So, in counting the day after eggs were placed in incubator, yesterday was 24 days. They started chirping, rocking, and some had visible "crack/holes" in shells & upon a quick candling, I see that most are internally pipped very well. Went ahead & put them in lockdown. The holes are not large enough to see anything, but some do show a "white" membrane underneath where the broken shell piece fell off. Their actual "due" date is 2.5 days away. I haven't seen much progress today, altho they chirp when I talk to them. Some more eggs have the crack/holes, but I'm not seeing much progress beyond that. I'm hoping (holding breath) that things are moving along by tomorrow. I understand that ducks can take longer to hatch after pip, I read around 33 hours...but if I don't see improvement by tomorrow evening (48 hrs from pip), should I consider a bit of "helping" that I've researched on here? I just don't want to do it too early, but I feel they started a little early being that it was day 24. What would you do? Should I leave them alone until Wed (28 days) & go from there? That would be 72 hours from pip. Thanks in advance for any & all advice! Here is a video of what I saw yesterday before lockdown. http://youtu.be/5jil9xYKXS4
If they are still alive and chirping that is good! A chick hatch can take up to 2-3 days to complete and I also heard ducks can take longer, so don't rush to help them yet. Keep the humidity in the incubator high, so they don't dry out and get stuck in the shell and sit on your hands! Hatching is a lengthy process starting with the internal pip and eventually the external pip (can be 6 hours or more after the internal pip). The chick/duckling gets used to breathing now and will take a lengthy break while inside the shell it is busy absorbing the yolk sac that will keep it alive for the first few days as well as the blood in the membrane. This can take up to 36 hours with a chick. Once this is done they will start zipping open the shell so they can hatch. If they do not make any progress over the next day or 2 and you are pretty sure they need help have a look at this waterfowl incubation guide and assisted hatching guide for guidance on what to do, when: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed Good luck!
Thanks Sumi & Sally, I wanted to check back in a give ya'll an update. 18 out of that batch hatched, & it was my first time. (And theirs! They had a clutch...but weren't sitting at all.) I think I started w/ 30 eggs but many were over 14 days old in collection. Pretty much any eggs that made it past the initial 14 days (besides the infertile, and early "ring o death" ones)...hatched out great & with a $120 generic incubator.......in spite of me I think. lol. I think the humidity got too low when I was moving some into the brooder, and had to assist most of the rest as they were shrink-wrapped. These guys are just now getting their real feathers in, swimming, & stampeding around in a herd...thanks for all your help to this first-timer!
