First-Timer

[littlecollier]

@Pyxis Thanks for such a quick reply! I’ll leave it in there and see if it somehow makes it ... I didn’t see any movement this time around ...

The incubator was supposed to have an auto turning mechanism but I’m not 100% confident it works or I set it up correctly. The instruction manual was in very broken English and didn’t make a ton of sense. Maybe I should have spent the extra money for the Brinsea after all.

 

[Pyxis]

It definitely looks like turning has not been sufficient I wouldn't trust the autoturner at all and would do all the remaining turning by hand.

 

[WVduckchick]

I agree with Pyxis.

Since you have a few days to go, i would suggest turning them as many times a day as possible, and waiting to increase humidity in line with the date this one was laid.
I had a group of eggs abandoned by a broody duck after 2 weeks. She had 17 eggs, and I think it was just too many for her to turn well. Over half had underdeveloped CAMs. I put them in my Nurture Right, which rolls them every hour, and they have improved greatly! I lost a few, but she was off the nest for 2 days before I actually collected the eggs, so I was more surprised that any survived.

Here's a quick candling video of them a couple nights ago.

 

[littlecollier]

Wow! That gives me hope! Thank you @WVduckchick!

This one will truly be a miracle if it hatches!

 

[WVduckchick]

Wow! That gives me hope! Thank you @WVduckchick!

This one will truly be a miracle if it hatches!

Well...yours looks a little worse than mine did, but hang on until you are sure there is no movement.

 

[littlecollier]

Amazingly there is still movement! It’s slow but I could see perhaps a heartbeat and a little moving. Seeing as this egg hasn’t developed properly ... Will the duckling be underdeveloped if it does hatch? Just wondering if it will make it?



Unrelated question ... I’ve been giving the new babies starter crumble and I’m wondering if/when I can treat them with frozen peas, small pieces of lettuce or mealworms? I know they’ll need grit provided ... But is there a minimum age?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Not really just start off small. You don't want to get so spoiled they won't eat their starter. lol

@WVduckchick about the egg

 

[littlecollier]

Good point! Can’t spoil them too much or we’ll have a problem on our hands.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You know how kids are about their candy

 

[littlecollier]

So I tried giving them teeny-tiny lettuce and providing grit and they weren’t particularly interested.

Also tried smooshed frozen peas, they mouthed them and spit them out. I heard ducks love peas, but maybe not this young?

Couldn’t verify that the mealworms I bought were organic and was cautioned against giving them since they could be of questionable origin ... I guess they’ll just have to enjoy worms from our backyard once they start going outside.



They love eating their starter out of my hand, so I’ll just let that be the “treat” for now.

Cleaned their brooder and tried a new setup for water, hoping it’s a tiny bit less messy (big dream, I know!). For the most part I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how not-horribly-terribly-messy they’ve been.

The little black one is highly interested in water/trying to swim and the brown one is a great jumper.

We are having a blast!

Last egg goes into lockdown tonight. Hoping it will hatch so I can try to give it to our friend - She’s lost two ducks since we put the eggs in the bator.