Duck egg hatching away from mom/incubator

[chocolate m'scovy]

I took a hatching muscovy egg away from its chicken moms and we were planning to watch it hatch...but we have no incubator. It's around 80 inside...but I was wondering if the lack of humidity (I'm guessing, since I have no idea what ours is) will negatively affect it. We have wiped the egg with water at different parts of the day. But I took it away from Mum around 10 this morning and now it's 12 hours later and it has made little progress. It's still peeping though. Any suggestions as to humidity? Or should I give the poor thing back and let nature do its work? I just want to know if statistically it will hatch successfully inside here. Thanks.

 

[chocolate m'scovy]

Anyone here know anything about duck hatching?

 

[Gypsy07]

You can't reasonably expect it to hatch easily at a lower temperature and a lower humidity than it requires. Statistically, I'd guess your chances of a successful hatch at 80F, with unknown humidity, outside of a controlled environment such as an incubator or under a broody bird, to be maybe less than 10%. I AM just guessing, but people have enough trouble hatching duck eggs in incubators never mind sitting out on your kitchen counter or wherever it is you've got it right now. I think the best thing to do would be to moisten any membrane with a wet Q-tip and put the egg back under the chicken. That gives it its best chance of successfully hatching. If you want to see them hatching out, get yourself a cheap incubator. That way you'll get a great view and the babies will stay healthy. Good luck with this little one...

 

[chocolate m'scovy]

Ok...around 1:30 last night I was going to bed and decided since we couldn't watch it hatch anyway...that I should put the poor eggbound dude back with his mama. So...I got out there with flashlight (hopefully the neighbors aren't aware of this

) and put the egg back in his box. Then something surprising happened...the mamas started pecking at the little guy's shell!

They started eating chips off it. I was afraid they'd peck his eyeball out...but no, when they pecked around the head it just "unwound" from its tight shell. Then he was basically out. The moms then ate his shell and his umbilical cord, looking very "protective" as he lay there wriggling in the woodchips while they feasted away.

Is that amazing or what? Anyone else have this experience? Or maybe it's just because my hens are bad...which they are...they all LOOOVE to eat cracked eggs.

So now this little guy is happily with his 12 scovy siblings with the happily clucking moms.

On a sadder note...the moms' aggressive hatching techniques didn't turn out so well for another of the hatching ducklings...I found him dead with a dent in the back of his skull...