Broody call duck eggs day 28 question

[kmpcfp]

Best guess my call duck is at day 28 of sitting on her 8 eggs. Last evening while she was off her nest, I quickly candled and 7 have internally pipped, the 8th was a quitter.

This is the first time I have let a broody hatch. All the rest of my ducks are from incubated eggs, which I did a safety hole with them and a few assists. Should I do a safety hole in the eggs with mom on the nest or will she know to help out if need be? I don't want to get too handsy with them, but I also don't want to lose them and I want mom to raise them.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Best guess my call duck is at day 28 of sitting on her 8 eggs. Last evening while she was off her nest, I quickly candled and 7 have internally pipped, the 8th was a quitter.

This is the first time I have let a broody hatch. All the rest of my ducks are from incubated eggs, which I did a safety hole with them and a few assists. Should I do a safety hole in the eggs with mom on the nest or will she know to help out if need be? I don't want to get too handsy with them, but I also don't want to lose them and I want mom to raise them.

How's it going now?
I try not to mess with eggs under my broody calls unless I just happen to notice something. They usually hatch on their own a lot better than in the incubator. And sometimes the mama duck will help them out too.

Sorry you didn't receive a response until now..

 

[kmpcfp]

Oh yeah, they ended up hatching out just fine. The 7 that were viable all hatched. The very first one I found outside of the nest Saturday morning next to half a shell. It was wet and cold, but still alive. I have no clue how it ended up out of the nest, no predators and a 2-3" lip on the nest. I am guessing the mom freaked and it was tossed/rolled out. Luckily it was still alive, so I warmed it up against me and put it back in the nest with his shell. She luckily took him back in. Then the rest all hatched within 24 hours.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Oh yeah, they ended up hatching out just fine. The 7 that were viable all hatched. The very first one I found outside of the nest Saturday morning next to half a shell. It was wet and cold, but still alive. I have no clue how it ended up out of the nest, no predators and a 2-3" lip on the nest. I am guessing the mom freaked and it was tossed/rolled out. Luckily it was still alive, so I warmed it up against me and put it back in the nest with his shell. She luckily took him back in. Then the rest all hatched within 24 hours.View attachment 2728081View attachment 2728077View attachment 2728076

Awesome!
Oh yeah I've had lots of them get out of the nest. It's crazy how those little ones can jump and hop around right off the bat.