hatching question

jimlas

In the Brooder
8 Years
May 17, 2011
55
3
41
Well, I am down to just a few days before hatching my runner ducks. This is my first hatch and I fear that I have done everything wrong. I read last night that you turn from end to end not from the middle and I have had these eggs leaning with their smaller end down and rotating three times a day from the middle.
When I candle the eggs the chicks are getting bigger but i still see a lot of fluid on the opposite side of the air cell. They are due on the 23rd to start hatching. Could there be to much fluid at this point or will they grow much bigger in the next 5 days??
My humidity has run approx. 55-60% I would say
Thanks for any info
 
I haven't hatched duck eggs, only chicken eggs, so i can't speak to the humidity issues. But as far as turning the eggs...i'm not sure exactly what you mean by "turning from the middle," but the point of turning the eggs is to keep the embryo from attaching to the shell. Also, turning from end to end, as in having them small end down and then fat end down, is not correct. A mother hen keeps hers on their sides (since it would be impossible for her to keep them on their ends) and rolls them over.

Just think about how an automatic egg turner works. If you're mimicking that, or a mother hen with your turning, then your turning is fine.

Don't worry too much. I know it's hard, but just hold out for the beauty. :)
 
That' s true isn't it :eek:) She doesn't turn like that. Turning from the middle I just meant that I turn them while holding the egg around the middle and turn approx. a 1/4 to 1/2 in turn three times a day. I keep them leaning with the small end down but not exactly straight up as they do not lay that way in the nest either.
Thanks for the encouragement. Sometimes reading to much can lead to worrying : o)
Do you think with 5 days left that I should see any liquid in the bottom still?
 
Well, that liquid could be yolk. So yes.

As for turning, the norm is a 180 turn 3 times a day. But if you've gotten this far, i totally wouldn't be worrying about your turning method anymore. :)

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
 
Great, I will relax :eek:) This is worse than waiting for your own child to be born LOL
 

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