Desperately Trying to Hatch Ducklings

[ColleenRyan]

It should be close. A degree in f is about 5/9 of a c degree.

My humidity also got so much higher after I had the egg crack and I had to quickly clean it out. It’s about 60% and I’ll be on day 6 tomorrow night. I just put a little paper towel in the corner to see if maybe it’ll absorb some moisture. I would take the eggs out and try to pour what little water is in there out a bit but since the temp has been low I don’t wanna risk them being out unnecessarily long! Ah. I had no idea how stressful this process could be! I have 12 eggs and honestly I would be thrilled if I just got three little ducklings

 

[cppeace]

high humidity that early mostly will just make the growth slower. The high humidity issue is generally only a major problem if long term or after day 12 or 13 in ducks.

 

[ColleenRyan]

high humidity that early mostly will just make the growth slower. The high humidity issue is generally only a major problem if long term or after day 12 or 13 in ducks.

i was able to raise the temp a bit and i found a new sponge and cut a piece off to put inside so hopefully that soaks up some humidity!

 

[alfalahi]

from my experience to increase humidity all i do is spray the duck's eggs with water 2 times a day , had great success with this method

good luck

Hi guys,

Some of you might have read I had three pet ducks and I'm almost convince I've narrowed the predator who took my babies to an owl. I live in NJ and this winter I heard their scared quack and my boyfriend checked on them and a huge Snowy Owl was sitting on their hutch staring at them. Apparently they've been a huge problem in my area.

Losing them has been so hard. I never knew I could love a duck just as much as one of my dogs or cats but I had been letting her keep her eggs. I know some are probably too old but I took them all anyway.

I got this incubator: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073XD9GZ1/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was delivered last night, I let it run for the recommended three hours and the temp and humidity has been totally consistent. I rotate them at 2-4 times a day (still haven't found a consistent response on that) and theyre sitting pointy end down. I have the temp / humidity gauge i bought in the incubator with them (i don't care if it breaks from the moisture eventually I just want to make sure everything is perfect for the eggs).

I also got this to candle the eggs:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N153NVH/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know you're supposed to wait but I only took the eggs inside this Saturday when my babies were taken. The eggs range in age from about 3 weeks to the day she was taken. I have all the ones I thought were newer in the incubator (i fit 9) and i have the rest inside, taking them to my friends farm tomorrow so her ducks will sit on them.

When I candled I saw what looked like a yolk and one little spot. The spot means it's fertilized right? She was acting very broody and loud lately but i JUST learned about all that entails. It makes total sense, they wanted babies.

Now I feel like its my mission to get at least one duckling from this. Please share any information you have.

How often can I open the incubator?
How long should it be opened for?
How often do I candle?
When will I see (if i see) live ducklings forming?
When (if) they hatch or start to hatch what can I do to help? I read about a "lockdown" where you raise the humidity to about 60% the last few days.
Do ducklings just need the heat lamp, food and water when they're born? I got my babies when they were only about three days old so I'm assuming it's not much different.

I'm a musician and I'm home for 85% of the day (sometimes I only work from home) so I will do ANYTHING to try to make this work. I loved my babies so much the least I can do for them is give them what they clearly wanted.

If you're able to help I will be forever grateful. Please don't hesitate to message me directly. I will even give my personal # and send as many pics of the set up i have. I must sound crazy but I'm so worried it won't work.

Sending all my love to anyone who has fallen in love with their animal baby and has lost them. It's the worst feeling ever.

 

[ColleenRyan]

Yes...Or me because I have hatched many myself without assistance and only have had to assist a few..Its really easy with the right help..

Hey!
I had to take my tray out because it cracked one of my eggs as soon as I got home I had to clean the incubator to be sure nothing was left that could start bacteria growth. Ever since then the temp has been at 97 (even when I upped the temp by 1 degree Celsius on he incubator) and the humidity has been a kind 60% instead of my normal goal of around 40%. Do you think this is hurting my eggs? I’m seeing such growth but I’m so worried the temp / humidity is an issue. I got another thermomiter to go inside it’s arriving today so I’ll get another read

 

[chickens really]

Temp should be 99.5 to 100..What type of incubator?..Forced air or still air?..For setting I run Humidity at 40% till lock down and up to 60 for hatching.
I hand turn all my eggs 2 or 3 times a day..

 

[ColleenRyan]

It’s called HBLife I’m not sure if it’s forced air or not.. there’s a little ventalitaion hole on top. The temp was set to the correct number on the incubator the whole time, it was just after I removed the tray it dropped. Maybe because the internal thermomiter changed positions? Should I try to get some humidity out of there? I left a piece of dry sponge in there over night to see if that’d help but I didn’t see any change.

 

[ColleenRyan]

Here’s my actual incubator..

 

[ColleenRyan]

Temp should be 99.5 to 100..What type of incubator?..Forced air or still air?..For setting I run Humidity at 40% till lock down and up to 60 for hatching.
I hand turn all my eggs 2 or 3 times a day..

So sorry for all the posts! I just made a little tent for the eggs with the top of the incubator so they wouldn’t lose heat and I took the bottom tray out and absorbed some of the water. I was hesitant to do that before because of the low temp but I didn’t want to mess anything up with the humidity. Can high humidity for a few days (today is Day 6) harm the eggs? Also this is random but if I see a blood ring will I know it? The photos I’ve seen look pretty intense and I think I’m just a little more nervous than normal while trying to hatch these because of the circumstances

 

[chickens really]

The high humidity won't hurt this early in the incubation..Needs to drop though so the air cells get bigger before lock down or they drown. Temp needs to be correct or they won't hatch on time.
I'm hatching Chickens right now and my Humidity is under 40% they are due the end of May.