Duck egg air cell size and % humidity

[Titantherooster]

Hi all! This is my first time hatching eggs, I have 8 Pekin eggs which all have movement inside and ducklings are taking up significant portion of the egg at day 18. I have extensively researched and follow Dave Holderreads book on raising ducks. He suggested washing duck eggs that were dirty (all of mine were) and setting humidity at 60%, which I have done for the last 18 days.

With 10 days left til they hatch I candled today and while the air cells are receding I’m unsure if I’m on track or if they are a bit too full? It’s hard to tell by the pics and some eggs have more and other have less size of the air cell. I think the logic was since the bloom had been washed off they would need more humidity. I’d really appreciate some feedback of anyone who has hatched duck eggs on humidity levels and if I need to make an adjustment here while there is still time. Pics would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[JaeG]

For next time weighing eggs with a gram scale is a good way of checking whether you are on track with humidity. Over the course of incubation eggs should lose 12-16% of their start weight. You can make a simple line graph with the days 0-lockdown along the bottom, and weight (just in the range you need it) up the side. On day 0 mark their start weight either individually or work out the average. Then work out how much they should lose (there are calculators online which makes things simple) and subtract that from the start weight. Mark that on lockdown day and draw a straight line from one mark to the other. Then on any day you can simply check their weight and work out if they are on track.

60% humidity seems high to me and I aimed for 40-45% when incubating Muscovy eggs. I have not read of any reason why the humidity should be different if you wash the eggs. I can't see why the 'bloom' would affect how the pores of the egg work to transfer moisture. I would perhaps reduce the humidity to around 30% until lockdown as the air cells do look on the small side to me.

The humidity you need to set your incubator to can be quite different to that which is recommended. It all depends on the incubator as well as the climate you live in. Most people find that they have more success running with a lower humidity. The way the egg loses moisture can also be affected by the temperature and a slightly lower average temperature causes the egg to lose moisture more slowly.

Good luck with the hatch and let us know how you get on. Just remember - we love photos, especially of cute little ducklings.

 

[Titantherooster]

For next time weighing eggs with a gram scale is a good way of checking whether you are on track with humidity. Over the course of incubation eggs should lose 12-16% of their start weight. You can make a simple line graph with the days 0-lockdown along the bottom, and weight (just in the range you need it) up the side. On day 0 mark their start weight either individually or work out the average. Then work out how much they should lose (there are calculators online which makes things simple) and subtract that from the start weight. Mark that on lockdown day and draw a straight line from one mark to the other. Then on any day you can simply check their weight and work out if they are on track.

60% humidity seems high to me and I aimed for 40-45% when incubating Muscovy eggs. I have not read of any reason why the humidity should be different if you wash the eggs. I can't see why the 'bloom' would affect how the pores of the egg work to transfer moisture. I would perhaps reduce the humidity to around 30% until lockdown as the air cells do look on the small side to me.

The humidity you need to set your incubator to can be quite different to that which is recommended. It all depends on the incubator as well as the climate you live in. Most people find that they have more success running with a lower humidity. The way the egg loses moisture can also be affected by the temperature and a slightly lower average temperature causes the egg to lose moisture more slowly.

Good luck with the hatch and let us know how you get on. Just remember - we love photos, especially of cute little ducklings.

Thanks so much for the reply. I have agonized over these darn eggs thinking I was doing everything right. Somehow either I misunderstood his recommendations or perhaps it was bad advice. Holderread has been doing ducks nationally for over 50 years so I assumed he would be on the money.

I’ll definitely get a scale for next time as I do plan to do multiple batches this year. Thanks for the feedback and I’ll be sure to post pics. It’s my strong hope they will all survive. I’d have to think with 10 days left there is still time to balance those air cells out. I’ll drop that humidity now and report back next time I candle after a few more days!

 

[Titantherooster]

This was the section that got me confused.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I think they look great so far. When they internally pip it will really dip down.

 

[JaeG]

Thanks so much for the reply. I have agonized over these darn eggs thinking I was doing everything right. Somehow either I misunderstood his recommendations or perhaps it was bad advice. Holderread has been doing ducks nationally for over 50 years so I assumed he would be on the money.

I’ll definitely get a scale for next time as I do plan to do multiple batches this year. Thanks for the feedback and I’ll be sure to post pics. It’s my strong hope they will all survive. I’d have to think with 10 days left there is still time to balance those air cells out. I’ll drop that humidity now and report back next time I candle after a few more days!

It does take a bit of experimentation to figure out what works for your particular incubator and I've seen high humidity recommended for ducks too, but from the experiences I've read on this site lower humidity does seem to work for more people. I wonder if large, cabinet type incubators need a higher humidity and the small ones more commonly used by us hobbyists need lower? Maybe something to do with the amount of air flow or something?

You can leave the humidity set lower until the ducklings start to pip internally if you feel you need to. The biggest danger with smaller air cells is that it encourages the ducklings/chicks to grow too large which makes it difficult for them to get into hatch position and then to hatch successfully on their own.

Although this is in the Goose forum it applies to all eggs and has some excellent information in it: (1) Goose Incubation & Hatching Guide - Completed!!!! | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

 

[Michelekinder]

need some advice! On day 26-27 (over the weekend) the humidity in my incubator was at 4%. It was perfect through all 26 days until now. I came to work today and saw pips in all 4 eggs but no progress for 12 hours after. Do you think they will be shrink wrapped because of the low humidity those 2 days? The humidity is now at 70%. I