First timer - really worried

[MotherDucker26]

Hey. First post - first timever incubating.
I need some urgent help here...
I have 8 eggs currently in the incubator. A mixture of ducks and chickens. My husband knows the breeds... they're rare breeds, I know the ducks are 'puddle ducks', begins with an A. This folks is how novice I am.
Anyway both ducks and chickens should have piped by now. And nothing. We candled them and they've been on lock down now for about 5 days. This is what my incubator currently looks like.

Please ask questions because I really don't know what to tell you... other than we thought we'd have piping by now. Help us and tell us guide us as to what to do.

 

[cbourbeau32]

What date did you first put them in the incubator? Secondly when was the last time you candled them and saw movement? We could see movement in several of ours right up until lockdown.

I hope some more folks with more "wisdom" than I have chime in soon. The first incubation is nerve racking, we just finished ours 3 weeks ago.

Good luck!

 

[MotherDucker26]

The ducks have been in 27 days. The chickens have been in 21. We saw movement in all of the eggs, we took them out of the Turner at day 26 and they were still moving. Now some of the eggs are completely black when we put a torch under them. Can't see anything. Where as other eggs are clear as day veins, chick, air sack... we've had problems with the humidity. Keeping it raised. And also we had the eggs point down until we joined here started reading a few 101's and saw that everybody else were lying theirs down... we haven't candled them in 4 days. So don't know if they're chirping. But definately no external piping yet.

 

[junebuggena]

Candle from the fat end, looking down into the egg.

 

[MotherDucker26]

So they're my eggs at present. Just taken these pics.
Some are chirping and some are piping when I've put my ear to them. So yeah where are we at guys?

 

[junebuggena]

That first pic is a good shot of an internal pip. If it doesn't external pip within next 12 hours, you may need to make a small hole in the air cell so it can breathe. Once an egg pips externally, it can take up to 24 hours to fully hatch.

 

[MotherDucker26]

Well number 1 gave me a good boot

thatsorted at least 1 duck aok!is there anything I need to know... like how long it's gonna take. What I do once they hatch. I have a brooder box but I've not set it up yet.

 

[junebuggena]

Once you see that first external pip, get the brooder prepared. It can take several hours from pipping to hatching. After a chick makes that external pip there is a period of resting. The lungs need to adjust to breathing air, the yolk sack will finish absorbing, and the veins will recede. This process can take about 2 to 24 hours. Once it starts zipping, hatching can happen in just a few minutes. Leave the newly hatched chicks in the incubator. Their cheeping will help encourage the other chicks still in their eggs. Once the incubator starts to get too full of rambunctious chicks, it's time to move a few out so the newer, weaker chicks have a chance to recover from hatching without getting run over.

 

[MotherDucker26]

Well hopefully we should have some babies to ooh and ahh over by Monday. So excited! Thank for taking the time to reassure me, it has had a great impact on my anxiousness. Much calmer now.