Ancona ducks - expected hatch 4/30

[HippieHomesteader]

Just set my first dozen eggs, ancona ducks I got locally. I'm incubating in an LG still air. I've got the Storey's Guide and I've done tons of research... I've got charts and procedures and it's like a science lab around my incubator... I've also got a two year old who keeps saying, 'I must hold baby duck now, please.' Should make for an interesting month!

Right now I'm sitting on my hands since I just set them two hours ago and I know it will take a while for the temperature to stabilize.

 

[HippieHomesteader]

I'm about 4 hours into day 5, and I can now see faint blood vessels in every egg!! The air cells are growing at an excellent rate, and so far I'm really pleased with the LG. I've had no temperature fluctuations, and no issues with humidity. Now I'm going to go knock on wood and hope the hatch stays this good!

 

[HippieHomesteader]

I can see movement in over half the eggs!! I'm on day 9 now, hoping to see movement in the rest in the next few days.

 

[HippieHomesteader]

I ended up tossing one egg at day 14, it developed normally but quit around day 12. I'm heading into lockdown now, still working on getting the humidity up. I've got 11 eggs, all showing movement, most with excellent weight loss (right around 13% at day 24), and a few wobbling already. As soon as I get the humidity up, I'll be working on getting the brooder set up.

 

[HippieHomesteader]

I've got at least one internal pip, and I can hear the sweet little peep peep peep. I expect to see an external pip from the first one by late tonight.

 

[HippieHomesteader]

Here's the results of my hatch: