[FunnyfarmMidwest]

@Isaac 0 or anyone else. I have a few quick questions.
1st: Should I try to keep the humidity around 35-40 instead? I’ve always kept it around 45-47 but is this too high for calls? Should I monitor it by weight loss?

2nd: For the future how long can you collect call eggs for hatching without a significant decrease in viability? I was thinking 7 days would be about the longest but could I collect them longer? I don’t have many hens and it takes a while to get a good amount of eggs.

3rd: Should I do cooling and misting? I didn’t do this last time but I read it can be beneficial for calls. I’ve tried this on a few of my pekin hatches but it didn’t seem to make a big difference.
4th: last time I set eight eggs and only had two even start developing. The eggs had been in a hidden nest outside for an unknown amount of time. Is this why the fertility was so bad?
I think that’s it for now. Sorry for all the questions I just really want this time to go better.

 

[Pyxis]

1st: Should I try to keep the humidity around 35-40 instead? I’ve always kept it around 45-47 but is this too high for calls? Should I monitor it by weight loss?

I keep mine at around 35% but if 47% is working for you in your area, it's probably fine. You could weigh them at least at first just to double check.

2nd: For the future how long can you collect call eggs for hatching without a significant decrease in viability? I was thinking 7 days would be about the longest but could I collect them longer? I don’t have many hens and it takes a while to get a good amount of eggs.

10 days is the longest you can safely collect before a drop in viability.

3rd: Should I do cooling and misting? I didn’t do this last time but I read it can be beneficial for calls. I’ve tried this on a few of my pekin hatches but it didn’t seem to make a big difference.

I usually don't do cooling but I do mist Calls for the last few days before lockdown.

4th: last time I set eight eggs and only had two even start developing. The eggs had been in a hidden nest outside for an unknown amount of time. Is this why the fertility was so bad?

Could be. Also could be that they got too hot or too cold, depending on when this was and your climate.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I keep mine at around 35% but if 47% is working for you in your area, it's probably fine. You could weigh them at least at first just to double check.




10 days is the longest you can safely collect before a drop in viability.



I usually don't do cooling but I do mist Calls for the last few days before lockdown.



Could be. Also could be that they got too hot or too cold, depending on when this was and your climate.

WhAt about the temp? Should it be at 99.5 or 100?