Asuna Celladora
In the Brooder
- Mar 27, 2018
- 7
- 4
- 11
Hello everyone!
So this is my first time incubating and hatching duck eggs. Since I figured I was going to get everything wrong at first, I bought 4 assorted duck eggs off ebay and had them mailed. Pekin/runner mix. My incubator is an inexpensive brand you can buy off amazon. It maintained incubator temp at 37.5 until lockdown where i added more water and lowered temp to 37.2. Sadly, I should have gotten a humidity gauge because i never could tell if it was where it needed to be at. I judged how much/little water to add day 10 thru 20 by candling and assessing the size of the air sacks. One embryo stopped developing before lockdown and was taken out. At midnight one pipped. It pipped externally by morning, but the hole was not big enough to fit his beak thru. I waited three more hours. With no additional progress (and because i was scared he couldnt breath!) I peeled off some shell and a small bit of membrane. She keeps occasionally sticking her beak out and is nice and loud and moving. Im reassured she can at least breath! Her beak seems to tremble sometimes. Did I peel back too much of the shell and confuse her? Can you even confuse a duckling through assisting? Lol, I dont know. As well, should I worry about the membrane drying out because I exposed more of it? I know the first thing I should really do is leave her alone! But my nerves need reassurance!
So this is my first time incubating and hatching duck eggs. Since I figured I was going to get everything wrong at first, I bought 4 assorted duck eggs off ebay and had them mailed. Pekin/runner mix. My incubator is an inexpensive brand you can buy off amazon. It maintained incubator temp at 37.5 until lockdown where i added more water and lowered temp to 37.2. Sadly, I should have gotten a humidity gauge because i never could tell if it was where it needed to be at. I judged how much/little water to add day 10 thru 20 by candling and assessing the size of the air sacks. One embryo stopped developing before lockdown and was taken out. At midnight one pipped. It pipped externally by morning, but the hole was not big enough to fit his beak thru. I waited three more hours. With no additional progress (and because i was scared he couldnt breath!) I peeled off some shell and a small bit of membrane. She keeps occasionally sticking her beak out and is nice and loud and moving. Im reassured she can at least breath! Her beak seems to tremble sometimes. Did I peel back too much of the shell and confuse her? Can you even confuse a duckling through assisting? Lol, I dont know. As well, should I worry about the membrane drying out because I exposed more of it? I know the first thing I should really do is leave her alone! But my nerves need reassurance!
