BYC's 2026 Valentine's Day Hatch-Along

[casportpony]

ME, ME, ME!!
I was hoping someone would make a hatch-a-long, it's always fun to have somewhere to share the excitement.

I set 9 Muscovy duck eggs, evening the 6th. Very few to do the whole process of incubation, but that's the eggs I got...

And then I added 3 more yesterday that suddenly showed up in the duck coop. Muscovy-hatching can vary by many days, and I got a separate hatcher, so the time difference shouldn't be a problem.

The eggs were very cold when I collected them, and some were old and improperly stored for a while (before I made up my mind to incubate them). I've been candling them every day since day 1...
Day 4, yesterday, I clearly saw life in 8 out of 9! Which is fantastic! Eggs sure are resilient.

The point of the hatch is to get one magpie-patterned drake for a breeding project.

Welcome, fellow Muscovy hatcher!

 

[gullinkambe]

Day 5 candling of "The Nine" (a little Lord of the Rings-reference there). Also known as Shelf 1. Some good-looking veins on 8 out of 9. 3 looks like a dud, I'll keep it in there for a while longer.

The other 6 eggs will be Shelf 2. They're on day 1 and 2 now. Will candle those in a couple of days.
I learned who laid those eggs today, and happily it was the two ducks I hoped for! I'll save the rest of the eggs they lay from now on, and set them in a couple of weeks' time.

 

[redinator]

Only day 3 here 7 more days until I candle

 

[AinaWGSD]

I'm in! Not sure how many eggs I'll be setting yet, but I'm not getting my hopes up for a great hatch between a lack of layers and the cold that sets in tomorrow. I've only got two layers at the moment, an easter egger pullet that's just shy of her first birthday and a buckeye pullet that laid a handful of eggs in October and November ten stopped laying a little before the solstice and only just started up again last week.

We started collecting on the 5th, I know those older eggs are less likely to hatch, but we had really mild temperatures the beginning of the month. And, naturally, the next two weeks are supposed to be freezing, so the eggs we'll be collecting closer to setting run the risk of getting too cold.

I have 4 cockerels out there, 2 buckeyes and 2 malines. The malines are, I think, the more dominant roosters (they're 2.5 weeks older and twice as big).

 

[redinator]

Almost halfway to day 10

Still waiting for Cream legbar eggs to ship

 

[gullinkambe]

I'm in! Not sure how many eggs I'll be setting yet, but I'm not getting my hopes up for a great hatch between a lack of layers and the cold that sets in tomorrow. I've only got two layers at the moment, an easter egger pullet that's just shy of her first birthday and a buckeye pullet that laid a handful of eggs in October and November ten stopped laying a little before the solstice and only just started up again last week.

We started collecting on the 5th, I know those older eggs are less likely to hatch, but we had really mild temperatures the beginning of the month. And, naturally, the next two weeks are supposed to be freezing, so the eggs we'll be collecting closer to setting run the risk of getting too cold.

I have 4 cockerels out there, 2 buckeyes and 2 malines. The malines are, I think, the more dominant roosters (they're 2.5 weeks older and twice as big).

Trying to collect eggs while it's freezing outside is so frustrating, especially when the hens lay on unpractical times a day Crossing fingers you'll catch 'em all before they're too cold!

 

[AinaWGSD]

Trying to collect eggs while it's freezing outside is so frustrating, especially when the hens lay on unpractical times a day Crossing fingers you'll catch 'em all before they're too cold!

And we're not allowed roosters in town, so the farm flock is a 7 minute drive. Bless my husband, he's running out there at least twice a day!

 

[DemeterAD9]

Not hatching that day but I do plan on playing match maker by moving one group to a breeding pen that weekend. The girls are probably going to be mad for at least a week as they are used to free ranging.

 

[redinator]

I messaged the seller of the Cream legbar eggs. I was 5th in line 7 days, now I'm only up to spot 4.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

View attachment 4281092

Wish mine were laying.

I'm happy to be your Enabler for this hatch-a-long

I love my Muscovies. I've had/cared for a lot of different types of birds, and they're my favorite. Calm, BIG personalities, funny to watch, quiet. I also love how connected they get to me as ducklings when I'm their "mother".

Oh, I found another 5 eggs in the duck coop, 3 intact. I clearly need to do better searches The 3 will be joining their fellows.

You must be somewhere warmer than Wisconsin to have eggs already.

Goose eggs are on deck! Two days for most!

View attachment 4281546

No goose eggs either. Probably for the best. 20 is a good sized flock, I think.