Duck incubation help...please

[HopMomma]

Ok so I am completely new to this whole process. I've made 5 kids but never ducks. I'm on day 19 of incubation with pekins and khakis. I started with 13 and am down to 10. All have movement & veins. Some have a super light section on the opposite side of the air sack? Some veins dont wrap all the way to the bottom. Some have dark floating specks in them. Again all have activity and movement but none look exactly like the pictures I see for day 19. If anyone could help that would be grand. I can post pics if need be but am trying to just leave them be!! 7 days until lockdown. I did drop humidity a bit to get a slightly bigger air sack before hatch time.

 

[Weeg]

Can you post pics of the eggs? What is you humidity/temp? Are you checking it with multiple, calibrated thermometers for accuracy? @MGG @shawluvsbirds @Flockincrazy

 

[Jedstar]

Your humidity should be 37.5 and humidity 45 to 55 %. And lockdown is day 25.then put the humidity up to 70% for lockdown. What position are your eggs and are they in a automatic turning tray or are you manually turning them.

 

[Jedstar]

Because I've just hatched out 17 Pekin ducklings out of 24 posted eggs from Kurrajong hills in Australia right up to the Tiwi Islands.they are now nearly 3 weeks old and happy. My incubator was a Janoel 48 automatic Turner and put the humidity water in hole in side of the wall. Awsome incubator

 

[Jedstar]

So far I've hatched Quails,ducks and chooks in it.and had it for almost a year now.

 

[MGG]

Ok so I am completely new to this whole process. I've made 5 kids but never ducks. I'm on day 19 of incubation with pekins and khakis. I started with 13 and am down to 10. All have movement & veins. Some have a super light section on the opposite side of the air sack? Some veins dont wrap all the way to the bottom. Some have dark floating specks in them. Again all have activity and movement but none look exactly like the pictures I see for day 19. If anyone could help that would be grand. I can post pics if need be but am trying to just leave them be!! 7 days until lockdown. I did drop humidity a bit to get a slightly bigger air sack before hatch time.

Welcome to BYC!!! They sound fine. The space at the bottom is normal, I've seen that many times. The vein thing is normal too. All of the eggs are always different. The dark specks are embryo waste. Those are also normal. Pics would be good, but I'm sure they're ok. 10 out of 13 is really good. What kind of incubator are they in, and did you test the temp with a calibrated thermometer and the humidity with a salt tested hydrometer? Testing your gauges is important because you'll very rarely be able to buy a thermometer or hydrometer off the store shelf that is actually accurate.
What did you drop it to?

 

[HopMomma]

Welcome to BYC!!! They sound fine. The space at the bottom is normal, I've seen that many times. The vein thing is normal too. All of the eggs are always different. The dark specks are embryo waste. Those are also normal. Pics would be good, but I'm sure they're ok. 10 out of 13 is really good. What kind of incubator are they in, and did you test the temp with a calibrated thermometer and the humidity with a salt tested hydrometer? Testing your gauges is important because you'll very rarely be able to buy a thermometer or hydrometer off the store shelf that is actually accurate.
What did you drop it to?

Thank you. Yes I've got 2 calibrated thermometers one glass one digital, 2 hydrometer as well tested with the bag in water theory which is what I use with my reptiles. They are in an auto turn giant 9300. I have dropped the humidity to 37%.

 

[HopMomma]

Your humidity should be 37.5 and humidity 45 to 55 %. And lockdown is day 25.then put the humidity up to 70% for lockdown. What position are your eggs and are they in a automatic turning tray or are you manually turning them.

Yes they are in auto turner. What I dropped my humidity to 35 % it was staying in the 55% range. Air sack just needs a bit more. According to all the information I've found for the size it should be. I also started spritzing them as well. Hoping that helps. What day do they start pipping? 25?

 

[MGG]

Thank you. Yes I've got 2 calibrated thermometers one glass one digital, 2 hydrometer as well tested with the bag in water theory which is what I use with my reptiles. They are in an auto turn giant 9300. I have dropped the humidity to 37%.

Sounds perfect!
I would try to keep it at least 45% for now. Can you post pics of them?

Yes they are in auto turner. What I dropped my humidity to 35 % it was staying in the 55% range. Air sack just needs a bit more. According to all the information I've found for the size it should be. I also started spritzing them as well. Hoping that helps. What day do they start pipping? 25?

Spritzing isn't neccesary. If you want to try to get the air cells smaller, I've found something that works pretty good. What you do is, when you'll be around, lay down a blanket or towel somewhere where it will not be disturbed, open the incubator, and lay all of the eggs gently on the towel. Then spritz them very lightly with warm water, and leave them sitting out for about 20 minutes. I like to unplug the incubator while they sit so once they go back in they can slowly warm back up. Once the time is up, gently put them back in the incubator and plug it back in. Do this once a day until they're a better size. One week at most. Do not do it during lockdown, obviously, lol.
They will start internally pipping sometime in the next day or two, and they'll start externally pipping on day 27-28. Don't rush them, just sit on your hands.

 

[Xouie]

First hatch is so exciting!! And nerve wracking. A bit like first kid. I’ve hatched a few different species myself, and still get nervous with new ones. But you’re here now, and we’ll be here with you. Little variations during incubation happen; most importantly don’t over-stress. There are lots of experienced waterfowl folks here who can help you through every stage of your journey with little quackers. There’s even a ducks forum.

I’ve only hatched ducks a few times (other than muscovies). Movement in the eggs is a good thing. The super-light section at the bottom of the eggs is that last little bit of room for them to grow. At lockdown humidity should be high, around 70%.