Thread formerly known as Hatch day is today

[qwackers]

Hey again Jen. Did you have any luck locating your friends stinky egg hehe! Was it their egg that which hatched? Don't worry too much about the discoloration, one of mine was like that too, I think it was just where all the poop was collecting.

That's the annoying thing about lock down you can't tell. Just have to hope they are doing their thing!

 

[EJPedrazzi]

Keep it up around 80. Yeah hopefully they are having a well deserved rest and absorbing whats left. do you have any pictures of how far they are just out of interest?

Hi qwackers! Here is a photo of the babes in the bator. Number 1 has a little crack in it and he's chirping away like a canary in there. Number 4 is also rocking and rolling and I can see a little dark patch on the edge where it looks like he's about to pip through (I hope!) I thought number 4 was dead as I saw a big dark patch but when I candled it when I got back on Sunday night it was pipping away at me, I almost dropped it in excitement!! Number 2 hasn't had much going on so I took it out to candle it as it looks different from the others - I can see wings in the others, but not in 2. This is the air cell - it's massive, no? I thought it was a goner but it's in there and looks like I can see a heartbeat? I hope so! My Mum's coming over from England to stay with me on Thursday evening so I hope one or two hold on as I know she'd love to see them hatch.
It was all over the place for a minute last week as I had my chickens hatching eggs outside, but crushing them so I brought some in to hatch in the bator, but all still seems well

 

[angiert]

Aw thanks, I don't think I've done anything really! I'm not sure about lock down for calls. But that's about the same as normal ducks. At least in a horrible way the dodgy cells are on the goners. So how many good ones do you think you have left?

qwackers i'm not even sure, i'm afraid to touch them and over handle them so i check real quick and put them back...it's day 13 and the egg is pretty full so i can't see very well, so here's the plan....if they start stinking i'll take them out...good plan lol

 

[qwackers]

Hi qwackers! Here is a photo of the babes in the bator. Number 1 has a little crack in it and he's chirping away like a canary in there. Number 4 is also rocking and rolling and I can see a little dark patch on the edge where it looks like he's about to pip through (I hope!) I thought number 4 was dead as I saw a big dark patch but when I candled it when I got back on Sunday night it was pipping away at me, I almost dropped it in excitement!! Number 2 hasn't had much going on so I took it out to candle it as it looks different from the others - I can see wings in the others, but not in 2. This is the air cell - it's massive, no? I thought it was a goner but it's in there and looks like I can see a heartbeat? I hope so! My Mum's coming over from England to stay with me on Thursday evening so I hope one or two hold on as I know she'd love to see them hatch. It was all over the place for a minute last week as I had my chickens hatching eggs outside, but crushing them so I brought some in to hatch in the bator, but all still seems well

It is big but it looks good to me. It's defo doing something as you can see that bit of shadow in the edge if the sac. After day 23 i couldn't see anything in there! But we just had a rubbish cheapo l.e.d. torch. Hope it's ok!

 

[EJPedrazzi]

And I just checked my other chicken eggs that are still in the bator and one's pipping through and another's chirping at me!! Oh my gosh how am I going to get anything done the next few days?!

 

[michellemcfeely]

And I just checked my other chicken eggs that are still in the bator and one's pipping through and another's chirping at me!! Oh my gosh how am I going to get anything done the next few days?!

I get nothing done during hatch time, husband even brings dinner home on those nights.

 

[JSelvaggi]

Quote: Hi qwackers! We did find that stinky egg! Thankfully! And we were all certain which egg it was hahah!

So I am still at work, setting up the brooders for all the teachers hatching ducklings and I have to share that one of the eggs with the discoloration finally pipped! A small spiderweb-like crack! I was so excited to see a little something going on!

I have to confess though, I feel horrible... I did the number one thing you should never do- none had pipped so I opened the 'bator and checked to be sure the ducks weren't pipping on the wrong side. I PROMISE TO NEVER OPEN IT AGAIN UNTIL THEY ARE HATCHED but I was so nervous!

 

[qwackers]

qwackers i'm not even sure, i'm afraid to touch them and over handle them so i check real quick and put them back...it's day 13 and the egg is pretty full so i can't see very well, so here's the plan....if they start stinking i'll take them out...good plan lol

Hahaa yep foolproof! Have you got a good candler? You should be ok to keep them out a little longer. One thing I didn't realise until late on was the way you had to turn them. It's hard to explain but sounds like you have to do it so you pick up the pointed end say on the left and turn it across to the right where the blunt end was. Then back the other way. Apparently if you just roll them like a barrel the thing that connects the ducky to the shell can get twisted if it keeps going the same way and can cut off supplies. I would also recommend spraying them a couple of times a day to keep the shell softer. I wish I had done this as its meant to make it a lot easier for them to hatch if you keep them misted. Mine had a heck of time.

