Desperately Trying to Hatch Ducklings

[Mrichard0930]

Weekend went so well! I was thinking “how are these blood vessel things gonna cover the whole egg?????” And to my surprise, the whole egg is covered now and the black embryo inside is HUGE! Air sacks look like they’re a good size and I’m on day 14!!!! My friend came over to see them last night and was like “colleen, why do you have written down that you only have five? There are 6 in here” and in my frenzy of counting and making sure temp / humidity is all good I was totally miscounting again and again! Talk about a brain fart but a great one! So I have 6 little eggs dancing around!!! I’m leaving on Friday for a wedding over the weekend and teaching my house sitter how to care for them when I’m gone. I’m nervous but I’m hoping they’re stable enough right now so that nothing will happen while I’m away as long as my house sitter follows the instructions, fingers crossed another 14 days and the babies will be here! I

Yeay omg omg more than you thoghht how exciting !! You’re at half way point !

 

[ColleenRyan]

The only thing that’s a bit confusing is some air sacks are bigger than the others and I don’t want to turn the humidity way down and harm the ones with great development so I’m trying to keep it around 30-40% (top) until lockdown

 

[ColleenRyan]

Hi guys! I’m on day 22 of 28 and their air cells are perfect, they’re all moving even though it’s hard to see and I’m just prepping for lockdown. Any advice on the end of the incubation journey?

 

[Pyxis]

That's great news! Just keep doing what you're doing, and get ready to lock down on day 25

 

[Lil Drake40]

Looking forward to seeing some babies real soon!!!

 

[Mrichard0930]

Awesome to hear I cannot wait to see them hatching and glad the wknd went well

 

[WVduckchick]

 

[ColleenRyan]

I saw little beaks peeking into the air pocket today! It’s crazy! Some seem like they’re a littttle further along than others but not by much at all. Lock down starts tomorrow! Raising humidity— do I drop temp at all or keep it as it has been? And once the duckling is hatched how long should the little babe stay in the incubator before I place him / her in their little home with a heat lamp, water and food?

 

[Miss Lydia]

@WVduckchick
@shawluvsbirds
@Pyxis

 

[shawluvsbirds]

So exciting isn't it!
I didn't lower the temperature when I hatched mine. I have seen that recommended. . but I don't believe it is necessary. You can remove the little ones as soon as they are dry and fluffed up and have their bearings after about an hour or so but it is safe to leave them in longer if you need to. A lot of times they will lay out and sleep for quite a while and make you think they are dead after they hatch so don't panic. I like to try and get them to eating and drinking pretty soon after I put them in the brooder sometimes I have dipped their little bills in the water to show them how to drink. But don't panic if they don't have much interest in eating and drinking for a while. They should be able to survive off of the yolk they have absorbed for at least 24 hours. I also like to put my food and water in the middle of the brooder with the heat source at one end for the first day so they don't have to get too far from the warmth to eat and drink. But then I move it farther away from the heat after the first day. You should soon be able to tell if they are too warm or cold by the way they act and adjust your heat source accordingly.