Early hatchers/dirty bator

[tx_dane_mom]

Ok, my ducks weren't due to hach til Sat, but started last night...so now I have 6 ducks alive...1 egg was tossed b/c it smelled nasty, and 2 ducks that die in the process. So, there are still 9 eggs in there that I know are/were fertile...question is, should I take them all out & clean the bator & put them back in, or leave it alone? I am worried that the contaminated (nasty green stuff) bator will stop the others from hatching even if they still have a chance....

 

[fowlwoman1]

I totally know where you're coming from. I've wondered that kind of thing myself. My first hatch smelled like rotten eggs really badly because the hatch just dragged on and on and I didn't clean it and I wondered if the smell could asphyxiate a chick. I would be tempted to clean it out, but you should probably leave it alone, I would think, because they will not make it if there isn't enough humidity. I just lost about 20 eggs last week that were fully developed but could not get out because the membrane became tough due to low humidity.

 

[tx_dane_mom]

I ended up cleaning it out & the eggs off. We'll see what happens. I recandled the eggs & noone had broken the inside airsack, so what that means I really don't know, but I'll give them until Sunday. It also makes me wonder if I should try to break the 'late' ones out once the others start pipping...