After a crazy time hatching ducklings via surrogates 4 weeks ago and ending up with 5 abandoned eggs, I got a new incubator to try and hatch them, now 4 as 1 wasn't fertile. My little emergency incubator was too small for 5 duck eggs.. I believe the settings for ducklings in the instructions were off from everything I read online (100.04°F instructions vs. 99.4°F online) but I had already started per instructions and tried keeping temperature between 99° and 100°F. Instructions also stated 60-75% humidity but I found out later 55-60% was recommended. The incubator I'm using is newer on the market (released 6/1/21), called "All-in-One Automatic Egg Incubator", it hatches up to 40 eggs. I've constantly struggled with temperature and humidity the entire 28 days and now it's day 29 almost 30 with nothing happening. At times the temperature went to 104° with 69% humidity next time it was 97° with 55% humidity. Water amount was good each time, I added a tiny amount every morning and rechecked several times a day. Also we apparently had a power outage 2 early mornings ago and the temperature dropped to 73°F with 45% humidity before I woke up to not hearing it running, neighbor said power was off about 4 hours. I've tried consulting the manufacturer by email but they were of no help.
I was wondering how long should I wait before gently opening their shells. I'm hand rotating every 6-8 hours because I'm afraid of using the automatic turner and hurting the ducklings if they hatch when I'm not inside or home. Just need some more experienced advice.
Thanks in advance.
I was wondering how long should I wait before gently opening their shells. I'm hand rotating every 6-8 hours because I'm afraid of using the automatic turner and hurting the ducklings if they hatch when I'm not inside or home. Just need some more experienced advice.
Thanks in advance.