Hatching duck eggs, Pekin fertility

[danielley101215]

I tried to incubate and hatch my three female ducks eggs and I didn’t get anything that developed after even two weeks. So I am re trying again with my freshest 20 eggs from the three of them. My three females are a khaki Campbell, blue Swedish, and welsh harlequin duck. My drake is a big white Pekin and I’m wondering if it’s an issue with him? I always see him mounting them and doing his thing but my boyfriend thinks he may be having trouble doing it or we wonder if there’s an issue with his fertility?

 

[sylviethecochin]

Crack open a few eggs and see if they're fertile. Fertile eggs have a bullseye (blastoderm), infertile eggs have only a spot (blastodisc).

 

[danielley101215]

Crack open a few eggs and see if they're fertile. Fertile eggs have a bullseye (blastoderm), infertile eggs have only a spot (blastodisc).

I have. Only a few were and a lot weren’t.

 

[Rickba]

Keep trying. I've found that when incubating duck eggs fertility is at 80% tops. I just candled 20 I put in my incubator last week and 4 are duds. It's entirely possible the 1st 3 were duds. 2 Things I've found about any eggs, but especially water fowl eggs. 1, don't wash 'em. even if their dirty. 2, let 'em sit in the house at room temp for 24 to 48 hours with the pointy end down before you put 'em in a pre-warmed incubator. These 2 things increases the chances of a hatch quite a bit. Good luck.

 

[danielley101215]

Keep trying. I've found that when incubating duck eggs fertility is at 80% tops. I just candled 20 I put in my incubator last week and 4 are duds. It's entirely possible the 1st 3 were duds. 2 Things I've found about any eggs, but especially water fowl eggs. 1, don't wash 'em. even if their dirty. 2, let 'em sit in the house at room temp for 24 to 48 hours with the pointy end down before you put 'em in a pre-warmed incubator. These 2 things increases the chances of a hatch quite a bit. Good luck.

I didn’t know these things!! Thank you so much for telling me, I will definitely try that on my third attempt based on how this second one goes!! I’m hoping these twenty will have much higher chances and do better I want at least a few to hatch! Do you think it’s also my drakes problem? He’s a big white Pekin drake and he’s always doing his thing but sometimes falls off

 

[Rickba]

Ya never know. You can candle after 7 days. You don't even need to pick up the egg just put the light against the shell. You will see the embryo and the vein structure start to form. As far as falling off, it happens.

 

[sourland]

Sometimes large waterfowl have difficulty completing the deed. This is one of the reasons a lot of breeders provide a pond or pool of water to facilitate breeding. Do your birds have access to 'swimming' water ? It might help.

 

[danielley101215]

Ya never know. You can candle after 7 days. You don't even need to pick up the egg just put the light against the shell. You will see the embryo and the vein structure start to form. As far as falling off, it happens.

Yes I will candle them next Wednesday and report back my results and findings. But for sure if I don't see anything at that time then that means nothing again? And yeah he has alot of issues being able to do it right. He young though and should be fertile and good though right?

 

[danielley101215]

Sometimes large waterfowl have difficulty completing the deed. This is one of the reasons a lot of breeders provide a pond or pool of water to facilitate breeding. Do your birds have access to 'swimming' water ? It might help.

Currently they have these little rubber water bowl type things to where one duck can fit in at a time with their full body to bathe and clean up and drink from. and he will sometimes get on top of them in there. They had a pool and should again soon but don't due to being in a small pen isolated from bumble foot.

 

[Mrs.SWhite89]

Currently they have these little rubber water bowl type things to where one duck can fit in at a time with their full body to bathe and clean up and drink from. and he will sometimes get on top of them in there. They had a pool and should again soon but don't due to being in a small pen isolated from bumble foot.

They most likely need a bigger water tub. Pekins are bigger ducks. A kiddie pool worked for mine. Now they have a big 150 gallon tub we buried in the ground. I hatched pekin ducklings under the mom up until they start pushing out of the shell and take them inside under a lamp with a temp gauge reading at 99 or so and keep the shell damp until they are out.

This one decided she was coming out on our truck ride to the house from a old property we were moving from she was very spunky after she dried and fluffed up.