Duck hatched in incubator should I move?

[phate008]

I would not remove a baby from the incubator to the brooder and then leave. Yes, they dry faster in the brooder. But, they are wobbly at first and if they fall over on their back under a heat lamp they can die. It will not hurt him to leave him in the incubator and it will be safer. Also, a hatched babies peeping encourages the others to hatch.

Thanks. I have it set up with a very shallow water dish but I also worried about it drowning. That's a good point about getting stuck under the heat lamp. At least when I'm not there I feel much safer leaving them in the brooder.

 

[MGG]

Hmmm. Originally I read a checklist that said to move it to the brooder after 1 hour of drying. Then when googling I saw lots of advice to leave it in the incubator for 12-24 hours. Personally I don't like the incubator as it's crowded, has a grated floor, and overall just seems uncomfortable. He was dragging all over the incubator trying to get the egg shell off and then got tired and fell asleep.

12-24 hours is a long time. I don't like when they poop all in the incubator, it's always messy. So I pull mine right away. There's no reason for them to stay in the incubator longer. I do however usually leave the first hatcher in so he can encourage the others.
I would put some grippy shelf liner down on the tray, so the rest don't cut their navels open. Those edges on the tray can be sharp, and the shelf liner helps them not splay their legs out on the slippery plastic. Is there still blood flowing through the connecting thread? With those I usually put the duckling and connected shell into a tall paper towel lined bowl, and leave them in the incubator. That way he can finish absorbing the blood without pulling it all over.

Thanks. I have it set up with a very shallow water dish but I also worried about it drowning. That's a good point about getting stuck under the heat lamp. At least when I'm not there I feel much safer leaving them in the brooder.

Ducklings very rarely drown, they're not like chicks.
And getting flipped on it's back under a lamp is not going to happen. Of course it could, but that would be more of a freak accident. It's not a common occurrence. Ducklings are very strong babies and are quite capable of doing most things. Sure, they're wobbly the first day. But if they flip over they'll be able to flip themselves back up, as long as they aren't on a slippery surface. As soon as you get home from work I'd move him to the brooder, if you haven't already. I'd also recommend using towels for bedding in the brooder for the first couple days. They're way cleaner than most beddings, the ducklings can find food easier on them and learn to eat faster, the ducklings won't try to eat the bedding, and you can monitor their poops.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

12-24 hours is a long time. I don't like when they poop all in the incubator, it's always messy. So I pull mine right away. There's no reason for them to stay in the incubator longer. I do however usually leave the first hatcher in so he can encourage the others.
I would put some grippy shelf liner down on the tray, so the rest don't cut their navels open. Those edges on the tray can be sharp, and the shelf liner helps them not splay their legs out on the slippery plastic. Is there still blood flowing through the connecting thread? With those I usually put the duckling and connected shell into a tall paper towel lined bowl, and leave them in the incubator. That way he can finish absorbing the blood without pulling it all over.

Ducklings very rarely drown, they're not like chicks.
And getting flipped on it's back under a lamp is not going to happen. Of course it could, but that would be more of a freak accident. It's not a common occurrence. Ducklings are very strong babies and are quite capable of doing most things. Sure, they're wobbly the first day. But if they flip over they'll be able to flip themselves back up, as long as they aren't on a slippery surface. As soon as you get home from work I'd move him to the brooder, if you haven't already. I'd also recommend using towels for bedding in the brooder for the first couple days. They're way cleaner than most beddings, the ducklings can find food easier on them and learn to eat faster, the ducklings won't try to eat the bedding, and you can monitor their poops.

I am going to have to disagree with you about the heat lamp. I hatch in my classroom several times a year and have been doing it for years. I have lost one quail chick and one chicken chick that way. I also have had to flip newly hatched ducklings that were too tired to do it themselves.

I agree with you about the shelf liner. I use it in my brooder for the first week as well as in the incubator.

 

[MGG]

I am going to have to disagree with you about the heat lamp. I hatch in my classroom several times a year and have been doing it for years. I have lost one quail chick and one chicken chick that way. I also have had to flip newly hatched ducklings that were too tired to do it themselves.

I agree with you about the shelf liner. I use it in my brooder for the first week as well as in the incubator.

