August Hatch-A-Long

[Dispatch273]

AHhhhhhhhhhh!!! All these cute little fuzzbutts! I can't wait for mine to get here Monday! Today I moved my incubator containing my 16 eggs. They are now on lockdown at my new house! Hopefully when I get there tomorrow none have hatched yet!

 

[Deb B]

Gonna be a long night. Chicks are due tomorrow. I came home from work today to 3 pips. Now there are 7 pips. Still waiting on 4 to do something, although one that hasn't pipped yet I saw rocking. Soooooooo. Come on chickies, I've got the brooder all ready for ya!

 

[darkbluespace]

AHhhhhhhhhhh!!! All these cute little fuzzbutts! I can't wait for mine to get here Monday! Today I moved my incubator containing my 16 eggs. They are now on lockdown at my new house! Hopefully when I get there tomorrow none have hatched yet!

Mine are on lockdown too... might have the humidity a touch too high... keeping an eye on that.. Hope your move is going well!

 

[Tazbeaux]

Thanks, how will I know if I have enough air circulation? I am new and hoping to put some eggs in soon. Any way of telling prior to adding eggs or will I only know when I try to hatch the eggs?

Well it is hard to say. I am not a scientist, but I would think that chicks inside the shell don't really use up large quantities of oxygen, until they peck a hole in the shell so they can breathe. Ever tried to blow air through an egg shell? I think that if you have a few vent holes and open the bator 3 times a day to turn the eggs, it should be enough air flow. I would just try hatching small batches and see how it goes.

 

[darkbluespace]

Gonna be a long night. Chicks are due tomorrow. I came home from work today to 3 pips. Now there are 7 pips. Still waiting on 4 to do something, although one that hasn't pipped yet I saw rocking. Soooooooo. Come on chickies, I've got the brooder all ready for ya!

Yay pips! Funny how they just appear all of a sudden!

 

[Flutterbee]

My Golden Comet is on day sixteen of sitting on a clutch of thirteenish eggs. Wednesday is hopefully hatching day if all goes well! <3

 

[Tazbeaux]

Do you have pictures? Did you make it yourself?

Yes I did make it myself and here are a few pics. However I got the Hova-bator for such a great price, I think I spent more on the cardboard box. LOL

with the viewing window open


with the viewing window closed


inside view

 

[Tazbeaux]

This has been such a fun thread! A few weeks ago everyone was talking about their eggs and what they hoped to get. Then we were talking about the candling results, seeing veins and embryos. Then sadness for the early quitters and non pippers. Now we are starting to see the beautiful little chicks that made it.

I have followed all of you through it and lived it myself. I started with 26 eggs and am now down to 10 strong ones. I sure hope that next week at this time I will be showing off my new little flock to all of you. Happy Hatching! I LOVE BYC

 

[Mamasaurus]

Hi all,

Was going to start my own thread then caught sight of this one! I have had my duck eggs in lockdown for four days now - we are on day 29 of 28!! I had one very small pip last night at 9.30pm which I was ok with because I set them in the evening on Day 1.

I guess I'm just needing a bit of reassurance though - I've had nothing happen since!! Nothing I can see anyway!

I have read a lot of the threads re ducklings and I know I need to be a bit patient....there are two things I feel may be affecting my outcome, one is that I cannot tell what the humidity is in the bator, but I have been sure to keep the lid on and filled the outer channel (for higher humidity) as I candled for lockdown. 11 eggs that were growing nicely with a small pocket of yolk left to go on day 25!!

The other is that the incubator manufacturer had a suggested temp of 103F and it is even marked on the temp guage...after much reading, and allowing for ducks instead of chickens I went by the ever recommended 99.7F over the 25 days and have reduced it to 98.7F on hatch day.

Anything else I can do? Do I just need to wait?

 

[Tazbeaux]

Hi all,

Was going to start my own thread then caught sight of this one! I have had my duck eggs in lockdown for four days now - we are on day 29 of 28!! I had one very small pip last night at 9.30pm which I was ok with because I set them in the evening on Day 1.

I guess I'm just needing a bit of reassurance though - I've had nothing happen since!! Nothing I can see anyway!

I have read a lot of the threads re ducklings and I know I need to be a bit patient....there are two things I feel may be affecting my outcome, one is that I cannot tell what the humidity is in the bator, but I have been sure to keep the lid on and filled the outer channel (for higher humidity) as I candled for lockdown. 11 eggs that were growing nicely with a small pocket of yolk left to go on day 25!!

The other is that the incubator manufacturer had a suggested temp of 103F and it is even marked on the temp guage...after much reading, and allowing for ducks instead of chickens I went by the ever recommended 99.7F over the 25 days and have reduced it to 98.7F on hatch day.

Anything else I can do? Do I just need to wait?

I don't really know a lot about hatching ducks, but wish you luck with your hatch. I do have a question. Is your incubator a still air or does it it have a fan? That makes a difference at what temp you should set it to. If the manufacturer recommended 103, I am thinking that it is probably a still air. If the bator was a tad too cool then they may take longer to hatch.