First attempt to hatch White Crested ducklings

[gardavis2]

I bought an incubator and 10 eggs shipped from Metzer Farms (11 eggs came).



The incubator temp is kept pretty close though my temp gages tell me the temps are too high or too low depending on where I put the sensor. Humidity is 45-50%. The incubator has an auto turn mechanism but the duck eggs are too big (lid won't close) so I removed the turner and set the holders on the base and turn manually 3 times a day.

One egg arrived broken - I used the candle-wax idea to attempt a repair (#3 below):



After 7 days, I candled them and only one looks OK (#8). One is very dark (#7). I will candle again tonight (day 11).



Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Gary

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Shipped eggs are hit and miss depending on how they were handled during shipping. Plus using an incubator can be tricky until you work out the kinks.

I think it takes 10 days to see veins, but I'm not positive. Hopefully more experienced people can help out.

 

[gardavis2]

Attached is my day-11 candling results. It's not a whole lot different from the above image from 4 days earlier. I assume duck eggs mature slower than chicken eggs but ideally, I should be seeing better results by now.


I am going to contact Metzer since they offer a refund on unfertilized eggs (if more than 20%). I am not sure if the eggs failed due to not being fertilized or other issue but maybe they can tell from the images.

I'd appreciate some comments here!

Thanks

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

@casportpony do you know where in development these eggs should be?

 

[MGG]

I think egg #8 looks really good. I'm not sure about the dark one. I see a lot of duds though. Sorry.

 

[casportpony]

I agree, I think the only viable one is #8. So sorry.

 

[casportpony]

Suggestion, email those pictures to Metzer and ask for their opinion.

 

[cinderelly99]

Hi! I am currently incubating Metzer eggs, purchased 10, got 11, and had 5 infertile eggs. Sent them an email on day 8 and they had me wait until day 14 but were very quick with a refund. I agree with including a pic, that's what I did. Good luck!

 

[gardavis2]

Today, I actually emailed Metzer a link to this forum thread which has all the images and details so hopefully I'll get a response.

I'll post their reply.

 

[gardavis2]

I'm sad and disappointed to report that none of the eggs hatched. At the end, I had three possibilities - basically what John Metzer said after reviewing this thread and pictures.

A couple days into lockdown, one egg exploded - what a mess. I had to disassemble part of the incubator to get to all the areas to clean while the two remaining eggs sat in the warm car in the driveway.

At day 29 with no indication of progress, I gave a final candle-test which showed that they were obviously not alive.

Assuming this was going to happen, last week, I ordered 6 ducklings from Metzer which I just got notification of shipment this evening (Monday) so we are looking forward to Wednesday or Thursday pickup.

Metzer did credit me for 4 of the infertile eggs. I suspect the incubator was my main problem since the duck eggs did not fit in the turner pockets. Taking temperatures in the various parts of the incubator showed wild temperature deviations like from 97 to 103 degrees just a few inches apart (incubator has heater on left and fans on both left blowing to the right. I even bought micro usb fans to help distribute the air but it seemed to make it worse. Would need more time to experiment. My wife does not want to try incubation again, especially after the explosion.