Hatching Egg Help Please

[LittleLakesFarm]

Hello everyone . I had 9 White Indian Runner duck eggs in my incubator. The temperature got up to 110 degrees farenheight in there in the beginning because we had unseasonably warm weather a week ago and no one was able to be here to check them. Well, we have the temp regulated now that the weather has gotten back to normal. It has been 8 days now of 99.5 degrees in the incubator. I have done my first candling today and have found that 5 of the 9 eggs were not fertile or perhaps died due to the over heating (please don't be mad at me, I am new at this). The other 4 eggs have a black mass in there with a C for the air pocket as they should at this stage but there is no movement what so ever. I see a few veins in a couple of them but since there is no movement at all, I am just a bit worried they will not be ok. I have taken the infertile eggs out and put the, "Maybe Babies" back in there and am praying they will be okay. Does anyone know if they are going to be alright? Is there anything I can do to help? Any advice is very helpful. Thank you.

P.S. I am ordering more eggs from a different supplier to begin incubation in a few days. When these eggs hatch, how long should I keep them in the incubator before they are ready to go into the brooder and at what temp and humidity level should the incubator be at if they are to stay in there for a few days after hatching? Also, what temp should the brooder be?

 

[sumi]

Why would anyone be mad at you? You cannot control the weather

If you saw development in the eggs that is good. Let them carry on cooking at the temperature you've got them at now and candle again in a few days to check if they made progress. Time will tell if the temp spike did any harm, but I've heard of embryos surviving even worse temp spikes, so there is hope. And don't worry about lack of movement. Sometimes when I candle I see the embryo move, but I often don't.

Are you going to hatch the new eggs in the same incubator, at the same time as these eggs? This will make things a little complicated for you when you need to lock down the first batch and not the second... Once the ducklings hatched they can stay in the incubator at the same temperature as you've incubated them. I'd advice you to remove them as soon as they've dried off though, as their down goes absolutely everywhere in the incubator if you leave them in there too long! I've probably still got fluff in mine in spite of my cleaning efforts LOL. The brooder should be kept at 95*F or close to for new ducklings. Here's an article on duckling care and brooders that I think you will enjoy:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/duckling-care-brooder-ideas

Best of luck with your hatches and keep us posted!

 

[LittleLakesFarm]

Ahhh Thank you. You have given me a big relief.

. Yes I was going to add the new eggs to the same incubator. I will keep them separate so I can keep track of dates and what not. I thought I would put a divider in there with post it notes to remind me of the dates. Also, what do you mean by "Lock Down"? Does that mean the last 3 days before hatching? I guess I will just have to turn the new eggs very quickly and shut the door as quickly as possible? Will this be okay? If not, my husband can probably devise some sort of thing to make a separate incubator for those 3 days or something. Thank you so much for you helpful advice and reassurance.

<3