Duck eggs pipping 34 hours ago, no progress since...

[loopy12]

I just took a peek in the incubator on my way to bed, as you do, just kind of saying goodnight to the eggs, and was astonished to see 2 pips on my cayuga duck eggs.
I have 5 cayugas in there and 7 pekin duck eggs and this is my first time with duck eggs

I know temps were not too high, so whats the story? Do cayugas hatch earlier? Or do they take longer from pip to hatch than chicks do? Could it jeopardize my pekin eggs if they hatch later and I can only leave the hatchlings in there 48-72 hours?
I only locked them down at lunchtime and am still struggling with humidity

Oh, and while I'm asking, I'm not convinced that my hygrometers measuring humidity accurately. I did calibrate it, but its on the floor of the bator with shelf liner under it and it may not be registering humidity quite right

But there is a little condensation at the edges of the incubtor windows so I'm thinking its about 80% not the 70% the hygrometer says - any thoughts anyone?

 

[toadbriar]

Were the cayugas grouped together? Even if you use a fan, maybe you have a little warmer spot in that area, like the way you might get little whirlpools in a river?

This was my first hatch too - not just ducks but of anything besides frogs. I got 3 out of 8 hatched and running around in the brooder

Shipped eggs, homemade incubator, first time. I had late quitters, one pipped and died, and one got really dry (porous?) huge air cell, but bled inside the membrane. Others quit a couple days before hatch, might have been the result of a temp spike, not sure.

Hygrometer rant! My hygrometers, plural, were calibrated beforehand but then my 'good' one (tested 1-2* off) seemed to get 'stuck' (despite being digital) and my 'bad' one, also digital, which tested 5-6* low, would tell me the humidity was 75% for instance, when the other one said 66% but there was window condensation

So yeah, I need a better arrangement for that.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I have often found that within a few hours of lockdown- Some eggs have pipped- But these are not always the first eggs to hatch either. It is most ofter about 24 hours from the first external pip to when they make any further progress- and sometimes 48 hours before fully hatched.
I aways remove hatched ducklings from the incubator once they have dried out- Although they dont need to eat or drink for a while after hatch- mine are usually eating and drinking at around 12 hours - just after they come out of the incubator.

 

[loopy12]

Toadbriar: I incubated them in my brinsea 20 eco in rows so I don;t think there were hotspots, and the eggs got moved into different positions a few times because I also had chicken eggs in there that I removed. I'm hatching in my hovabator because I felt things would be too tight in the brinsea for 12 ducklings if they all hatched

I did notice at day 21 when I candled the cayuga eggs looked almost full then and I couldn't imagine how they could grow anymore.

There's no change this morning, so I guess even if they hatched tonight, or zipped tonight and hatched tomorrow that wouldn't be soooo early.

So if theres a little condensation on the window, what do you reckon humidity is? My hygrometer was spot on when I calibrated it but I hate that the sensor is on the back so if its on the floor that may not be what the eggs are experiencing. Currently reading about 70%. I have a washcloth in there to coost humidity but am scared to go to far and drown them

duckyfromoz: I rather not take anything out until they've all hatched, or at least all pips have hatched. I had to manually release 9 chicks in my first hatch over a painstaking 2 days period after they were all shrinkwrapped and I don't think I could do that again.

We'll see. I noticed with the chicks if they pip early they take longer to zip and hatch but the ones that hatch bang on time tend to pip, zip and hatch very quickly.

 

[loopy12]

Ok, its now day 27, and 7 of 12 eggs are pipped. the two original pips have made their cracks slightly larger, but otherwise there's no progress.
I hear cheeping if I talk to them, but don't know if its from pipped eggs or closed ones.

Its now been more than 34 hours since the first ones pipped. Should I be worried? I thought once they pip the membrane starts to dry out so the longer they are pipped for the more risk of getting stuck - ?
My chicks never went more than 14 hours from pip to zip.
Hygrometer is reading 72% but I think its higher because there is condensation on the windows.