Hatching Rouen Duck Eggs

[farmlife27]

Don’t stress about that to much
You could have 6 females to the 2 males and be fine
I have 11 girls and 5 boys
Nobody is getting tag teamed and the boys know there place
The lead boy gets his first
It was scary when my younger 5 were not ready to mate and I had 6 boys
I gave one boy away and now all my girls are able to mate and things have got much better
I have one boy that really only likes one girl and she feels the same way she runs from the other boys but now that the other girls are open they don’t bother her at all

@Miss Lydia I hope so!

@New duck mommy 2021 I'm hoping everything will be okay, somewhere on FB I read, or someone commented on my ducks (i can't keep up with what it was lol) but they said my Rouen drake (he's the baby daddy) might try to kill my male Runner when the Spring comes and it's mating season. I was getting worried lol. I bought them all from TSC together the end of April '22. So they've grown up together and the runner doesn't try to interfere with the Rouens time lol

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

@Miss Lydia I hope so!

@New duck mommy 2021 I'm hoping everything will be okay, somewhere on FB I read, or someone commented on my ducks (i can't keep up with what it was lol) but they said my Rouen drake (he's the baby daddy) might try to kill my male Runner when the Spring comes and it's mating season. I was getting worried lol. I bought them all from TSC together the end of April '22. So they've grown up together and the runner doesn't try to interfere with the Rouens time lol

It’s always good to keep an eye on it
Some boys need much more then others but 3 girls each can work just fine
Usually the lead boy gets his first
You could have 15 girls and if one boy is nasty he could hurt or kill the other drake anyway
The biggest thing is not having both boys on one girl so a minimum of 3 girls per drake will fix that usually
But go as high as you want with girls
The more ducks the better lol
I have 16 now and would love to be at 20
I just adore them

 

[farmlife27]

It’s always good to keep an eye on it
Some boys need much more then others but 3 girls each can work just fine
Usually the lead boy gets his first
You could have 15 girls and if one boy is nasty he could hurt or kill the other drake anyway
The biggest thing is not having both boys on one girl so a minimum of 3 girls per drake will fix that usually
But go as high as you want with girls
The more ducks the better lol
I have 16 now and would love to be at 20
I just adore them

@New duck mommy 2021 We have one that just externally pipped! I went to check on them before going to bed, to do the safety hole, and one of them has cracked into the shell! Should I still open it to do a safety hole on the others, or no since one has started?

ETA: This incubator has 2 red plugs on the top, the manual says when they start to hatch, to remove one of the plugs and then remove both once fully hatched to help dry them out. Should I?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

@New duck mommy 2021 We have one that just externally pipped! I went to check on them before going to bed, to do the safety hole, and one of them has cracked into the shell! Should I still open it to do a safety hole on the others, or no since one has started?

ETA: This incubator has 2 red plugs on the top, the manual says when they start to hatch, to remove one of the plugs and then remove both once fully hatched to help dry them out. Should I?

I actually never put my plugs in at all
Yes remove both now
I would just leave the eggs
I’m thinking they will all hatch themselves
If they looks like the video did then all should be okay. His beak was right where it should be
I’m so excited for you

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

In about 8 hours or less you will see a second pip close to the first one
Then nothing for awhile again
Don’t worry this is normal
Once they external they don’t usually need any help
The only ones that do are ones that make a big hole in the same spot and don’t zip
Sometimes they can’t be slightly off position and can’t move ti zip
Or I had one zip to the end of the egg and not around and he had a leg in the wrong position
I had to break his cap off and let him push out
But both these guys were well ready just needed the zip done for them
You can tell if they need help when they try to hatch if they don’t zip around in a circle
But it’s the coolest thing ever to watch them zip and kick the cap off them push out
They will be really wobbly and weird looking at first
It’s just cause they were squished in the egg and need a little bit to stretch out
I usually wait till a few are born and remove 2 at a time so nobody is ever lonely
Usually about 4-6 hours after they hatch as long as they are able to stand and walk around
They don’t have to be completely dry as I found mine dry better under the heat then in the incubator with high humidity
Also they won’t really be hungry or thirsty for up to 24-48 hours
I still show mine the water and food a few times in the first 24 hours but I don’t worry if they don’t use it
Mom doesn’t leave the nest for 48 hours after first hatch so it’s natural for them not to. The yolk fill them up
Check each baby after 24 hours for pasty butt. Sometimes the poo can dry over the vent and it’s a really easy fix with warm water but deadly if left untreated
I had a buyer of my eggs call me when baby was a few days old and was crying. The baby was not well
I met her and took the baby as I had vitamins ect I could try
I accidentally felt the butt and realized he had pasty butt. This little guy was hardly able to hold his head up
I ran him under warm water and rubbed and rubbed till it came off and all of a sudden he had a power poo and started running around like he was never sick
I called her back and said he is ready to come home. She couldn’t believe it. They really thought he was going to die
I had never even thought of pasty butt so now I check all my babies

