Having trouble hatching Aylesbury duck eggs

[Marisa_spencer]

Wow, I won't lie, I've never seen one quite this bad before. Something is definitely going on in there but there's nothing that can be done to change it unfortunately. It could be releasing of a pool of moisture but I imagine you will find that a blood vessel was nicked and you'll find blood in that area. They can survive this, so don't give up on it, but also don't get your hopes up just in case it doesn't make it.

I would also recommend stopping turning now. It's close enough to lockdown that there won't be any detrimental effects to not turning anymore.

Just as a side note, what have you had the humidity at throughout incubation? Hand turning or automatic? What Incubator are you using? Did you do the spraying and cooling method through mid incubation?

Hello I have had the humidity at 60% all the way through incubation. I was planning on rising it tomorrow when I was going to go into lockdown. I have attached a photo of my incubator it is still air. And I turn the eggs by hand 3 times a day. I also did the spraying and cooling method through incubation. Thank you

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Hello I have had the humidity at 60% all the way through incubation. I was planning on rising it tomorrow when I was going to go into lockdown. I have attached a photo of my incubator it is still air. And I turn the eggs by hand 3 times a day. I also did the spraying and cooling method through incubation. Thank you

60% Humidity is too high for the first 18 days but the spraying and cooling is to allow for the egg to lose additional weight (I know it sounds counter intuitive but it's the evaporation off of the exterior of the egg that allows for the egg to lose additional weight). So hopefully because you did that it will have helped to counter to higher humidity, but it may have something to do with what you're seeing now. There isn't much that can be done this late incubation to allow for the egg to lose more weight but I would wait until day 27 to increase the humidity for hatch (or when you see an external pip if that's sooner).

I've used many different types of Incubators but I'm not familiar with that one. Are you also using a secondary calibrated thermometer to make sure that the Incubator is accurate? Unfortunately a lot of them are not accurate and this could help to explain some of the issues you have run into on your hatch. Waterfowl in general aren't as easy to hatch as chickens.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Sorry, not 18, "first 25 days for this breed of duck". I'm used to talking about chickens. lol

 

[CluckNDoodle]

When you're looking at the air cell, does the air cell appear to be similar in size to the graphic on the right? These can be a good gauge to help when learning to monitor weight loss in a hatch.

 

[Marisa_spencer]

60% Humidity is too high for the first 18 days but the spraying and cooling is to allow for the egg to lose additional weight (I know it sounds counter intuitive but it's the evaporation off of the exterior of the egg that allows for the egg to lose additional weight). So hopefully because you did that it will have helped to counter to higher humidity, but it may have something to do with what you're seeing now. There isn't much that can be done this late incubation to allow for the egg to lose more weight but I would wait until day 27 to increase the humidity for hatch (or when you see an external pip if that's sooner).

I've used many different types of Incubators but I'm not familiar with that one. Are you also using a secondary calibrated thermometer to make sure that the Incubator is accurate? Unfortunately a lot of them are not accurate and this could help to explain some of the issues you have run into on your hatch. Waterfowl in general aren't as easy to hatch as chickens.

Yes I was measuring it with another thermometer so I know the temperature was right but I haven’t been measuring the humidity with a different one. That might be the reason then. Thank you

 

[Marisa_spencer]

When you're looking at the air cell, does the air cell appear to be similar in size to the graphic on the right? These can be a good gauge to help when learning to monitor weight loss in a hatch.

View attachment 2673928

It’s definitely on the 24 in the Turkey and waterfowl egg. It has that clear dip too

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Yes I was measuring it with another thermometer so I know the temperature was right but I haven’t been measuring the humidity with a different one. That might be the reason then. Thank you

In general, I never go over 55% humidity in the beginning of Incubation no matter what Incubator I'm using, or what species I'm hatching. Every Incubator is different and there will also be differences based on location, and even each individual hatch. For me personally in my hatches I have found that the sweet spot for humidity is between 45-50% (depending on which Incubator I'm using) for the initial stage of Incubation and then I increase the humidity to 65% for hatch. The increased humidity at lockdown is just to help keep the exposed membrane from drying out once the chick externally pips.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

It’s definitely on the 24 in the Turkey and waterfowl egg. It has that clear dip too

That's good news!

 

[Marisa_spencer]

In general, I never go over 55% humidity in the beginning of Incubation no matter what Incubator I'm using, or what species I'm hatching. Every Incubator is different and there will also be differences based on location, and even each individual hatch. For me personally in my hatches I have found that the sweet spot for humidity is between 45-50% (depending on which Incubator I'm using) for the initial stage of Incubation and then I increase the humidity to 65% for hatch. The increased humidity at lockdown is just to help keep the exposed membrane from drying out once the chick externally pips.

Ahh ok