Hatching call ducks in June?

[fowllover]

Hello-

Looking for some fellow call duck hatchers to walk thru this months journey with me. I tried to hatch some call ducks and Aussies last month and the end result was one Aussie. I am going to give it another shot. I have mixed emotions of being excited and nervous.

 

[country_girl011]

Hello-

Looking for some fellow call duck hatchers to walk thru this months journey with me. I tried to hatch some call ducks and Aussies last month and the end result was one Aussie. I am going to give it another shot. I have mixed emotions of being excited and nervous.

i have a hatch next week and another the following. which will bring my total up to about 12 hatches on my calls this year.

are these shipped eggs?
did you try to assist last hatch?

 

[fowllover]

i have a hatch next week and another the following. which will bring my total up to about 12 hatches on my calls this year.

are these shipped eggs?
did you try to assist last hatch?

Yes they are shipped eggs which I know is is strike one. I didnt assist until 3 days after hatch day and I wish now I would have. None of them had external pips. The one Aussie that made it was peeping so we intervened. Do you have any tips?

 

[judyc]

I just set 13 BEI under a broody yesterday. I'd already shut down my incubators, so thought I would give this hen a job. These are shipped eggs too. The air cells look great though, and are very fresh eggs.

The ones I hatched out in the incubator I hand turned 3+ times a day. I sprayed them with water when I turned them, used a Marsh Roll-X. I had them at 99.5 degrees, and 60% humidity.

I start checking with a flashlight for internal pips. If they haven't pipped externally in 12 hours, I take a small drill bit and open the air cell to see what's going on.

 

[judyc]

Oh, wanted to say, I will be taking these eggs from the hen a few days before hatch. Don't want her killing them for not being chickies!

 

[country_girl011]

Yes they are shipped eggs which I know is is strike one. I didnt assist until 3 days after hatch day and I wish now I would have. None of them had external pips. The one Aussie that made it was peeping so we intervened. Do you have any tips?

my first call hatch was a disastor.
and i learned a lesson after that. i always assist.
as soon as i notice int pip i do a small extpip for them.
then give them another 6-12 hours to make progress.
if they dont then i know its a commited assisted hatch and chip away a small amount of the shell just so i can see inside.
and let them rest for a while longer before chipping away more. and if there arent any/many veins i gently pull their heads out. and leave them to rest a while longer. watching the size of the yolk. once the yolk is gone i chip away enough around the edges so that they can push out when ready .

 

[fowllover]

my first call hatch was a disastor.
and i learned a lesson after that. i always assist.
as soon as i notice int pip i do a small extpip for them.
then give them another 6-12 hours to make progress.
if they dont then i know its a commited assisted hatch and chip away a small amount of the shell just so i can see inside.
and let them rest for a while longer before chipping away more. and if there arent any/many veins i gently pull their heads out. and leave them to rest a while longer. watching the size of the yolk. once the yolk is gone i chip away enough around the edges so that they can push out when ready .

I am definately going to follow that advice this round! I have never seen an internal pip so that is the part I am a little uneasy about and what to look for. Do you mist?

 

[fowllover]

I just set 13 BEI under a broody yesterday. I'd already shut down my incubators, so thought I would give this hen a job. These are shipped eggs too. The air cells look great though, and are very fresh eggs.

The ones I hatched out in the incubator I hand turned 3+ times a day. I sprayed them with water when I turned them, used a Marsh Roll-X. I had them at 99.5 degrees, and 60% humidity.

I start checking with a flashlight for internal pips. If they haven't pipped externally in 12 hours, I take a small drill bit and open the air cell to see what's going on.

Good luck!! I really like this idea of watching for internal pips. I really think that is where I went wrong.

 

[judyc]

If you have an egg candler, or a good flashlight, ( I use a Maglight) you will be able to see the air cell getting bigger. When it starts getting uneven the duckling is getting ready to internally pip. You will be able to see it moving and bumping against the membrane. It will show up as a blurry moving image once it's in the air cell. Increase the humidity by whatever means you can, and once that baby shows in the air cell, start counting down for the 12 hours.

 

[fowllover]

If you have an egg candler, or a good flashlight, ( I use a Maglight) you will be able to see the air cell getting bigger. When it starts getting uneven the duckling is getting ready to internally pip. You will be able to see it moving and bumping against the membrane. It will show up as a blurry moving image once it's in the air cell. Increase the humidity by whatever means you can, and once that baby shows in the air cell, start counting down for the 12 hours.

Thats for the detailed description!