Can they really stay in the incubator 3 days?

[ecse129]

I am hatching ducks right now and my ducks are typically pretty late hatchers. They may pip on day 28 but typically take until day 30 to really hatch. However it seems I have a super eager duck on my hands who is going to be out either at the very end of day 27 (today) or very early part of day 28(tomorrow/Saturday). The others in the incubator haven't even pipped yet. I don't want to take him out of the incubator by himself, but I don't expect the others to hatch/be ready to come out until Monday. I know with chicks and ducks they say they can be in the incubator for 3 days, it still worries me leaving the guy in there until Monday. Should I put some water and food in there for him or just trust that he will have absorbed enough nutrients from his yolk to last until Monday? I will be out of town Saturday night through Monday so I need to figure out by tomorrow night what to do with the little guy.

 

[what did I do]

I would move it to a brooder with food and water, and add a stuffed animal for it to snuggle with. Have a fun trip.