first time incubating

[WalnutHill]

That is anything but a tiny hole.

Can you see a bill through the hole? There is no internal and no external pip, so you may have jumped the gun. However, your picture window shows that humidity is definitely not where it needs to be. Do you have wet (not dripping) sponges in your incubator to help keep humidity up? Gently swab the membrane with warm water so that it looks transparent, then a very thin film of vegetable oil on the membrane only after the blood vessels on top have receded. It will serve the same purpose as Bacitracin but has no antibiotic properties. Too much or too early will prevent oxygen transfer and kill the duckling. If it is malpositioned and pips through the side, then you can moisten the membrane to ease in hatching.

It's really hard to put all your hopes on a single egg.

 

[chickenlittle84]

I've been considering it but I'm scared after what happened with the chicks. My son will hate me if I kill his duck. He told me it was my fault our baby chickens died because I opened them. He doesn't understand that they weren't going to hatch. I feel like a couple of them might have survived if I had of helped sooner though. Such a hard call to make

Oh, just 5.  Well maybe the baby will be out or ready before he gets home from school. 

And I forgot to ask, how "soupy" does it look under the membrane?  Very fluid, or partly dry?

That is anything but a tiny hole.

Can you see a bill through the hole?  There is no internal and no external pip, so you may have jumped the gun.  However, your picture window shows that humidity is definitely not where it needs to be.  Do you have wet (not dripping) sponges in your incubator to help keep humidity up?  Gently swab the membrane with warm water so that it looks transparent, then a very thin film of vegetable oil on the membrane only after the blood vessels on top have receded.  It will serve the same purpose as Bacitracin but has no antibiotic properties.  Too much or too early will prevent oxygen transfer and kill the duckling.  If it is malpositioned and pips through the side, then you can moisten the membrane to ease in hatching.

It's really hard to put all your hopes on a single egg.  

Are you saying its hopeless? I feel so bad, I should never have tried incubating eggs when I have no clue what I'm doing. I have a pan of water underneath the rack the egg is on. 3 sponges in it and I've added a couple of damp cloths. Definitely a lot of humidity in there but I have 2 openings where it could be escaping so I have no idea.

 

[chickenlittle84]

How often should I be moistening with water? Or should I not till all blood vessels recede. Was that just the oil that I should wait for?

 

[chickenlittle84]

One more thing I noticed, where the internal membrane meets the edge of the air cell one side is reddish instead of white. Its directly under where I see the yellowish patch on the outer shell. Does that mean anything?

 

[WVduckchick]

You just need to re-moisten it when it appears to start to dry out... and until the blood vessels are receding. How quickly do your sponges dry out? Keep them moist too. The rags should help. You just don't want to see condensation on the walls. When you start getting condensation, its too humid. And keep the egg away from the areas where the humidity can escape too, if you can.

The spot could mean that the baby nicked a blood vessel trying to pip, or even trying to get into position. As long as it's not active bleeding, it should be ok, I think. Could you make out where the baby's bill is? I would just let it rest for a while now, until the membrane needs re-dampening.

And don't beat yourself up! No one is perfect at incubating. Not even the broodies get it right every time!

 

[chickenlittle84]

You just need to re-moisten it when it appears to start to dry out... and until the blood vessels are receding.  How quickly do your sponges dry out?  Keep them moist too. The rags should help.  You just don't want to see condensation on the walls.  When you start getting condensation, its too humid.   And keep the egg away from the areas where the humidity can escape too, if you can.

The spot could mean that the baby nicked a blood vessel trying to pip, or even trying to get into position.  As long as it's not active bleeding, it should be ok, I think.  Could you make out where the baby's bill is?   I would just let it rest for a while now, until the membrane needs re-dampening.

And don't beat yourself up!  No one is perfect at incubating.  Not even the broodies get it right every time!   

The sponges are floating in water so they never dry out. I just keep adding water every 12 hours or so and checking on temps and water level about every half hour when I can.

I don't really understand when the membrane dries out. Its white and then I wet it and it turns clear. But it turns white again within seconds of putting it back in the incubator. Is that what you mean by drying out? I would have to keep wetting it almost constantly. Does that mean the humidity is not enough. I have a fan running in there still because the temp was spiking to much without it so that could be part of the problem.

 

[chickenlittle84]

You just need to re-moisten it when it appears to start to dry out... and until the blood vessels are receding.  How quickly do your sponges dry out?  Keep them moist too. The rags should help.  You just don't want to see condensation on the walls.  When you start getting condensation, its too humid.   And keep the egg away from the areas where the humidity can escape too, if you can.

The spot could mean that the baby nicked a blood vessel trying to pip, or even trying to get into position.  As long as it's not active bleeding, it should be ok, I think.  Could you make out where the baby's bill is?   I would just let it rest for a while now, until the membrane needs re-dampening.

And don't beat yourself up!  No one is perfect at incubating.  Not even the broodies get it right every time!   

And no I can't see the bill. I see wet feathery parts against the membrane that I can't make out what they are. Every time I moisten it moves right in the center. Could be the bill poking I guess but I'm not sure. I don't see legs or feet like I did when I opened the chicken through the air cell either. Do they hatch in the same position with beak under wing?

 

[WalnutHill]

Are you saying its hopeless? I feel so bad, I should never have tried incubating eggs when I have no clue what I'm doing. I have a pan of water underneath the rack the egg is on. 3 sponges in it and I've added a couple of damp cloths. Definitely a lot of humidity in there but I have 2 openings where it could be escaping so I have no idea.

It's not solely a matter of not knowing what you are doing. I "know what I am doing" and yet am having miserable hatches with turkey eggs (though the chickens pop like popcorn).

So many things can go wrong during incubation and hatching, that even if you do everything right, you may have a failed hatch. I ended up with a 25% hatch rate on my turkeys today and lost all my special breeding cross that I really needed for next year.

What you are using for incubation plays a big role in it, too. That's why there are threads for just about every kind of incubator out there.

 

[WalnutHill]

And no I can't see the bill. I see wet feathery parts against the membrane that I can't make out what they are. Every time I moisten it moves right in the center. Could be the bill poking I guess but I'm not sure. I don't see legs or feet like I did when I opened the chicken through the air cell either. Do they hatch in the same position with beak under wing?

Yes, it should have the bill under the wing and the feet should be closer to the pointy end, so you shouldn't see them. How are the blood vessels looking on the membrane?

Until it pips into that open pocket, it won't be even close to ready to hatch. If it doesn't look like it's in a bag of broth then things are looking good as long as you can keep the membrane moist.

 

[chickenlittle84]

Moistened again and tried to get another pic