Duck eggs. Bator temp sl low first week. Lockdown late??

pnp4kidz

Crowing
14 Years
Feb 5, 2009
522
5
251
San Francisco East Bay CA
My first try at ducks!!! They were shipped and some were relatively old.... But I have nine who are almost done!!!
I did decide that my bator was running cool as the NYD hatch chicks all came 1-3 days late. So I upped the temp by .4 degrees. Halfway thru for these eggs.
I have a Dickie cabinet bator with an auto humidity thing.
I candled today which is day 23, and tossed the clears.
I have good air sacs in all 9 remaining but one has a air sac that extends Down the side of the egg.... That one is iffy.
Now. The question is.... I did turn the temp up and they do look ready but should I delay lockdown by a day??
These are call ducks btw.
And I will have some extras if local to east bay of San Fran are interested. I only want two and a friend two. :)
 
Stay on lockdown. I didn't see the original temp. If it delayed a day or two what does it hurt. Just wait a day for sure after some hatch before opening. A few might not poke through. Best of luck.
 
Thanks,
don't know the original temp, my thermometer has been spot on for over a year, and read out at Temp lowest 99.5 temp max 100.0, however as I stated, my NYD hatch the chicks came over a day late, most at 2-3 days late.... so it was obviously low temp in there...
SOOOO, I raised it to the reading of 100.4 ish...
what the 'Real' temp is/was, who knows...
now on lock down, but no pips yet,
went on lockdown Saturday night, right about the 'right' day... but I was asking if I should continue turning and lockdown later...
also humidity raise, I've heard with ducks it is not until the first internal PIP...
but I'm on my own here I guess...
 
I havent hatched duck eggs yet but I wanted to wish you luck
hugs.gif
 
Call ducks don't typically take the full 28 days of other ducks. They are usually about 26 days with a range of 25-27. (Wasn't sure if you had hatched calls before.) It does not hurt an egg to stop turning a few days early & actually allows the baby to become oriented to the air cell easier than to keep turning too long would. When in doubt, err on the side of too early.
 
Thanks guys!
These are my first ducks... They went on lockdown sat night which was day 23, and I see one internal pip tonight!
Still have movement in most of them. But they are stuffed full of duck right now so... Hard to tell.
Tomorrow is hatch day
Fingers crossed.
 
It seems like when I stop turning a day or two early, the ducklings hatch early. I had one start pipping in the egg turner before I moved it to lockdown. That duckling, though 3 days early, was very healthy. Wasn't the first time I got an early bloomer either.
 
High quality calls often have trouble pipping due to their tiny bills. Keep an eye on them. You may have to help some make the initial pip so they can get started hatching after they pip internally. This will entail a lot of listening & candling to find little bills. Keep a spray bottle of hot water handy to mist the inside of the bator lid when you have to open it. This will instantly replace any lost humidity & raise humidity by 10-20% if it is low.
 

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