Congrats to everyone!!! Those little babies are adorable! I was temporarily blinded by their cutness!! Thanks for all the pics. Now I want some. Have a great day and enjoy those little babies!
Jeanmarie
I don't know but i did the dry incubation and raised the humidity for the hatch and my duck eggs hatched.
But my chickens didn't i got only 5 out of 30 but i blame that on my LG hatcher being wonky with the temps.
My duck eggs were at 99.5 and in the 40s humidity thru the incubation and i raised it to the 60s for the hatch.
I didn't mist them at all and they came right out with no help.
Everyone seems to do it differently but this worked for me
I think a LOT has to do with your ambient temps and humidity. If I did what you did here in Colorado, I would have baby ducks dying because they got shrink-wrapped by the membrane. Of course, my normal air humidity is less than 25%. That has to be why there is so much variation in incubation methods.
So...we just took 23 indian runner eggs from the Humidaire to move it to the Hovabator for hatching and there were LOTS of them peeping and even a few tiny pips on some of the eggs!! This is so exciting!
My husband heard it and he was finally excited! "I hear them! I hear them!" He's been doing most of the "scientific" stuff because he likes it. Maybe he is developing a paternal instinct for these ducks?
Oh, boy, I can just picture Incubator number 5 now!
DuckyBoys is a BAD INFLUENCE!!! She has to sit on her hands!!! LOL. My first hatch she held my hand...but if she had been in the same room with me, her OTHER hand would have been in my bator, "helping" my goosies!!! LOL Gotta LOVE HER!
I agree with wifezilla with the average humidity. I live in central texas where the average humidity is ZERO unless it rains...which is once a month or so lately... If I don't spray/mist my eggs every couple of hours the humidity goes to ZERO, even with all the plugs in my bators!
In places like Ohio and gerogia, where the humidity rarely, if ever, drops below 50%, you should be fine dry incubating.
My hatch is STILL going on...I have one straggler who has decided the interior of the egg is a fine place to live and grow lol. They were all set the same day...but three days of pipping/zipping/hatching and I have SIX pure cayugas, and three blue swedish/rouen mix ducks, and the one straggler that is a rouen/pekin/swedish mix (i think).
The pilgrim goose eggs are due NOW and they're still rocking...PLEASE HATCH! lol
Next week...ANCONA DUCKS! My personal FAVORITE duck EVER!
I can get a 95% hatch on chicken eggs, now - been doing great with those (I'm overrun with chicks) but my waterfowl hatching leaves something to be desired.
I have a hard time keeping my hands out of the hatcher, too - which is probably part of my problem. I did pretty good last time - didn't "help" until Sloopy had been pipped for two whole days, then I just sort of tore the membrane a bit more for her and let her finish herself - she came out perfect. The other eggs didn't even pip (even though I had had an internal pip on one, then it must have died
)
I can't wait to finish my swaps to see if my Khaki call girl will go broody. I know she likes to hide her eggs on me, so maybe she wants to. My blue call duck hen was trying to go broody when the hawk got her (kept hiding the eggs down in the woods.)
I have the pen finished now, so the khaki girl can't hide them so strangely - they are easier to find. (although they pair of adults I have hate to be penned up - they love wandering the yard.)