could someone please help me!!!waiting on eggs to hatch!!!

[Miss Lydia]

OMGosh they are so precious! What do you do with all of your ducks? I only have 8 [Muscovy] and thats alot for my little place I have 51/2 acres but it's mostly wooded so Their space is about the size of half a football field, I want runners now when mine start going to ducky heaven, I thought I wanted Cayuga but runners are so sweet looking. What kind of temperment do they have?

 

[DanceswLabs]

They are adorable! Congratulations!!!!

 

[duckyfromoz]

That last photo is so gorgeous... How many have hatched so far?? Any more to go??? I woke this morning to find a crack in a shell. I set up the hatcher to be ready for transferring the eggs when I got home.. now I have 6 cracks in the shells- and 3-4 others that have broken through the inner membrane. I dont think I will be getting much sleep this weekend.

 

[indianrunner]

i have ten hatched now and waiting on number 11 who has been working really hard to get out!!! how long does it take them to find their feet some have but still a little unsteady but there are 3 that seem to be really slow at it when i am one on one with them not so bad but in the brooder not as good!!! little worried but i guess its still early was going to call the poultry ppl tomorrow if nothing had changed and see what they said!!! my god they are a loud bunch got home from work andas soon as i started talking they went nuts they really must know my voice....

 

[katharinad]

Duckling are only as strong as the egg was. What I'm trying to say is that it is important for the mother to be on full vitamins and minerals while laying or the eggs have some deficiencies with will be passed on to the chick. Feed, even layer feed does not have enough. Perhaps enough for chicken, but never for ducks. You have to supplement the laying hens with it in their drinking water. People seem to miss this little fact. So if the eggs were not loaded you end up with weaker chicks. Most deficiency eggs will die between day 10-20. A low incubation rate will tell tell. You are still not at loss once born, but you have to give the ducklings this special water. I give it to mine as soon as they are born, I make each one take a sip before I put them into the brooder. Weak ones I keep in the hatcher longer and give them this water by hand every 3 hours. I also keep all my ducklings on this water for the first 10 days of their life. This gives them a strong start. They do not get regular tap water until they are 11 days old. That usually takes care of things. A product I like to use, and I'm sure feed stores have similar products, is:
https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=231
After 10 days they get it weekly until they are 12 weeks old, after that monthly. Laying hens with eggs used for incubation get it 2-3 times per week.

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
Oh, how cute, cute cute! However, I do hope they find their legs soon.

 

[indianrunner]

katharinad, thank you for that information about the water, i wasnt aware of this! i have asked around as to what extra i can do for my ducks and this is the first i have heard of this! i will be calling my feed supplier first thing! i love my ducks so much and would do anything to make them healthier and happier, so any advice is more than welcome here! they seem to be a little better than last night but not what i was hoping for! so with these 3 weaker ducklings if they are weak now and happen to live will this mean that they now have a weak gene its something they will live with
and if breed later in life that could be passed on?

 

[duckyfromoz]

My last hatch was nearly the same- 11 hatched with the last one struggling. And as it turns out I have 11 eggs in the hatcher now. All have have broken through the inner membrane but 2 have yet to break through the shell.

Sorry to hear a few of them arent doing so well. Hatching can really take its toll on them- especially if they were a little dry in the egg or they needed help. To that last little one..." Come on duckie...You can do it!!! Its a personal decision as to if you give assistance or not- I have helped them in the past- but have now learnt to let nature take its course mostly. The only time I intervene is when incubator conditions has left the membrane very dry. After all- incubating eggs in a machine is not the natural way- so moistening the membranes is all I do to help. I have found in the past that in a lot of cases- the duckling was very small, weak, deformed or something else was an issue and helping them hatch was not the kindest thing for them. So now I just let them do it. If they hatch Great...But if they dont make it- it was survival of the fittest. After all...my intentions are not to breed an inferior strain of ducks but to improve the line to preserve its future.

AS Katrinad said- The egg itself can be deficient when laid- but the feed we have available out here seem to be different out here than in America. They are a more complete feed that does not need to be supplemented unless the birds are somehow sick in some way and need a boost. Freeranging birds that are provided with pellets ( I use barastock products mostly. ) should not have issues with that out here. I am aware that there is a bloodline of ducks here that do seem to have kind of genetically caused weakness. Not too sure where your ducks have come from- but since you are in Tassie- they may have been from Victorian birds. I know of a number of people here who have issues with White Runner ducklings hatching with poor co-ordination and deficiencies that are not solely diet related.

Solvita is what I use as a vitamin supplement- available at pet shops and feed and produce stores. If they are actually deficient- they need more than the recommended dose on the packs- as that is a maintenance level - intended for use in already healthy birds- they need more to " catch up" if they are deficient. The problem of course is...which vitamin in particular they are deficient in- as you can actually do some harm if overdosing them on other vitamins. Anyway...Its usually not such a complicated issue.. If they were meant to survive...they will pick up in the day or two once they start eating more. ( I have PMed you some other information )

 

[indianrunner]

yeah i only helped one and already regret it.... but i cant tell them apart so not to sure if its one of the weaker ones!! i have ten thats completely hatched now i had one trying to get out last night but since this morning i and not getting any reaction from it or any movements its not like what the others were like so i am taking that it has died... huge shame as it had been trying for a couple days i think the 12th one might end up the same though it is out a bit more than the one i think has die and its still moving but looks to be very very weak! i did wet the membrane but thats as for as i will help this time!!! mother nature has it in her own hands now!!! i got my runners from two different breeders in tassie i got my girls from a guy in launceston whos family have been breeding them for years and were bred from unrelated ducks! i wasnt planning on getting drakes but i over heard somone at a show saying they were over run with drakes and they were going to cut their heads off...........so me being the person i am couldnt let them do that!!!as for knowing where they came from tassie is as far back as i got out of them!!! the poultry clubs here said the guy in launceston has a really good reputation for his ducks.

 

[katharinad]

Get niacin, because ducks need lots of it. Niacin is vitamin B and you should be able to find it in the vitamin section of your food store. You need 100mg per 4 liters of water. That will help with coordination and leg strength. It doesn't have to be a genetic thing, but it can be running in the duck family you have. I had ducks that seem to be weak in their legs just from the position they were in the egg. They will recover within a day or two. Anyway this and the vitamins from the pet/feed store should take care of it. Duckyfromoz is down under and know more in regards to what is available down there. Good luck with the little ones.

Duckling should be out within 24-48 hours after they piped externally. I start to help if they are taking too long. Most of the time they are in one spot and can zip around the shell due to shrink wrapping. You basically break the shell away to the half mark of the egg and slowly peel the membrane back. Stop if it bleed and put the baby back in for 4 more hours. If it is not out by then peel a little bit more back, but never pull the duck out. It has to make it by itself.