Good old Call Duck thread

[StormsnSaugeye]

Or: Adventures in anxiety!

Ok, joke out of the way, I'm new here, so I figured that I'll get the important bits out of the way.
I've been incubating a number of shipped call ducks, which I received back in late June. Today, 3 of them have internally pipped. After consulting the guides, I gave one a safety hole, that way, even if the rest die, this ones got a chance.

As of right now, it's been about 12 hours since internal pip. 1 occasionally peeps, the other only seems to peep when I tap the shell a bit. My main question, and I've seen mixed messages, so I figured to give it another try, is How long until I should start helping? Due date is on the 28th, but the mixed eggs I received contained some tiny tiny tiny eggs, and those are the internal pips. Should I wait until the morning to see? The guide to incubation and hatching has been helpful, but when it comes to call ducks, should I worry that they can't reach and pip the shell itself?

I've been keeping a log for the later part of the incubation, and I'll share that in time.
Further, since we are this close, I figure to also give the occasional report when information becomes available.

 

[Lil Drake40]

@WVduckchick. @shawluvsbirds

 

[WVduckchick]

Welcome!

Is that a typo on the due date or could these possibly be chicken eggs??

Assuming that’s a typo and the ducks are actually due, I usually try to give around 24 hours from internal pip before doing a safe hole or assisting any further. As long as the air cells aren’t abnormally small, there should be enough air in the air cell.

The mixed messages probably come from the varying opinions on how difficult Calls are to hatch. Some lines do just fine by themselves, some lines need more assistance. My opinion is that the lines that are closer to SOP, with short bills and short necks are harder to hatch than pet quality birds.

Hope that helps you make somewhat of an educated guess as to when/if to assist. If you proceed, I’ll be happy to help any way I can.

 

[StormsnSaugeye]

Yeah it was a typo alright. I wasn't paying any attention to the date when I did a quick proofread. It's supposed to be the 18th.
Of note, I guess it's just the mixed messages bit. I did a quick check and I actually have about 5 or 6 that are internally pipped (One MIGHT just be a mishear. So I'm hedging my bets). The one that was first still doesn't peep much, but there is one that's peeping away whenever I whistle.
I noticed that internal pipping had commenced sometime last night and into this morning. Given that one had pipped internally sometime in the last hour and sounds similar to when I first discovered it, I assume sometime between 6 to 8 am EDT (My time).

Now full disclosure, I have no idea what lineages they come from. I purchased them via Ebay shortly after being approached to help my oldest Niece with her duck raising project. I figured to try it myself so that when she starts, the process goes smoothly.
In short, I'm getting the anxiety so that she doesn't have to!

Anyways, I will wait until tomorrow morning before doing anything else. I'm hopeful though and the small size of this egg is rather surprising compared to the rest. I'd say it's about 1/4 smaller than the rest.

 

[WVduckchick]

Oh good, so we aren’t 10 days early!

Smaller egg could be from a newer layer. Did you see pics of the parents from the eBay ad?

 

[StormsnSaugeye]

Here's what the E-bay sellers ad said in a nutshell:
"Selling 10 fertile call duck eggs, collected from nice grey calls, whites and a nice assortment of other colors. These calls meet all call standards and are beautiful colors." It then has a few pictures of the parents it was collected from. Though the image is from 2015.
Them being "Call standard" worries me though.
Truth be told, I'm not looking for show quality call ducks. I wouldn't even know how to enter into those. I'm just a network manager for a local ISP who is helping a kid with a 4-H project for next year lol.

 

[WVduckchick]

Here's what the E-bay sellers ad said in a nutshell:
"Selling 10 fertile call duck eggs, collected from nice grey calls, whites and a nice assortment of other colors. These calls meet all call standards and are beautiful colors." It then has a few pictures of the parents it was collected from. Though the image is from 2015.
Them being "Call standard" worries me though.
Truth be told, I'm not looking for show quality call ducks. I wouldn't even know how to enter into those. I'm just a network manager for a local ISP who is helping a kid with a 4-H project for next year lol.

I’m no expert on the show quality either. Standards are somewhat flexible. Color looks very nice in the pic, but the neck doesn’t look super short, nor the bill. They greys may be more petite than the colors too, I think they tend to be. At least mine are.
Don’t worry too much at this point. We can help you along if necessary, and that assisting article is great help too.

 

[StormsnSaugeye]

Awesome. Then I'll just let it go. Though it's worth noting that the first one to internally pip sure is peeping a lot more now. I'd say its lungs are nearing full maturity at this point.
I intentionally chose call ducks for this because I wanted a small breed that would have a low impact on the area and food needs. I live in a village and after checking all the codes, I found no code prohibiting the raising of ducks. Plus, someone on the nearby island (Same village, same township) raises crested ducks. But, I have a favorable disposition to small animals that are friendly. Plus, I figured a small duck would be better for the niece as well. I suspect that it will be easier for her to handle and for her to interact with.

Well, I'll call this the last post until the morning or until I have an update. Thanks for being a listening ear as I vent, bounce ideas, and generally just check to make sure I'm not making a massive mistake in things. And I thank this site in general for the resources, they've been a massive help in the whole incubation process so far.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

@WVduckchick. @shawluvsbirds

I swear I am not getting all my tags!!
Following along .. Will help If I can but .. I'm still green myself and still ask wv questions
Have you read this article by @Pyxis ?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/?page=2

 

[StormsnSaugeye]

I swear I am not getting all my tags!!
Following along .. Will help If I can but .. I'm still green myself and still ask wv questions
Have you read this article by @Pyxis ?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/?page=2

Yes I have. About the only thing I have done from the guide is put a safety hole on the smallest egg that is also the furthest along in terms of pipping. I hope that I won't have to use more of the guide than just a safety hole. But I have it brought up on another tab, ready to consult if the need arises.
Minor update: 7 eggs have pipped internally. No external pips yet. I'm about to drop off for the night. I just got done working on some routing information for my work so I'm a bit tired (I mostly work from home).