Do Cayuga take longer? (Hatching)

[Skipper Carnes]

You assist even if no internal pipping yet? @Skipper Carnes

Yes. If they are that late and the majority of her ducklings in the eggs have already died, the only way to give the others a chance is to hatch for them. The fat side of the egg is called the air cell. In and on the air cell is no blood vessels, so many find this a great place to start an assisted hatch. With your finger nails, you apply a small amount of pressure to the eggs shell until the egg shell brakes. You peel of the shell and then you will see the membrane. The membrane. You wet the membrane and then peel it off gently. After the aircell is gone and the duck is visible, the duck will be able to breathe better while you finish the assisted hatch. There is a lot to it, and it takes some time and focus. Last hatch, even though the temp and humidity was perfect, half of our eggs died between lockdown and hatch date, and the other half we had to assist with hatching. Incubators are rarely successful. We have found much better results and hatch rates with broody mother hens.

 

[Skipper Carnes]

I've always done 98 and had good hatches.

Since this is not a temperature problem and you have had great hatches before hand, probably the reason many have died and are delayed is quality of the eggs. If they are more than 6 days old, it can be harder to grow, and also poor nutrition of the mother and father could be a result also. If the eggs were shipped to you, faulty transportation could also be a reason. There could be a number of reasons your eggs are not doing well, but whatever the reason, and this is totally your decision, an assisted hatch is needed to save the late, but still alive ducklings. They could give up at any time, and since they are so late and many have already died, now is the time to start.

 

[Skipper Carnes]

I'm not touching them yet. I was going to give them a few more days

I am not wanting you to do something you are not comfortable with. They are your ducks, not mine. Do what you want. All I am saying is that if so many have already died, and the living ones are already too late, an assisted hatch is most often needed. One time I gave a chick a few more days, and when I finally decided to help him, he was dead. I was too late. I should have helped sooner. Please, by no means assist a hatch if it is something you don't want to do. I have saved many chicks with assisted hatches, 7 to be correct, and they are all thriving since I helped. Do what you think is best for the ducks. The desicion to help or not to help is completely yours. All I am saying is how I saved chicks by assisting, and how one died because I was too late.

 

[Skipper Carnes]

I am not wanting her to do anything, under any circumstance that she is not comfortable with. All I am saying is how I saved chicks by assisting, and how one died because I was too late. Those are 100% her ducks, and I have no authority over what she does. I am just making suggestions that I for one have had great success with.

You assist when eggs have not even started the hatch process ?
I’m a little confused. If they haven’t started it’s cause they aren’t ready

Sometimes they aren't strong enough to penetrate the shell, but if she is uncomfortable with assisting a hatch, that is perfectly okay. She should never assist a hatch if she is uncomfortable with it. Being uncomfortable can lead to bad failures, which is something I don't want. When you are confident and knowledgable enough to try something, you have the best chance of success, but trembling hands are destined to failure. PLEASE never assist a hatch unless you feel you are ready.

The whole aspect of assisting hatches to me some time to get a grasp on because there are many confusing parts of it. You just have to study a while and get a grip on the anatomy of the egg, where to make the first crack, and how to know for sure if there are blood vessels. You should never assist a hatch unless they are late.

@Skipper Carnes please reply before @KikiDeAnime starts killing her ducklings that aren't ready to hatch.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Since this is not a temperature problem and you have had great hatches before hand, probably the reason many have died and are delayed is quality of the eggs. If they are more than 6 days old, it can be harder to grow, and also poor nutrition of the mother and father could be a result also. If the eggs were shipped to you, faulty transportation could also be a reason. There could be a number of reasons your eggs are not doing well, but whatever the reason, and this is totally your decision, an assisted hatch is needed to save the late, but still alive ducklings. They could give up at any time, and since they are so late and many have already died, now is the time to start.

More than half of the eggs I bought from the lady had been laid that morning when I picked them up. I incubated them that same day.

 

[Skipper Carnes]

Good job. It is not age then, or faulty shipping. Maybe the female duck is older, or they are fed an imbalanced diet? I don't know why your eggs are not doing well. Please never assist a hatch if you are not comfortable with it. Only assist when you are ready. Good luck with your ducks!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I am not wanting you to do something you are not comfortable with. They are your ducks, not mine. Do what you want. All I am saying is that if so many have already died, and the living ones are already too late, an assisted hatch is most often needed. One time I gave a chick a few more days, and when I finally decided to help him, he was dead. I was too late. I should have helped sooner. Please, by no means assist a hatch if it is something you don't want to do. I have saved many chicks with assisted hatches, 7 to be correct, and they are all thriving since I helped. Do what you think is best for the ducks. The desicion to help or not to help is completely yours. All I am saying is how I saved chicks by assisting, and how one died because I was too late.

I have assisted many ducks myself and have string healthy babies
But I would never force a hatch time start
The OP of this post has said these eggs have not started a hatch yet
No internal. No external
No bruises of wrong Position
These babies are not trying to hatch yet
What I’m wondering is do you force them to hatch ? How do you get a baby into the air cell that has not done so yet

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Good job. It is not age then, or faulty shipping. Maybe the female duck is older, or they are fed an imbalanced diet? I don't know why your eggs are not doing well. Please never assist a hatch if you are not comfortable with it. Only assist when you are ready. Good luck with your ducks!

I decided to message the lady and she said that all her females are under 3 years of age and that she has had 75-80% hatches from them.
She also said that she feeds them the Mazuri brand

 

[Miss Lydia]

What is going on with the eggs today any changes?

 

[KikiDeAnime]

What is going on with the eggs today any changes?

No change but they're still moving around inside.