Do you help calls hatch?

[MuranoFarms]

I have 23 calls in the bator now. Day 28 is next Friday (although I read they hatch closer to day 26). I've heard they have a hard time hatching because of their soft bills. Do you help yours? Or just let them go and hope for the best?

 

[TennesseeTruly]

Some people do help them hatch. I don't. I have 16 in the incubator right now that are pipped and will be hatching over the next day.

Laurie

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I used to have to help them hatch, but once I started cooling them for 15 min a day starting around day 4 or 7, and misting them when they cooled down, I havent had to help them out.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Quote:
I've done this every day since day 3 when I read a post you made on another thread.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
I've done this every day since day 3 when I read a post you made on another thread.

Supposedly it helps keep the duck a little bit smaller, so its easier for the duckling to turn around in the shell and zip all the way around. I dont know, but it seems to work.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Well...tonight I opened the bator to start my nightly ritual of misting, cooling and rotating them in their turner. When I hear this squeaky type of noise. At first I thought it was the turner then I take a closer look at the eggs. 2 pips! It's only day 23! So I candle real quick as I'm getting ready for lockdown and I have 6 internal pips, & 2 external. I have one that pipped and drowned. I could see goo in the air sack when I candled and none of them were like that 2 days ago. All but 2 have movement...but they didn't look bad so I put them in anyway. All total I have 22 out of 24 going into lockdown and 20 of them look very good.

I hope pipping in the turner then being moved didn't hurt them. I just couldn't see 22 eggs hatching in the turner. There wouldn't have been any room!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
Thats great!

Pipping in the turner didnt hurt them. I was putting eggs in the incubator every other day, and forgot about the first egg, till I came down the stairs in the morning and there was a baby call in the incubator waiting for me.

 

[duckluck]

Quote:
I've done this every day since day 3 when I read a post you made on another thread.

Me too, so I'm waiting to see the results on this next batch at the end of the week. The last two, I absolutely helped...broke a hole in the shell for one, which he used to zip himself out, and the other I completely hatched by hand. I'm not sorry I did, because otherwise I'd have had either one or none. Two is absolutely better, especially for the first guy!

 

[Scott]

Yes, call duck eggs take 26-27 days to hatch and you will often hear peeping a couple days before the hatch. Because show quality ducks have unusually short necks and bills, it is believed by many that they have a more difficult time pipping. I personally dont think this is the case for pet quailty calls. I've never had to help my call ducklings hatch. And really, I wouldn't advise in favor of doing so... because if a duckling is too weak to hatch, then it will likely pass that trait on to its young thus perpetuating the problem.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Well, it's day 24 and I have 3 ducks and 5 more pips!

The original plan was to lockdown tomorrow morning. So much for that idea! Day 28 is Friday. I have a feeling this is gonna be a loooonnngggg hatch!