A very stressed newbie

[Aidanhall92]

Hi all!
Hope some one can help!
I have 4 duck eggs in my brinsea incubator all of which internally pipped over 30 hours ago. There is still no sign of any external pips but i can still hear them chirping. How worried should I be?
Thanks!

 

[JaeG]

Did you see the shadow of their beak 30 hours ago? Ducks seem to do a lot of 'shadowing' pre internal pip. I'm in the process of hatching Muscovy eggs for the first time and this is something I noticed. For about 2-3 days before they actually pipped internally I could see shadowing in the air cell, but not their beak.

As long as they are still talking I think they are fine. If you notice a reduction in their vocalisations I would think about creating a safety hole. This is from the goose forum but it applies to ducks as well and is very thorough. Creating a safety hole is explained in this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed.491013/

 

[Aidanhall92]

It seems I may have been a bit premature! I have just found a little star shaped crack on one of my eggs. Im assuming I should leave them all alone?

 

[JaeG]

Sounds like they are doing just fine. Ducks are slow hatchers. Which is difficult for us spectators.

 

[Dees ducks]

I'm no expert - but yes I would leave alone. I would only start getting concerned if after another 24 hours there was no external pip from the others.
Good luck.......

 

[Aidanhall92]

Sounds like they are doing just fine. Ducks are slow hatchers. Which is difficult for us spectators.

Its a nightmare!! Haha

 

[Aidanhall92]

I'm no expert - but yes I would leave alone. I would only start getting concerned if after another 24 hours there was no external pip from the others.
Good luck.......

Thank you very much! I just need to keep busy now haha

 

[Dees ducks]

yep - keep busy......and I know what you're doing at the moment.......staring at the incubator won't make them hatch any quicker
I'm on day 27 of lockdown at the moment with no pips at all........am giving myself a headache staring at the incubator and going crossed eyed to boot!

 

[Aidanhall92]

Are you sure it doesnt make them hatch quicker haha Im driving myself mad lol

 

[Dees ducks]

Ha Ha, I have found though that bight light and duck sounds do indeed encourage them to hatch quicker (I kid you not!), specifically when you have an external pip. Bear in mind though that these little sweeties do need alot of rest in between bouts of hatching, so don't go blasting light at them constantly and light your incubator up like Las Vegas strip (or as we say in the UK - like Blackpool illuminations!).
OMG I should heed my own advice and put my torch away!