Attention Muscovy lovers

[Dianne88]

I'm kinda getting nervous now! I candled again before I went to bed and there was no change. I thought by this morning I would see some peeping action!!! I really want to intervene but scared that would kill them!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm kinda getting nervous now! I candled again before I went to bed and there was no change. I thought by this morning I would see some peeping action!!! I really want to intervene but scared that would kill them!

You said you saw one internal pip last night? when you hold the egg up to your ear do you hear any peeping? once they internal pip it can still take 24 hrs before you see external.

 

[laughingdog]

I just had to read through the saga also of "as the eggs turn".. lol. if in florida and have ferals, supposedly most are the huge commercial Hatchery and culinary stock abandoned and released, some accidentally by storms, or escaped. i don't know, just what read, and seen in many picks. hoping for your eggs, and that brings back great karma for mine as well. why don't you who are having hatching trouble get feral, or just put money towards buying broody hen? was what i want to do as mine siblings mozt probly, and wanted differant type of male, but he turned friendlyish quick, and then decided after reading ykung duck hen horror stories to just let her try to hatch and raise clutch, to let her test herself and learn hopefully from trying to brood.

my hen duck is now sitting on fifteen big white eggs, one on end i candled as fertile after setting for maybe almost week. I'm still thinking of trying to find feral or from dark/er scovy/salso, to put under her with these. my hen duck keeps bringing water with bill, wetting under feathers to wet, and putting wet materials in her nest and directly on her eggs.. wondering about that, as artificial incubation advice always says to keep dry, and florida full of breeding ferals that need to stay close to water and so nest by, and florida extremely high humidity..??? I'm in east TN, so wouldn't know for sure past what mine and other area scobys do, as humidity gets high here, but not as high as florida, but all here say they just let nest in rotting wet vegetation, mud and or own manure, most locally just kept in small bare areas in open no shelter, and all say have eighty something to hundred percent hatch rate. yet in incubatores said to much humidity makes them drown in shell. i must be missing something, and need experiences from more varied group from other areas.

 

[Dianne88]

You said you saw one internal pip last night? when you hold the egg up to your ear do you hear any peeping?  once they internal pip it can still take 24 hrs before you see external.

I'm going to go look and listen and get right to you and let you know .

 

[Miss Lydia]

I just had to read through the saga also of "as the eggs turn".. lol. if in florida and have ferals, supposedly most are the huge commercial Hatchery and culinary stock abandoned and released, some accidentally by storms, or escaped. i don't know, just what read, and seen in many picks. hoping for your eggs, and that brings back great karma for mine as well. why don't you who are having hatching trouble get feral, or just put money towards buying broody hen? was what i want to do as mine siblings mozt probly, and wanted differant type of male, but he turned friendlyish quick, and then decided after reading ykung duck hen horror stories to just let her try to hatch and raise clutch, to let her test herself and learn hopefully from trying to brood.

my hen duck is now sitting on fifteen big white eggs, one on end i candled as fertile after setting for maybe almost week. I'm still thinking of trying to find feral or from dark/er scovy/salso, to put under her with these. my hen duck keeps bringing water with bill, wetting under feathers to wet, and putting wet materials in her nest and directly on her eggs.. wondering about that, as artificial incubation advice always says to keep dry, and florida full of breeding ferals that need to stay close to water and so nest by, and florida extremely high humidity..??? I'm in east TN, so wouldn't know for sure past what mine and other area scobys do, as humidity gets high here, but not as high as florida, but all here say they just let nest in rotting wet vegetation, mud and or own manure, most locally just kept in small bare areas in open no shelter, and all say have eighty something to hundred percent hatch rate. yet in incubatores said to much humidity makes them drown in shell. i must be missing something, and need experiences from more varied group from other areas.

Best to just leave it to the duck, she knows what she's doing.

 

[Dianne88]

OK, I candled again and the one that I believed internally peeped (has a "V" shape in it's air cell) is still the same, it wiggles around and when I held it to my ear and lightly tapped it it seem to tap back. The other 3 look the same and are still wiggling but no tapping, When I was listening to the last egg someone in the incubator squeaked!! I'm happy to know they are all alive and I guess I will be sitting on my hand for the rest of the day!!

On another note, my shy little ducklings especially the drake (Ricky) has learned to boss the pullets around!

