Help, advice needed!

[oliviasmith]

Hi, it is my first time hatching duck eggs however i have hatched chickens but 2 that was around 2 years ago. So, i’ve had the duck eggs in the incubator for 18 days and the ducks are wild as the mother abandoned her eggs(i know this because i saw her with them but kept checking back however she never came back). Anyway i put them in the incubator and we’re now on day 18 and 1/6 of them as far as i’ve seen is wobbling in the incubator. I don’t know when i’m supposed to increase humidity and start lockdown etc. I could really do with some advice as i don’t know when to stop turning them and everything. Thanks

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'll tag some that are experienced

@New duck mommy 2021
@WVduckchick
@cheezenkwackers

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Hi, it is my first time hatching duck eggs however i have hatched chickens but 2 that was around 2 years ago. So, i’ve had the duck eggs in the incubator for 18 days and the ducks are wild as the mother abandoned her eggs(i know this because i saw her with them but kept checking back however she never came back). Anyway i put them in the incubator and we’re now on day 18 and 1/6 of them as far as i’ve seen is wobbling in the incubator. I don’t know when i’m supposed to increase humidity and start lockdown etc. I could really do with some advice as i don’t know when to stop turning them and everything. Thanks

Can you take a video of candling
This will help to know what’s going on
Day 18 is to early to hatch
Add to YouTube then share the link here

 

[Yardmom]

Any idea what type of duck eggs they are?

 

[WVduckchick]

A few candling pics would also help, if you can’t do a video.

In the absence of being able to see them, if you can monitor them often, you can wait until the first internal pip to raise the humidity. The egg should be all full and dark (except the air cell), maybe a little fluid and veins showing just beneath the air cell layer, and the duckling will start to “draw down” into the air cell end of the egg. That’s when you know the are getting close.

If these were wild ducks, what do you plan to do with them? Some wild ducks are against the law to own, so I would advise you to check your local laws/ordinances.

3 days before hatch:

1 day before hatch:

 

[oliviasmith]

Thank you, this is what they look like on day 19

there are no visible vains anymore. And the male which i’m presuming is the father is a mallard and the other is just brown so unsure of breed.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Thank you, this is what they look like on day 19View attachment 3533515
there are no visible vains anymore. And the male which i’m presuming is the father is a mallard and the other is just brown so unsure of breed.

when you candle do you see shadow movements along the air cell ?
My day 20 babies still have room that I can see on past the air cell

 

[Yardmom]

On a viable egg veins would be visible on day 19, and you should be able to see the duckling moving.

 

[oliviasmith]

On a viable egg veins would be visible on day 19, and you should be able to see the duckling moving.

yes i can see the duckling moving with very little space next to the air cell. I just feel like they are more developed than day 19 like maybe they started to develop while being under the mum before she abandoned them.

 

[Yardmom]

If the mom was sitting on them and then you put them in the incubator for 20 days it is very likely they are close to hatch. Mallard eggs take 28 days that would have started with the mother's sitting. If they are true wild the mother would be brown. If you mean brown, but not like a while mallard then the mom is most likely a mallard derived domestic breed.
As far as when to place in lockdown, candle once a day. When you see an internal pip lockdown.