Freakin out, someone help me feel better!

[Gerty0630]

I am on day 17 of incubating 3 duck eggs and I cannot get the humidity right to save my life! My air cells are a little small and I know the humidity has been running a bit high so I've tried literally 4 different sized dishes of water at the bottom of the incubator and literally none of them are right. My humidity goes anywhere from 35-55% when really I'd like it about 45-50. The humidity had been about 55-57% before I started trying to switch out the dish to lower it. At 55-57% all the eggs moved around a ton when candled. Last night at about 40% I candled and while all were still alive, I did not see nearly as much movement. Is it normal for eggs around day 18 to stop moving so much since they are getting bigger? Literally stressing me the eff out! (first time incubating if it wasn't already apparent )

 

[Skipper81]

I’ve seen videos on YouTube where a guy was spraying his eggs with water to keep the humidity up

 

[sourland]

Noticeable movement decreases over the course of incubation. I think that your eggs are doing fine.

 

[Mosey2003]

55% is perfect to me. That sounds normal, especially since ducks go longer than chickens anyway.

Never ever spray eggs in an incubator, the water hitting their surface will shock them and rapidly cool the surface, that can kill the embryo.

 

[Gerty0630]

55% is perfect to me. That sounds normal, especially since ducks go longer than chickens anyway.

Never ever spray eggs in an incubator, the water hitting their surface will shock them and rapidly cool the surface, that can kill the embryo.

55% was too high for me, the air cells are not as big as they should be so that's why I was trying to lower it to get it more around 50. I've not, nor would I spray the eggs to cool them.

 

[Gerty0630]

Noticeable movement decreases over the course of incubation. I think that your eggs are doing fine.

What do you think about 55% and the fact that the air cells are a bit small? Doesn't that indicate humidity is too high?

 

[Mosey2003]

55% was too high for me, the air cells are not as big as they should be so that's why I was trying to lower it to get it more around 50. I've not, nor would I spray the eggs to cool them.

Are you saying you've incubated ducks before and this is a new issue with this equipment and batch, or are you gauging from chicken air cell pictures? Because ducks will take longer for the air cells to grow. Not trying to insinuate you don't know, but we never know who already knows what online

 

[Gerty0630]

Are you saying you've incubated ducks before and this is a new issue with this equipment and batch, or are you gauging from chicken air cell pictures? Because ducks will take longer for the air cells to grow. Not trying to insinuate you don't know, but we never know who already knows what online

Oh no I'm totally a first timer haha. I have a photo I found on BYC of duck egg candling air cell progression and my eggs air cells look a bit small in comparison to what I've seen photos of indicating what they should be

 

[Mosey2003]

Oh no I'm totally a first timer haha. I have a photo I found on BYC of duck egg candling air cell progression and my eggs air cells look a bit small in comparison to what I've seen photos of indicating what they should be

Then I would not worry so much Ducks like a bit more humidity than chickens to begin with I do believe, and I find my sweet spot for chickens to be the standard 50-55%. Hatching your own eggs in your own equipment is always a learning experience, it takes a few batches to really get a feel for how your setup works. I would take note of it and evaluate after your hatch is over. I certainly wouldn't worry if my air cells didn't match one set posted online. Are they the same breed of ducks? Were they collected the same time of year and handled the same way? There are a lot of variables, and you still have plenty of days left for them to progress and the moisture to leave.

 

[Gerty0630]

Then I would not worry so much Ducks like a bit more humidity than chickens to begin with I do believe, and I find my sweet spot for chickens to be the standard 50-55%. Hatching your own eggs in your own equipment is always a learning experience, it takes a few batches to really get a feel for how your setup works. I would take note of it and evaluate after your hatch is over. I certainly wouldn't worry if my air cells didn't match one set posted online. Are they the same breed of ducks? Were they collected the same time of year and handled the same way? There are a lot of variables, and you still have plenty of days left for them to progress and the moisture to leave.

Thank you that does make me feel better. It's easy for a first timer to freak out! I think my fiancé is ready to strangle me with how obsessed I've become haha