First pips and need advice, please help!

[allidelgado]

Hello fellow hatchers!

I have 6 of my own duck eggs on day 29 right now. The temp has been a bit low it seems after I found out the incubator I use is a still air, so I am not concerned that they are showing their first signs of hatching on day 29. This morning I have had 2 eggs pip, but just ever so slightly lift the shell a bit. Not enough to see through it. The concern I have is that they haven't made any progress from there and it has now been 8 or 9 hours. Because I don't have anything to gage my humidity, (I have only filled the trays in the Hova-Bator that I was supposed to), I am unsure on whether they are too dry and need extra humidity. My screens on the top of the bator are wet and foggy, and have even dripped a few times from the condensation. Should this tell me that that's enough humidity? I really don't want to intervene, and I know it's still too early. I am just very eager for these babies to make it and don't want to miss a chance at helping them if the conditions aren't right. Any advice? Should I add more water through a straw or does it sound like humidity is enough? They are peeping and moving and I can hear the chewing sound coming from their eggs but I don't see any progress from it!
Help!!!

 

[oregonkat]

Do not add more water, the fact that your bator lid is dripping is indicating that your humidity is at or around 100%! A little too high. I dont hatch ducks but please, for your future hatches, get yourself and calibrate yourself, a hygrometer and a thermometer that operate independently from your incubator instruments. This is the only way you are going to know what is going on in your bator.
How long has your incubator been this humid? What is your temp?
@WVduckchick, how long from pip to zip with ducks?

 

[WVduckchick]

Definitely too much humidity if it's dripping. Hopefully none is dripping on the eggs. A slight bit of condensation is fine, so without a gage, I would let it dry out some
What breed of duck? Most ducks can take a full 2 days, 48 hours from pip to zip. They are absorbing yolk for these last hours, so rushing is a bad thing. Glad you are being patient.

They will also punch around and may make 2 or 3 more pips before they start zipping. Don't panic, it's normal.

Good luck!!

 

[allidelgado]

Thanks for the responses folks. I've only seen the incubator drip once or twice in the last 3 days, but it was the only way of describing how much humidity I think it has. And yes, good word on getting a hygrometer. I'm still new to this so navigating it and learning a lot. Why would it be bad for condensation to drip on the eggs? I filled the trays that were indicated so hopefully there isn't too much humidity.
They are a mix between Call ducks and Pekin, I believe. Good news is that one of the eggs just made another pip very close to the first one so it is starting to look like a zip (or will eventually)!!

Thanks again for your advice!

 

[allidelgado]

The incubator hasn't been this humid the whole time--just the last few days since lockdown. Temp has been around 99.5--100 because it's a still air.

 

[WVduckchick]

Are the call ducks on day 29 too, or did you wait a couple days to add them? They usually hatch in about 26 days.

The dripping on the shell could cause chilling inside, but still air may not be so bad about that. But a wet shell can also impede zipping. So it's just better to not let them get very wet.

 

[ronott1]

It takes more time between pip and zip with ducks.

They can die if humidity is too high in the incubator. Heat plus humidity removes oxygen in the incubator.

Make sure all of the plugs are out and that there is plenty of ventilation (vents on bottom are not covered or plugged)

 

[allidelgado]

I made the mistake of saying Call ducks instead of Runners. They are a mix between Runners and Pekins. The top of the incubator just has some condensation on the corners, I don't think it's as bad as it sounded when I described it dripping! I've only seen it do that once or twice since lockdown (3 days ago)

Thank for taking the time to help this newbie hatcher!

 

[allidelgado]

Good news---all are making progress!! Now I have one that is pipping from the wrong end, the bottom of the egg, not in the air sac. Should I turn it around so it's facing up? I can do this without opening the incubator...

 

[oregonkat]

Nope, leave it alone. Eggs that pip in the wrong end usually make it just fine, they take longer to zip than chicks that are oriented the right way. It takes the chicks much longer to absorb the yolk and blood so dont mess with it. Tough stuff, I know