Hatching ducklings

[CluckNDoodle]

Yes they are from the same breeding pair as last time. The male is moulting badly at the moment though?

Molting would probably result in more infertile eggs but it wouldn't cause the chicks to quit. Especially that late in incubation. I would say it's more likely related to something with the incubator, like needing a secondary calibrated thermometer/hygrometer but in this case since you're successfully hatching chicken eggs in the same incubator I would try hand turning to see if that resolves the issue. If it doesn't then I would start looking at the flock for concerns.

 

[WVduckchick]

I would definitely check the temp and humidity with verified accurate meters. If they die when you move them, I’d suspect temp is off in the new one.
Did you open any of the eggs afterward? Sometimes that may give clues as to the cause of death too.

 

[Birdland10]

I would definitely check the temp and humidity with verified accurate meters. If they die when you move them, I’d suspect temp is off in the new one.
Did you open any of the eggs afterward? Sometimes that may give clues as to the cause of death too.

Yes I always open them afterward. Positioning was quite tightly impacted toward the pointed end. Maybe because of the vertical turner? They seemed to have large air sacs.. The yolks in most of them were quite large for such a developed duckling? I've put other thermometers in and the temp is fine. Just waiting on a humidity reader to come in the post that I can put into the incubator.

 

[Pyxis]

Yes I always open them afterward. Positioning was quite tightly impacted toward the pointed end. Maybe because of the vertical turner? They seemed to have large air sacs.. The yolks in most of them were quite large for such a developed duckling? I've put other thermometers in and the temp is fine. Just waiting on a humidity reader to come in the post that I can put into the incubator.

Large air cells sounds like the humidity was too low. I haven't had problems with duck eggs in vertical turners. The only duck breed I've heard of having trouble with vertical is Calls, and those are harder anyway. I don't think it's likely to be an issue with them being in the turner.

 

[Birdland10]

Large air cells sounds like the humidity was too low. I haven't had problems with duck eggs in vertical turners. The only duck breed I've heard of having trouble with vertical is Calls, and those are harder anyway. I don't think it's likely to be an issue with them being in the turner.

Ok. Thanks for that info. I appreciate it. I'll keep an eye on the humidity. I'm wondering if the chicken eggs should have had a similar problem though? I'll see how the next round of duckies in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed!

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

Hello everyone,
Just wanting to know if anyone had any opinions on why my hatch rate has plummeted with ducklings.
Last time I incubated them the hatch rate was 90%, and I was manually turning them.
This time I have an auto turner and they are at a 10% hatch rate! All seem to be dying around day 18-20. I take them off the turner and pop them in the hatching incubator three days before hatch. Chicken hatch rate is good.
Any suggestions? They are the same parent breeding pair as well.

I don't see anything wrong with that, I wonder what's causing it to be that way. I'm sorry not to be of any help. but I hope you find some answers soon.

 

[Pyxis]

Ok. Thanks for that info. I appreciate it. I'll keep an eye on the humidity. I'm wondering if the chicken eggs should have had a similar problem though? I'll see how the next round of duckies in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed!

Another thought comes to me, are you certain the turner was working? I once basically killed a batch of eggs by assuming the turner was working until about a week and half into incubation, when I realized it actually wasn't. From that point, I got it working, but the damage was done and a lot of the eggs quit.

As far as if the chickens would have the same problem as the ducks, the chicken eggs might be doing okay with a lower humidity while the duck eggs might not be. I'd suggest weighing the duck eggs to make sure they're losing the correct amount of moisture; that'll be the fastest way to know if they're doing okay with what the humidity is in the incubator.

And you could of course also try hand turning - while unlikely that it's a case of the vertical turner killing them, there is always a chance that it is what's causing the issue.