They have 3 sources of water but all want to drink from the same one! He is getting sooooooo Big and Pretty, Lucy is petite and filling out nicely. I will try to get close ups today while I'm putting sand in the coop.

 

[Miss Lydia]

OK, I candled again and the one that I believed internally peeped (has a "V" shape in it's air cell) is still the same, it wiggles around and when I held it to my ear and lightly tapped it it seem to tap back. The other 3 look the same and are still wiggling but no tapping, When I was listening to the last egg someone in the incubator squeaked!! I'm happy to know they are all alive and I guess I will be sitting on my hand for the rest of the day!!

On another note, my shy little ducklings especially the drake (Ricky) has learned to boss the pullets around!

They have 3 sources of water but all want to drink from the same one! He is getting sooooooo Big and Pretty, Lucy is petite and filling out nicely. I will try to get close ups today while I'm putting sand in the coop.

Sounds like all is good, so now keep the humidity up and bator closed. lol and look forward to pics of Ricky and Lucy

 

[charlindabob]

OK, I candled again and the one that I believed internally peeped (has a "V" shape in it's air cell) is still the same, it wiggles around and when I held it to my ear and lightly tapped it it seem to tap back. The other 3 look the same and are still wiggling but no tapping, When I was listening to the last egg someone in the incubator squeaked!! I'm happy to know they are all alive and I guess I will be sitting on my hand for the rest of the day!!

OK, you got me sittin' on pins & needles too! I am excited for you and the eggs and hoping for a great hatch of them AND pictures too! Mine are on day 24 and since I also live in Florida (the humidity capital of the USA or so it seems) I am following your hatch with great interest.

After an internal pip into the air sac, I would wait 12 hours and if no external pip I think I might make a small 1/16th hole in the end of the egg into the air sac. I know that this is the most critical time of the whole process and many ducklings die in the shell at this time. A small hole after 12 hours of an internal pip would give the hatchling some air and a small 1/16th hole is small enough to keep the inside from drying out. DON'T DO THIS ON MY SAY SO, as I am just thinking out loud and I haven't done it myself, just what I MIGHT do if mine don't externally pip after 12 hours of an internal pip. Do keep plenty of air flow and incubator vents 100% open.

Fingers still crossed for you.

 

[Miss Lydia]

OK, you got me sittin' on pins & needles too! I am excited for you and the eggs and hoping for a great hatch of them AND pictures too! Mine are on day 24 and since I also live in Florida (the humidity capital of the USA or so it seems) I am following your hatch with great interest.

After an internal pip into the air sac, I would wait 12 hours and if no external pip I think I might make a small 1/16th hole in the end of the egg into the air sac. I know that this is the most critical time of the whole process and many ducklings die in the shell at this time. A small hole after 12 hours of an internal pip would give the hatchling some air and a small 1/16th hole is small enough to keep the inside from drying out. DON'T DO THIS ON MY SAY SO, as I am just thinking out loud and I haven't done it myself, just what I MIGHT do if mine don't externally pip after 12 hours of an internal pip. Do keep plenty of air flow and incubator vents 100% open.

Fingers still crossed for you.

Do you also follow Pete's guide? he talks about making the small air hole too. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed

 

[charlindabob]

Do you also follow Pete's guide? he talks about making the small air hole too. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed

I have TWO BYC icons on my desktop, one is Pete's guide and the other is Incubating and Hatching Muscovy Eggs by yinepu. I have read both several times and I have returned to both of them here lately since I also have Muscovy AND Embden eggs in the incubator. I am not sure about putting a hole in the Muscovy egg air sac, but if it works for the goose it may also work for the Muscovy. My comment above is only a thought, but it does sound very logical to me. Many have said "let nature take its course" or something to that effect about helping in the hatching process, but I also believe that we are not incubating and hatching as a mother hen or nature, but we are doing it artificially and are prone to error so why not intervene if necessary? I've had many a chick that I helped hatch grow up and be as healthy and productive as ones I didn't help.

I also want to make sure nobody follows my train of thought because it is not advice, I barely know what I'm doing myself when it comes to duck & goose eggs....
As you know, I am keeping a diary of sorts on my Muscovy eggs and in less than two weeks (hopefully), we will see how they went. I could still lose all of them yet. The trickiest part is the hatching. I haven't counted my chickens, er ducklings just yet....

Diane88, any good news? You passing out cigars?