Anyone hatching duck eggs right now?

[tia]

I keep my temperature at 99.5, but raise my humidity to 65. I just hatched some chicks for the first time. I don't think it is much different besides the number of days and higher humidity for the ducks. Good luck!!! I don't know what kind of incubator you have, but try not to open it after lock down. You don't want to lose that humidity.

 

[Islandmom511]

I am! I am a stay at home momhatching with my 3 year old daughter for a summer learning project. I hatched chicks before but its been years and did it as an at home project when i was a child. We have 3 small pekin duck eggs in a small "chickubator". They were laid on july 4th, 5th and6th but just started incubating yesterday (which is what i hear you count as how old they are) so i guess we are on day 2. I have made an at home candler and tried yrsterday (thinking they wrre on day 4 but later learned theyre day 1) and didnt see anything but a dark spot. We live on an acre and plan on keeping them and learning as we go so i think i will be turning here for lots of advice!

 

[Cynthia12]

Quote:
Welcome to this thread..and welcome to....

I go into lockdown next Tues. I am so hoping I get some folks on here to calm me down!

 

[Cynthia12]

It's Tues! Already! Trying to get humidity up to 80%. Nervous wreck. New to duck hatching. Three days to go.

 

[1234duck]

Good luck Cynthia12, you can do it. Lay a couple wash cloths in the bottom of the incubator..}}}Use"Warm"water to get them wet, when their nice & warm fold it in half, then ring out the water but not too tight. leave them damp/wet enough but so water"Won't drip"off.... It seems like with the twist in the wash cloth, it holds the warmth of the water in pretty good. I kept having humidity & temp spike issues till i finally figured out what worked best for me. I also use old but clean socks with warm water & i tie a knot in the socks, i make sure warm water is kinda in the knot(this is just my opinion) some i lay in the bottom of bator & some i put in a container or bowl under a vent hole so if needed i could add warm water to the bowl without opening the bator... once you lock down try to not open b/c you can lose the humidity. I'm almost done with my hatch. ~ Hatch day was Friday 8th. Good luck, ~Julie~

 

[LadyBirdsPalace]

I woke up to a new duckling this AM - Day 27, he/she is a BUFF and I have 6 Welsh eggs in there and 2 are busting out as I write this and one other has pipped.

I have chicks and turkeys in there also and the ducklings are the only ones doing anything... but like I said I am a day early also!

I have been between 75 - 78% humidity.

*Seen you over on the Hatching forum!

 

[destin0709]

I am patiently waiting for lockdown to come (it's not til the 22nd).

I candled and found 1 quitter.

The air space was at small end and when I checked last they were all on big end and wiggling around. I don't know what went wrong. I hope I don't loose anymore I have almost 2 weeks so I'll keep my fingers crossed. Congrats and Good Luck to all.

 

[Cynthia12]

Quote:
Day 27? Now you'll have me watching all day tomorrow!! I like that you posted that you had your humidity around 75~78. I won't worry about it not staying up around 80. I kind of thought it might be ok to be in the high 70's.

Who said they were on day 22? That's not too much longer.

 

[1234duck]

Sorry destin0709 about the quitter. Fingers are crossed for you that the rest will be a success.

Congrats LadyBirdsPalace, on your new ducky.

My humidity is 80-80+ Fingers are crossed for the rest of your hatch as well. Good luck, ~Julie~

 

[GrannyCarol]

I have some trouble hatching duckings. I live in semi desert, our starting humidity is about 25% and it's a bear getting it over 50%. Now, if I were just patient in the spring, my Saxonys go broody on the 1st of May like clockwork. Pumpkin hatched 10 of 12 eggs this year!

My duckings tend to be a slow hatch (probably the dryness, I even run a humidifier in the room with the incubator!) and I'm used to a day or more from first pip to the duckling, though they can be faster. They will hatch late for me too, I think my incubator tends to run cool.

This year was tough with the incubator - I ran it for three weeks, then checked the temperature with a new thermometer and realized I was running my still air at 103!! I turned it down, found I still had four wigglers from the outside corners... then the power company called and said they were going to turn off our power to work on the lines. I had the power out for 5 hours - put in hot water bottles and hoped. I hatched one of those eggs. I had Anconas sharing a nest for 5 weeks about this time... I pulled them off their eggs. Turned out they'd gotten 34 eggs in a little dog house and several of them were still alive on candling. I put them in the incubator and managed to hatch 4 of them - six weeks after the girls started sitting! I guess they kept laying, as they didn't have anywhere near 34 eggs when they started. I won't let those two do that again!

Next time the Saxony can do the work. I've two wonderful experienced Saxony mothers, they can each have a nest and hatch anything I need hatched on any given year and they won't be 103 or turn the power off!