Candling during lockdown

[JessicaB721]

So I'm just curious if I can candle my duck egg during the lockdown period. I have one day left in my incubator until "hatch day", and I'm really wanting to candle the egg to make sure there is still movement in there. Or should I just wait another 3 days or so before I get worried; if there is still no sign of the baby trying to hatch out?

 

[JessicaB721]

Oh, you have ducks. Ducks take even longer to zip from

Update?

I have an update!! ♥

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

I’m a hands-on hatcher, but it’s not recommendable to candle your eggs in lockdown, due to chances of malpositioning the embryo.

I wouldn’t candle them until there is reason to worry.

 

[JessicaB721]

Awwe! Yay!

Thanks! I was so worried I did something wrong the last few days! Now I'm just letting the little one get all dried off in the incubator and them putting them in their little set up! ♥

 

[Ridgerunner]

What breed are your ducks? Most breeds take 28 days but at least one (Muscovy) takes 35 days. Hopefully yours are not cross breeds.

An easy way to check your counting whether you have the 21 days for chickens or 28 or 35 days for ducks is that the day of the week you set them is the day of the week the 21, 28, or 35 days are up. If they were set on a Friday then "hatch day" is a Friday. But that "hatch day" is just a target. For many different reasons it is not unusual for eggs to hatch a couple of days early or late whether in an incubator or under a broody. Many people on here have killed their chicks by thinking the "hatch day" was fixed in stone. It's not, patience can save chicks' or ducklings' lives.

I don't hatch ducks, just chickens and occasionally turkeys. Some of my hatches are totally over within 24 hours of the first chick hatching. Those are nice. I've had some that stretched over 48 hours from when the first egg hatched until the last. These are the ones that really drive you wild. In one specific hatch I had one egg hatch a couple of days early in the evening. It was the following evening before I even saw a pip just before I went to bed. When I woke up another 16 had hatched, the hatch was over. I'll admit, that was kind of nerve wracking.

I'm not a hands on hatcher. Unless I have a reason I don't open the incubator during lockdown. If I have a reason I'll take the risk and open the incubator but impatience is not a reason for me. An example where I have opened it was when an egg that had not hatched got cupped in a half egg from a chick that had hatched so it would have trouble pipping and zipping. Before you freak out and panic that almost never happens but I would consider that an emergency. In general, I find the less I interfere with a broody hen or in an incubator the less harm I do. I know I'm being snarky but I find that hands on hatchers are often the best experts on dealing with eggs that are having trouble hatching.

I don't know of any good way to see how the hatchling is doing before it external pips unless you do candle it. Before a chick hatches it has to do certain things. It has to position itself, dry up blood vessels external to it and absorb the blood, absorb the yolk, internal pip, and do some other things. Some eggs start parts of this before internal pip, these are the nice ones that hatch fairly quickly after external pip. Some do most if these things between external pip and zip, these can really worry you. If you try to help a chick before it is ready to hatch you can kill it. Maybe it hasn't absorbed the yolk. If it hasn't dried up the blood vessels it can bleed to death. I find it hard to know when a chick really needs help.

I also find it challenging to know when the hatch is really over. A chick can live for over 72 hours after hatch because it absorbed the yolk, that's why they can be mailed. I'm not in a huge hurry to take the chicks out of the incubator. While some hatches really drag out a few at a time I can generally tell when they are done, but I've been through a few. Some people argue that it's best to get the chick out as soon as it dries off. It might be best for that individual chick but I consider it best to not shrink wrap a chick. We all have our opinions on what "best" means. I have shrink wrapped a chick when I opened the incubator so I believe it can happen.

I hesitate to mention this because some people just can't wait and try this even before hatch day. But to make you feel better after you think the hatch is over you can do one last test, called a float test. If you put an egg that has not pipped in a calm bowl of water it should float. If the egg wiggles you know there is a live chick in it so put it back in the incubator. If it doesn't wiggle that egg will not hatch. Or you can candle. I consider this float test a last ditch emergency as you are throwing the eggs away. As long as the egg has not pipped you won't hurt a chick by floating it in water a short time. This late in the hatch you won't wash the bloom off of the egg to let bacteria inside the egg.

 

[JessicaB721]

I candle the eggs before I put them in lock down, air bubble up. If you have to open the incubator, spray some water so they dont shrink wrap... but I wouldn't recommend it. They hatch just fine.

I pretty much checked everyday for the last week up until the lockdown period! I guess I'm just anxious!!

 

[FeatherTay]

Awwe! Yay!

 

[yakitori]

So I'm just curious if I can candle my duck egg during the lockdown period. I have one day left in my incubator until "hatch day", and I'm really wanting to candle the egg to make sure there is still movement in there. Or should I just wait another 3 days or so before I get worried; if there is still no sign of the baby trying to hatch out?

Depending the ambient humidity where you live, it may or may not be okay to take the eggs out to candle. If humidity is low where you live you will risk shrink wrapping the chick. You can candle all the way up to the external pip without too much concern for shrink wrapping... but be aware of how you orient your eggs, some people say that disturbing the eggs too much during lock down may mess up the chick's orientation for pip. I personally haven't experienced such a thing, but I don't doubt that it can happen.

I know you are anxious, taking the egg out to inspect during this time doesn't really help the chick in anyway, I would advise you to leave it in there until you see an external pip. Most of the hatch issues a potentially healthy chick is met with comes after the external pip (can't zip etc). Often times when a chick doesn't make it to pip, it is because they have some kind of developmental issue.

 

[JessicaB721]

Is this your first hatch?

Make sure it’s hatch day by counting ‘day 1’ 24 hours after the egg(s) are put in the incubator.

Yes if is.
It has an automatic countdown timer built in. So according to that I officially have one day left until "hatch day".

 

[yakitori]

I appreciate the feedback. But I'm just worried that if the baby needs help getting the shell broken, to start, how would I know? How many days after the "hatch day" should I wait to check on them?

if the chick external pips the right end, you should give them 24 hours to zip.
if they pip the wrong end (small end)they may take up to 48hours.
The zip should be pretty quick, 15mins-1 hour in my experience. If they have trouble zipping, that's when you should step in.

Most likely they won't need your help.

After they pip externally, which usually shows up as a vague crack in the shell and not a hole, they will be verrrrrry quiet while they focus on absorbing the rest of the yolk. If you can see their beak, this yolk absorption process will be apparent in a yawning/chewing motion. When the chick is ready to zip, there will be visible movement, and if the chick is having trouble you will witness bursts of energy and chirping as it struggles to zip. This will be the optimum time to help the chick.

You can check on the egg and candle if you don't see an external pip. you can make a safety hole if the chick has internally pipped and is alive.

I highly recommend reading the assisted hatching thread a few times over, it has definitely helped me tremendously.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching.64660/

your anxiety is completely understandable, I was too with my first hatch