That's crazy. I can't imagine that ever happening. I've hatched hundreds of birds, just about every species, moving them all less than an hour after hatch, and never had a single issue. What kind of bedding were you using?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

That's crazy. I can't imagine that ever happening. I've hatched hundreds of birds, just about every species, moving them all less than an hour after hatch, and never had a single issue. What kind of bedding were you using?

About an inch of fine pine shavings with shelf liner over it. All the babies who had trouble or died were last to hatch and/or needed help somewhat during hatching, so they were more weak then normal. The duckling had wry-neck. But it does happen. Most recently I had a chicken chick try to hatch over a day after all the others. He broke the shell but couldn’t fully break the membrane (which was white and dry). I helped him break it and he was able to finish hatching. I put him in the brooder rather quickly since he was chirping his head off. A little while later he began chirping loudly from the brooder. He was on his back. I righted him and a couple hours later he was stronger and fine. My only point was that I wouldn’t put a new baby in the brooder and then leave. They are safer in the incubator.

 

[phate008]

So he stayed in the incubator for around 4 hours. He was twisting, turning, and crawling over the other eggs trying to break free from the bottom half of the shell. I went back at dinner break and he seemed dry and got free of the cord and shell. He was very aware and seemed ready to move on so I put him in the brooder. He clumsily explored a little then collapsed and napped beneath the heat lamp. He woke up and had his first drink. He tried to clean the remnants of the umbilical on his belly. I also notice another pip so he should have company pretty soon.

 

[Weeg]

So he stayed in the incubator for around 4 hours. He was twisting, turning, and crawling over the other eggs trying to break free from the bottom half of the shell. I went back at dinner break and he seemed dry and got free of the cord and shell. He was very aware and seemed ready to move on so I put him in the brooder. He clumsily explored a little then collapsed and napped beneath the heat lamp. He woke up and had his first drink. He tried to clean the remnants of the umbilical on his belly. I also notice another pip so he should have company pretty soon.

This is great! What a happy little guy.

 

[3bird]

I would put some grippy shelf liner down on the tray, so the rest don't cut their navels open. Those edges on the tray can be sharp, and the shelf liner helps them not splay their legs out on the slippery plastic.

We are incubating for the first time this year. We had planned to bring ducks onto the farm, but with avian influenza, we decided to hatch our own instead.

We have the Nurture Right 360 Incubator (new), and based on the advice of others, we added shelf liner.

We started the incubator about 24 hours ago (no eggs), and it held steady at 99.5F and between 58 and 61% humidity until we added the shelf liner. Once we added the shelf liner, the humidity dropped. Obviously it dropped because we had the lid off, but it did not return to where it had been. An hour after the shelf liner went in, it was at 54% and kept dropping. By this morning it was at 47%. I closed the vent from half open to a quarter open, and the humidity is climbing again, but an hour later, it was only at 50%.

So....my question: Does the shelf liner affect humidity in your experience? The incubator is in a bathroom that is steady at 68F ambient. There is a window, but we have the blinds down. We are in the northeastern US. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We have eggs ready to go, and we'd like to get started!

 

[BabyGotQuack]

We are incubating for the first time this year. We had planned to bring ducks onto the farm, but with avian influenza, we decided to hatch our own instead.

We have the Nurture Right 360 Incubator (new), and based on the advice of others, we added shelf liner.

We started the incubator about 24 hours ago (no eggs), and it held steady at 99.5F and between 58 and 61% humidity until we added the shelf liner. Once we added the shelf liner, the humidity dropped. Obviously it dropped because we had the lid off, but it did not return to where it had been. An hour after the shelf liner went in, it was at 54% and kept dropping. By this morning it was at 47%. I closed the vent from half open to a quarter open, and the humidity is climbing again, but an hour later, it was only at 50%.

So....my question: Does the shelf liner affect humidity in your experience? The incubator is in a bathroom that is steady at 68F ambient. There is a window, but we have the blinds down. We are in the northeastern US. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We have eggs ready to go, and we'd like to get started!

I don’t know if the shelf liner would affect the humidity but the shelf liner doesn’t need to be added until lock down. It does nothing for the eggs it only helps the ducks or whatever you’re hatching.

 

[3bird]

I don’t know if the shelf liner would affect the humidity but the shelf liner doesn’t need to be added until lock down. It does nothing for the eggs it only helps the ducks or whatever you’re hatching.

Thanks for the quick response. Yes, I understand that, but we wanted to dry run all stages. I'd rather know now if we're going to experience any issues rather than when there are eggs in the incubator.