 

[angiert]

Quote: helpful as always, i have been rolling, but right once, left once and then right again, flipping them sounds a bit easier, ill mist them when i turn them each day, they started behind the 8 ball anyway so any help i can give them i will

 

[Goin Quackrrs]

WOW is all I can say to that

I know. I have an addiction to quack.

lol! i think the hubby who "didn't want me to hatch this year" is sneaking in call/blue swede eggs in cuz the blue swede is one of his favorite ducks even tho they are "my" ducks....

LOL. My hubs would never sneak anything in my bators. He'd never find empty space.

Help... we went moving the ducks to lockdown status. And realized that one duckling had pipped through the air cell AND had made a crack in the egg! But the humidity was low all weekend and it was in an egg turner til today.

We added water to increase humidity and it's still low, can we open it quickly to put water in and should we do anything for the duckling that pipped???

I occasionally have to add water and sponges partway through hatch. Just be quick. No worries.

Cross your fingers I am in lock down with 12 East Indie eggs today sure hope I have as good of luck with these little guys as I did my call duck eggs. I will be the one crouched in the kitchen over the incubator for the next few days til they hatch.

Fingers crossed. I love East Indies. Who did you get your eggs from?

Help please! I have 6 duck eggs due to hatch on Friday. I got back last night from a work weekend away and I heard one pipping, and another had a little hole already - 4 or 5 days early!!!

The one with the hole unfortunately died during hatch - I'm about to do take a look and see if it's all fully formed etc. They hadn't gone into lockdown because that wasn't supposed to happen so early - my husband was still turning them over the weekend, we're still only on day 24. Others in there are pipping and rocking - what should I do? Go into lockdown? Any ideas why the one that pipped died? I just don't know why they're all hatching so early

Deep breath. Ducklings tend to come three days early for me. All my presets are accurate, but most of my eggs are super-fresh and I think that may be the variable.

I usually lock mine down when I candle and see the first internal pip. It's more reliable than any calendar for me.

If you've checked with more than one thermometer and your temp is right on, then I'm stumped.

What are saddle cells?! Yeah if the cells are getting big already up the humidity abit. Have you seen that diagram that shows you air cell progress? It's pretty helpful.

Saddle cells look like they sound like they would. Usually occurs when eggs are shaken during shipping. I've got some locked down that are super-sketchy. Not doing the shipped eggs thing too many more times in this lifetime. I've got one that's got a Texas cell. As in: the air cell looks like the state of Texas!

i did rest them, but only about 10 hours, since they were shipped i wasn't sure of how old they were (and i was excited about getting them started...if i'm honest) and most of the floating air cells are gone already...blood rings and such. but i've been reading a lot on different threads about lockdown.... i was assuming it was day 23 for calls...is that right?? humidity is up between 55% and 60% now, and 3 thermometers tell me temp is 99.5-101.4....all over the place, but two are on top of the eggs (101.4 & 100.5) and 1 is in the middle (99.5) please lord, let me be not be responsible for murdering baby ducks!!! next time i will find someone in indiana with eggs and go pick them up myself!.... you have been so helpful qwackers, thank you so much! and you give great moral support too!

I would average the three. I have one of those heat-reading laser guns and I'll zap individual eggs if I'm getting weird readings.

Hi all

-

It's great to see such a community of supportive people!

I must say I've learned sooo much from everyone on BYC. Lockdown began yesterday and I haven't seen a pip or any rocking. I did notice that two of my eggs look like there is some sort of discoloration on the shell.

I'm worried because the last time I saw this "bruising," the duckling did not make it (it was about Day 15 or 16). My colleague and friend had one duckling hatch today and it was an amazing thing to see and so wonderful to hear the little peeps but I'm so worried that somewhere along the line I've done something incorrect.

The temperature has been consistent and the humidity has been increased since yesterday lockdown (I began lockdown at about 7:30am). Before lockdown all 6 were active and moving. How do I know if they are okay?

Thanks.

Jen

Hands off the eggies. Let them do their thing. I see you have a Hovabator. Is that the Genesis? You're golden. Best tabletop incubator ever.

And I just checked my other chicken eggs that are still in the bator and one's pipping through and another's chirping at me!! Oh my gosh how am I going to get anything done the next few days?!

Keep busy. That's my trick.

Hi qwackers! We did find that stinky egg! Thankfully! And we were all certain which egg it was hahah!

So I am still at work, setting up the brooders for all the teachers hatching ducklings and I have to share that one of the eggs with the discoloration finally pipped! A small spiderweb-like crack! I was so excited to see a little something going on!

I have to confess though, I feel horrible... I did the number one thing you should never do- none had pipped so I opened the 'bator and checked to be sure the ducks weren't pipping on the wrong side. I PROMISE TO NEVER OPEN IT AGAIN UNTIL THEY ARE HATCHED but I was so nervous!

Glad you got rid of the stinker. Now hands off those eggies!