April 2020 Hatch-A-Long! All are welcome!

[CluckNDoodle]

Well just went to check out my broody and she uppped and left her eggs and gone to sit in the main nest box the eggs are all cold. She has been sitting on them last night and then part of today. I've put them into my incubator but I guess the chance of them developing is pretty much close to 0?

Not at all! Hope is not lost! Depending on how long she was off of them and how far along they are they might not have been harmed at all. It's a common mistake that broody hen's make when there are lots of nest boxes to choose from. I had 3 broody hens at once that were always playing musical nest boxes, lol. You could always move her to a designated broody pen now and once she settles in you can give the eggs back to her without any issues of her going to the wrong box.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Well just went to check out my broody and she uppped and left her eggs and gone to sit in the main nest box the eggs are all cold. She has been sitting on them last night and then part of today. I've put them into my incubator but I guess the chance of them developing is pretty much close to 0?

Or you can give her the chicks once they've hatched by waiting until after dark and placing them under her wings.

 

[gmjarvi]

I love candling. I just can't help myself. I've learned a ton from it but at time I've definitely done more harm than good. This is my first time with duck eggs. Learning all I can about development.

I'd go with your instinct on this one. Shipped eggs need as little handling as possible. I would not have been able to see these subtle changes this early on if candling upright. Which is how I incubate and hatch shipped eggs. Not sure how you have yours but something to consider.

I love it, too. Seeing the little babies wriggle inside, ugh! It has been so hard to wait with these duck eggs, but I'm going to stick to my guns. I really want as many to hatch as possible and there are only 8 . I'd love to get a trio out of them and sell the remaining ducks to pay for themselves.

I don't think my incubators can do upright incubation, but it's definitely something I'm planning to try at some point.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I love it, too. Seeing the little babies wriggle inside, ugh! It has been so hard to wait with these duck eggs, but I'm going to stick to my guns. I really want as many to hatch as possible and there are only 8 . I'd love to get a trio out of them and sell the remaining ducks to pay for themselves.

I don't think my incubators can do upright incubation, but it's definitely something I'm planning to try at some point.

I've been told that ducks do better incubating on their sides, just FYI.

 

[gmjarvi]

Well just went to check out my broody and she uppped and left her eggs and gone to sit in the main nest box the eggs are all cold. She has been sitting on them last night and then part of today. I've put them into my incubator but I guess the chance of them developing is pretty much close to 0?

This happened to me in November with my silkie. I was so disappointed and didnt have an incubator at the time, so I just took all the eggs and broke her broodiness. She is broody again, and I found that it really helped if I collected all other eggs in the boxes either before she got up to eat, or while she was eating in the morning (the sound of me putting scraps and water out, shaking or filling the feeder, etc. always got her to come out to eat and drink). If there was only one place with eggs, she couldn't get confused and sit in the wrong box.

Eventually I started having issues with hens picking on her, trying to steal eggs, and laying too many eggs in her box, though. I moved her to her own private quarters in my house while she broods so nobody can bother her and she can set in peace. When her chicks are about a week old they will all get moved to a big dog crate in the garage. When they are bigger I will reintegrate everybody to the flock.

This year we are building a larger coop and run set up, and I plan on putting a prefab coop inside the run to use as a broody coop.

 

[gmjarvi]

I've been told that ducks do better incubating on their sides, just FYI.

This is wonderful news for me! I dont think an upright bator will happen until next year lol.

 

[plum14]

Or you can give her the chicks once they've hatched by waiting until after dark and placing them under her wings.

Yes I've done that very successfully before

She's a first timer sooooo...

 

[plum14]

Not at all! Hope is not lost! Depending on how long she was off of them and how far along they are they might not have been harmed at all.

Thanks for the hope!! They were definitely cold, but I'd only given her them last night...

 

[plum14]

This year we are building a larger coop and run set up, and I plan on putting a prefab coop inside the run to use as a broody coop.

I'd put her in a different coop within the main run, but she left that to go back to the main coop to be broody! The broody coop isn't big enough to totally shut her in...so I left the door open

 

[plum14]

I wonder if the broody coop isn't private enough for her it's an eglu go, maybe I could build a box to go inside it or something