First time Duck Egg Hatching advice needed....

[ninety6]

Hi there!

We have 2 mallard eggs, and our best estimate is that today is day 25. We could easily be off by a day or two.

Last night (10pm), noticed shadows in the air cell moving around (in both eggs), looks like no fluid left, egg is all dark other than the air cell! So i've stopped turning, and waiting for external pip.

So -- the shadows in the air cell (like a bill) -- and clicking/tapping that you can feel, but no chirping/peeping that i can hear... 1 of the 2 eggs is wiggling around from time to time. Is this a complete internal pip?

I checked today with a flashlight and it seems they are both "breathing".. (rythmic moving shadows at the edge of air cell). I MIGHT have hear 2 tiny cheeps this morning, but it could have been birds outside...

I'm trying to leave them alone, but I am reading by 24 hours of internal pip i need a safety hole if no external pip yet. So should i make that safety hole this evening, 24 hours after we noticed the shadows? or go ahead now (we are about 18 hours after we noticed the pip if we are correct) -- not knowing exactly when the pipped.

Rookie, never hatched any sort of eggs before, trying to make it work!

I can take pictures or videos, but I'm trying to leave them alone..

(Still air incubator around 99-100 -- was 100-101 before last night, roughly 70% humidity currently, up from 50-55 before last night with a damp rag)


Going to keep a timeline here for easy access:
June 8, 10pm - noticed internal pip (estimated day 25, may be day 26!)
June 9, between 4-7pm - external pip on both eggs (18-21 hours after internal pip)
June 10, around 7am - egg 1 (peso) started Zipping
JUne 10, 9:15am, egg 1 hatch complete.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I would expect external pips by morning and would not do anything now. As hard as it is, I would suggest sitting on your hands and leaving them alone. After they pip externally hatching usually takes 24-48 hours which seems like forever.

 

[ninety6]

Thanks -- just wanted to make sure i didn't wait TOO long. I'm ok to wait as long as i need to... intervention is a last resort!

And update! PIP Alert! Went out to work on my suburban for a couple hours, and behold, i have 2 external pips! They just needed some alone time in the house

The wiggly one may have pipped earlier, but it's on the bottom half of the egg so i can't see it from the observation window. The other egg is pipped right on top, looks like near the bottom of the air sack.

Ok. I can breathe now, knowing they can breath... So looks like a day or 2 and hopefully I'll have a couple fluffy ducks! Will report back!

Hopefully zipping tomorrow!

 

[ninety6]

We have a winner! Peso hatched around 9:15 this morning. He started zipping around 7am...

So -- do i open a vent on the incubator, or just hold until the 2nd one hatches?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Yay! Congratulations!
I would hold on unless he isn’t dry in an hour. I incubate with the plugs out the entire time so I am not sure it matters though. Leave him in the incubator though as his peeping will encourage the other to hatch.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So precious Congrats!!

 

[ninety6]

Well, we have a successful hatch! 2 for 2! "Farzi" hatched on the sly at 750 tonight.

Checked on him around 530pm, still no real progress at that time since the pip this last night. We checked again at 750 and she had just popped the top!

Both seem happy and healthy so far! Thanks all for the help. Brooder is ready as soon as they are both dry.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Awesome! precious little ones.

 

[ninety6]

Peso and Farzi (named by our Son) are fluffed up and in the brooder. Brooder seems smaller than i thought now they everything is in there... but i figure it will do for a couple weeks...

I got the Mazuri starter food. Peso (24 hr old) has already started drinking and snacking...

Seems like all is good!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Very cute! You might want a different water set up after they soak all your shavings.