 

[farmlife27]

I actually never put my plugs in at all
Yes remove both now
I would just leave the eggs
I’m thinking they will all hatch themselves
If they looks like the video did then all should be okay. His beak was right where it should be
I’m so excited for you

Awesome! Yay! Thanks so much! I will leave them be and see where we are in the morning. It's 1am now, I can't stay up any longer lol. I just checked on them again (just through the looking window on the incubator, haven't opened it since this afternoon). The one that pipped, hit it again so its a little bigger now. The others are still moving and I can hear chirping, so I am going to assume (and hope) everything is good with them lol. All 7 eggs looked the same as the one I posted the video of this morning, can't wait to see what happens tomorrow (Day 26!) I feel like a kid at Christmas

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Awesome! Yay! Thanks so much! I will leave them be and see where we are in the morning. It's 1am now, I can't stay up any longer lol. I just checked on them again (just through the looking window on the incubator, haven't opened it since this afternoon). The one that pipped, hit it again so its a little bigger now. The others are still moving and I can hear chirping, so I am going to assume (and hope) everything is good with them lol. All 7 eggs looked the same as the one I posted the video of this morning, can't wait to see what happens tomorrow (Day 26!) I feel like a kid at Christmas

I will be checking for updates in the morning
They can hatch before 24 hours to
I had one external and zip in 8 hours
I saw him external and even watched him zip and hatch
Was crazy

 

[farmlife27]

In about 8 hours or less you will see a second pip close to the first one
Then nothing for awhile again
Don’t worry this is normal
Once they external they don’t usually need any help
The only ones that do are ones that make a big hole in the same spot and don’t zip
Sometimes they can’t be slightly off position and can’t move ti zip
Or I had one zip to the end of the egg and not around and he had a leg in the wrong position
I had to break his cap off and let him push out
But both these guys were well ready just needed the zip done for them
You can tell if they need help when they try to hatch if they don’t zip around in a circle
But it’s the coolest thing ever to watch them zip and kick the cap off them push out
They will be really wobbly and weird looking at first
It’s just cause they were squished in the egg and need a little bit to stretch out
I usually wait till a few are born and remove 2 at a time so nobody is ever lonely
Usually about 4-6 hours after they hatch as long as they are able to stand and walk around
They don’t have to be completely dry as I found mine dry better under the heat then in the incubator with high humidity
Also they won’t really be hungry or thirsty for up to 24-48 hours
I still show mine the water and food a few times in the first 24 hours but I don’t worry if they don’t use it
Mom doesn’t leave the nest for 48 hours after first hatch so it’s natural for them not to. The yolk fill them up
Check each baby after 24 hours for pasty butt. Sometimes the poo can dry over the vent and it’s a really easy fix with warm water but deadly if left untreated
I had a buyer of my eggs call me when baby was a few days old and was crying. The baby was not well
I met her and took the baby as I had vitamins ect I could try
I accidentally felt the butt and realized he had pasty butt. This little guy was hardly able to hold his head up
I ran him under warm water and rubbed and rubbed till it came off and all of a sudden he had a power poo and started running around like he was never sick
I called her back and said he is ready to come home. She couldn’t believe it. They really thought he was going to die
I had never even thought of pasty butt so now I check all my babies

Oh wow! That's crazy! Thanks for the tip, I will definitely keep check on that, i've not heard of that before! I'm going to peek back in the room and take a picture to show!

 

[farmlife27]

@New duck mommy 2021 I took a picture of the first one that pipped, I went back just now to get a picture of where it hit again to show, while I was standing there, it hit it a 4th time AND another egg pipped!! I got to see that one lol, i heard it and I think another is getting close because it was rocking back and forth alot and I heard tapping/scrapping.

I labeled the pictures, 3 are of the same egg showing the pips, and then the new one that pipped while I was standing there lol

P.S... I said I was going to bed seeing as it is 1:30am now.. I don't think I can now LOL

 

[Miss Lydia]

I hope you got some sleep, they take their own sweet time with hatching so you need your rest.