Hatching! Help!

[fieldandfaithhomesteading]

Our first out of five eggs has hatched! Duckling looks healthy. 3 other eggs are also externally pipped (I noticed all within a few hours of each other). How long do I leave this one in the incubator (still needs to fluff up) and then what do I do about the others? Thanks!!!

 

[All4Eggz]

Our first out of five eggs has hatched! Duckling looks healthy. 3 other eggs are also externally pipped (I noticed all within a few hours of each other). How long do I leave this one in the incubator (still needs to fluff up) and then what do I do about the others? Thanks!!!

Leave it until you see it all fluffy. A couple hours, I'd say.

Then move it to the brooder and start adding chick by chick.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

How long ago did the others pip? You normally don't want to open the incubator unless you absolutely have to at this point otherwise you risk the membrane vacuuming to the chick and suffocating them. The hatched duckling should be fine left in until the others hatch and can live off of the absorbed yolk sac for around 48 hours however, I don't like to leave them in there much longer than 24 hours.

 

[KelseyBoxer]

They will be fine in the incubator 24 hrs or more. They will knock the other eggs,
but I have never had a problem develop from that. Just remember that every time you open your incubator the humidity escapes. Any chicks with external pips could lose moisture and be in danger of shrink-wrap.

 

[fieldandfaithhomesteading]

How long ago did the others pip? You normally don't want to open the incubator unless you absolutely have to at this point otherwise you risk the membrane vacuuming to the chick and suffocating them. The hatched duckling should be fine left in until the others hatch and can live off of the absorbed yolk sack for around 48 hours.

I would say they all pipped within 5 hours of each other? I anticipate the others being shortly behind this guy.

 

[FernbergFarms]

This is the same question I asked myself when I hatched ducklings. You can leave it in for a little bit, but it’ll start to kick the eggs around so you do want to take it out soonish. Maybe an hour or two. I left mine over night because it needed someone by him or he’d jump over the brooder a peep till I held him. So I left mine with other eggs so he could talk to them, but looking back it probably wasn’t the best decision. So as long as the duckling isn’t playing soccer with the other eggs you can leave it in or if he is playing with the eggs you can take it out. It’s up to you.

 

[fieldandfaithhomesteading]

They will be fine in the incubator 24 hrs or more. They will knock the other eggs,
but I have never had a problem develop from that. Just remember that every time you open your incubator the humidity escapes. Any chicks with external pips could lose moisture and be in danger of shrink-wrap.

Yea that’s kind of what I was thinking too....so I’ll leave it all alone until at LEAST tomorrow morning - I see things progressing with the others so they’re hopefully not far behind.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I would say they all pipped within 5 hours of each other? I anticipate the others being shortly behind this guy.

Oh yeah then definitely just leave the hatched duckling in there until the others hatch. When they are all good and fluffed move them to the brooder.

 

[fieldandfaithhomesteading]

Oh yeah then definitely just leave the hatched duckling in there until the others hatch. When they are all good and fluffed move them to the brooder.

@AstroDuck @chicknquailmaster19
As of this morning we now have 3 hatched. One still externally pipped. One with nothing. The 2 ducklings were hatched 2pm yesterday, 7pm yesterday and the 3rd 5am today. It’s crowded for them in the incubator and we have had the brooder all warmed up since 4pm yesterday. I’d like to get them out but don’t want to shrink wrap the one pipped. Any tips for what to do? Thanks in advance!

 

[All4Eggz]

@AstroDuck @chicknquailmaster19
As of this morning we now have 3 hatched. One still externally pipped. One with nothing. The 2 ducklings were hatched 2pm yesterday, 7pm yesterday and the 3rd 5am today. It’s crowded for them in the incubator and we have had the brooder all warmed up since 4pm yesterday. I’d like to get them out but don’t want to shrink wrap the one pipped. Any tips for what to do? Thanks in advance!

Wow! Congrats on your babies!

I think you should very slowly and gently take some of them out.