kiwichiks
In the Brooder
I recently purchased 4 fertile Magpie duck eggs for my teenage daughter, who has been DESPERATE to raise ducklings for a very long time. After much 'Googling' and researching, we built a home incubator and started incubating (we have never done anything like this before). We candled the eggs at Day 7 and again at Days 11 and 12 (after the temperature in the incubator became unstable).
At Day 13, we confirmed two very active embryos (and 2 yolkers) before transferring the developing eggs to my mother's hen, which fortuitously, had meantime become fervently broody!
My question is in regards to one of the two developing eggs - our 'special needs' egg. After candling on Day 7, we discovered that it had the air sac at the pointy end of the egg! The eggs were not shipped - I picked them up from a local supplier whose ducks live nearby. We weren't sure how we should place this egg in the incubator so just lay it on its side. We placed the other normal egg with the blunt (large) end slightly elevated. Both eggs were turned by hand 5 times a day.
We haven't candles the eggs since the hen took them on at Day 13, but if all has continued to go well, the ducklings will be due to hatch on the 27th of December (today is day 24).
I'm really nervous about our 'special needs' egg and wonder if it's safer to leave this egg under the hen for hatching, or whether we should take it back on Day 26 or so, to monitor it in the incubator, in case we need to assist it in hatching. Any advice would be very much appreciated!
At Day 13, we confirmed two very active embryos (and 2 yolkers) before transferring the developing eggs to my mother's hen, which fortuitously, had meantime become fervently broody!
My question is in regards to one of the two developing eggs - our 'special needs' egg. After candling on Day 7, we discovered that it had the air sac at the pointy end of the egg! The eggs were not shipped - I picked them up from a local supplier whose ducks live nearby. We weren't sure how we should place this egg in the incubator so just lay it on its side. We placed the other normal egg with the blunt (large) end slightly elevated. Both eggs were turned by hand 5 times a day.
We haven't candles the eggs since the hen took them on at Day 13, but if all has continued to go well, the ducklings will be due to hatch on the 27th of December (today is day 24).
I'm really nervous about our 'special needs' egg and wonder if it's safer to leave this egg under the hen for hatching, or whether we should take it back on Day 26 or so, to monitor it in the incubator, in case we need to assist it in hatching. Any advice would be very much appreciated!
