Day 28 of Mallard Incubating and Panicking!

[Sazzers]

I am a first time hatcher, in the UK with two Mallard duck eggs. They are at day 28 now, I have given them a quick candle and there is no sign of internal pip at all but they are moving, should I be worried? I AM WORRIED!

 

[Ratchnick]

Did you calibrate your thermometer

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ducklings don’t go by days and times. Some hatch before day 28 others not till day 30 just give them time. They must not be ready if they haven’t internally pipped. What has your temp an humidity been? @Isaac 0

 

[Sazzers]

temp has sat between 96-100 most of incubation, I didn't calibrate my thermometer but I have 3 of them, 2 digital and one old school and they are all about the same. Humidity hasn't been great though, between about 45-55%. I'm wondering if I have the day wrong now, just realised tomorrow is day 28 and I am also including the first day I put in the incubator so maybe I don't count that - fingers and toes and everything else crossed - any more advice would be great thank you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

No wonder they haven’t internally pipped. Hopefully @Isaac 0 or @Magnolia Ducks will be on soon since they are both experienced Hatcher’s I let my Muscovy do all the work.

 

[Ratchnick]

First that's a huge temp swing. If temps have been cold it will delay hatching.

 

[Ratchnick]

At this point just sit tight. If they dont hatch you know you need to improve your system.

 

[Isaac 0]

Welcome to BYC! @Sazzers

Generally, if they're moving along the Aircell you don't want to open the egg until a few hours after the internal pip has passed, if you do, the membrane may shrink before they are able to pip which may suffocate them. The only time we would want to assist ducklings before an internal pip is if they are trying to pip on the wrong part of the egg ( You may see a tiny hairline crack on the other side, or bruising which would indicate the duckling is trying to pip), if that were the case you may open where their bill is a bit, and widen as needed.

Another thing that may be a problem is how low your humidity is, when its that low the membrane may "shrink" the ducklings so they are unable to pip. You need to get the humidity raised right now, you can use a damp towel, or sponge, just don't have it touching the eggs or it may chill them.

If you can see them moving around the air cell when candling they probably aren't malpositioned. I would just give yours some time, I see that you said your temp was ranging from 96-100F, that's a pretty wide range, so perhaps they were running a bit cool which would likely affect their final hatch date.

Let's hope they make it out soon!

 

[Isaac 0]

How big does the air cell look?

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Nothing to add. Keep us posted.