Eggs moving, should I lockdown early? (Duck)

Jmiller89

Songster
Apr 20, 2020
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Just noticed a couple eggs wiggling on day 23. Was planning on locking down tomorrow night but not sure if I should do it now instead. Last group I hatched came out on day 27 with one pipping the wrong side early on day 25. Eggs have been hand turned and systematically moved throughout the incubator twice daily to give everyone a chance to be in hot/cool spots. Any thoughts?
 
Was it inside the egg? Stop turning the eggs 3 days before hatching and only monitor temp and humidity. Don't open the incubator 1 day before hatching. If you lock down too early, you might cause them to die. If they're hatching now,don't touch the incubator until the next day / they all hatched. If the other babies hatched early and didn't hatch right, I suggest to get an egg turner to put them in the incubator that can place them right, automatically turn them, and also to get a temp control or a temp reader for them...Hope that helps! :wee
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Just noticed a couple eggs wiggling on day 23. Was planning on locking down tomorrow night but not sure if I should do it now instead. Last group I hatched came out on day 27 with one pipping the wrong side early on day 25. Eggs have been hand turned and systematically moved throughout the incubator twice daily to give everyone a chance to be in hot/cool spots. Any thoughts?
What kind of ducks? My Call ducks hatch consistently on days 25 and 26. My muscovys hatch on day 33.
 
Was it inside the egg? Stop turning the eggs 3 days before hatching and only monitor temp and humidity. Don't open the incubator 1 day before hatching. If you lock down too early, you might cause them to die. If they're hatching now,don't touch the incubator until the next day / they all hatched. If the other babies hatched early and didn't hatch right, I suggest to get an egg turner to put them in the incubator that can place them right, automatically turn them, and also to get a temp control or a temp reader for them...Hope that helps! :wee
READ ME!
The eggs have not internally pipped but are rocking a little which tells me they are getting ready to hatch. Not sure if I should lockdown early instead of waiting and turning for another day. Hand turning because my incubator is small and I did the same with the last batch. Tried the turner and the eggs were not turning properly because there was not enough room for them with turner. All hatched healthy including the one that pipped the wrong side of egg. I’m expecting them to come out on day 27 again so locking down tonight might be the better option.
 
Another question. When should I lower temp by .5 degrees for hatching? When I lockdown or when they external pip? Or should I do it whenever I boost the humidity?
 
Early lock down will not kill the eggs. I have seen advise here that states that turning is most important in the early stages of incubation. I have put eggs in lock down about a week early (staggered hatch). The babies all survived. Good luck with your ducks!
 
The eggs have not internally pipped but are rocking a little which tells me they are getting ready to hatch. Not sure if I should lockdown early instead of waiting and turning for another day. Hand turning because my incubator is small and I did the same with the last batch. Tried the turner and the eggs were not turning properly because there was not enough room for them with turner. All hatched healthy including the one that pipped the wrong side of egg. I’m expecting them to come out on day 27 again so locking down tonight might be the better option.
I would say to put some extra water and don't touch the incubator , only touch it for turning eggs. Don't help them hatch or lock then down early The temp might be too high if they're hatching already..
 
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Eggs go through stages. Rocking, peeping, pip, zip. No matter how tempting it is don't help unless the pip/zip stage has not progressed for 24 hrs. And don't help early hatching chicks. If you can don't help at all.
 
Eggs go through stages. Rocking, peeping, pip, zip. No matter how tempting it is don't help unless the pip/zip stage has not progressed for 24 hrs. And don't help early hatching chicks. If you can don't help at all.
I’ve decided to do my normal turning today and lockdown tonight versus locking down tomorrow night. I’ve seen a lot of rocking and am expecting most to hatch on Sunday (day 27). That’s what my last batch did and I’ve tried to mimic conditions since they did so well. Only difference is there is almost double the amount of eggs in the incubator.
 

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