Ducks all died in egg

[MBM]

Hey everyone. I had a batch of Pekin ducks that were supposed to hatch. They were all alive and kicking when I candled them right before lockdown. I had 9 eggs, and only 1 made it. Another egg started hatching, it made a hole in the shell but then it died. I candled them 2 days after they were overdue and couldn't see any movement and no external pips or anything, they all looked dead. I left them in the incubator anyway, still hoping I was wrong, but after 3 days I threw them out today. I cracked them open and they were all fully developed, but they didn't have their yolk sacs absorbed. What do you think could have gone wrong? Temp and humidity were ok. I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong so it doesn't happen to my next batch. Right before I had a batch of cayugas hatch in that same incubator and they did well. This is my worst hatch ever, and the ducklings were an order for somebody. I guess this is why they say don't count your chickens before they hatch

 

[SilverBirds]

What was the temp and humidity during incubation and lockdown?

 

[MBM]

Humidity was between 65-70% and temp was 99F

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I’m sorry this happened to you. Most likely, too hot or too humid. What kind of incubator was it? Styrofoam incubators work on a timer not a thermostat. As a result, if the room temperature goes up, or soon to hatch ducklings generate their own body heat, it can get too hot. I purchased an external thermostat to stop this.
Or, it might be too high of humidity during incubation. The eggshell is porous and the egg needs to lose a certain amount of water during incubation. If not, ducklings can drown in the excess water or grow too large to hatch. My hatches have improved since I started incubating dry. I do not add water until lock-down.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Hey everyone. I had a batch of Pekin ducks that were supposed to hatch. They were all alive and kicking when I candled them right before lockdown. I had 9 eggs, and only 1 made it. Another egg started hatching, it made a hole in the shell but then it died. I candled them 2 days after they were overdue and couldn't see any movement and no external pips or anything, they all looked dead. I left them in the incubator anyway, still hoping I was wrong, but after 3 days I threw them out today. I cracked them open and they were all fully developed, but they didn't have their yolk sacs absorbed. What do you think could have gone wrong? Temp and humidity were ok. I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong so it doesn't happen to my next batch. Right before I had a batch of cayugas hatch in that same incubator and they did well. This is my worst hatch ever, and the ducklings were an order for somebody. I guess this is why they say don't count your chickens before they hatch

I know this is an older post but I use a styrofoam incubator
I keep my temps at 37.5-37.8
99.5-100
They fluctuate a little
My humidity is 40-45 for first 25 days and 65-70 for lockdown
I take my eggs out on day 10-25 once a day for 5-10 mins
Give them a mist of warm water and let them cool
I have schools hatch my eggs using my set up and my guidance and both schools and myself are able to get 90-100 % hatch rate
I say 90 because my last batch I lost 2 one had a crack after I dropped the flashlight and I tried to repair bang made it another 10 days then stopped and one never made internal pip
I candle my eggs everyday and lockdown to me is once I see the air cell drop and baby is shadowing along the air cell
If that’s day 23 or 26 that’s my lockdown start
Hopefully the next batch you do goes great