Help! Air cell’s too small but duckling’s still Alive trying to pip!

[BelovedBirds]

I never knew that was how you calibrate thermometers! I can give it a go

I’m in the UK - it’s not really a humid place. Should I boost humidity even though the air cells for both haven’t decreased much at all? I think for one egg there’s been a tiny decrease, just checked a moment ago.

If the glass thermometer is correct does that mean the temperature inside is actually 30C? Increased the temperature but it still doesn’t go above 30 in which case it’s really low, and the eggs are most likely delayed in development. What should I do?

I would calibrate the thermometer before changing the temp, then you can rely fully on that thermometer. Until then I wouldnt trust anything.
Thankfully calibrating isnt too hard and it can be done pretty quickly, the only thing you may have to do is prepare ice, if you dont have any!

 

[Croissant]

I would calibrate the thermometer before changing the temp, then you can rely fully on that thermometer. Until then I wouldnt trust anything.
Thankfully calibrating isnt too hard and it can be done pretty quickly, the only thing you may have to do is prepare ice, if you dont have any!

Oh ok I’ll do that now! Need to check if i have ice and if I don’t I’ll freeze some!

 

[WVduckchick]

I never knew that was how you calibrate thermometers! I can give it a go

I’m in the UK - it’s not really a humid place. Should I boost humidity even though the air cells for both haven’t decreased much at all? I think for one egg there’s been a tiny decrease, just checked a moment ago.

If the glass thermometer is correct does that mean the temperature inside is actually 30C? Increased the temperature but it still doesn’t go above 30 in which case it’s really low, and the eggs are most likely delayed in development. What should I do?

I would calibrate the thermometer before changing the temp, then you can rely fully on that thermometer. Until then I wouldnt trust anything.
Thankfully calibrating isnt too hard and it can be done pretty quickly, the only thing you may have to do is prepare ice, if you dont have any!

I agree with Beloved. 30 would be very low and probably wouldn’t have allowed full development, so it is more likely off, but easy to test.

Also, the positioning of an independent thermometer could have implications. If it’s just a plain glass thermometer, be sure it isn’t touching anything and that the tip is elevated off the floor. Maybe tape it to a small plastic cup, or cut an inch slice from a paper towel roll and lay it across it, with the tip out in the open air. It should be around the height of the top of the eggs.
I didn’t have a thermometer handy so I used an ink pen for reference, but something like this.

 

[WVduckchick]

I have 4 new call ducklings this morning.
Assisted 3 yesterday and the final one this morning.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I have 4 new call ducklings this morning.
Assisted 3 yesterday and the final one this morning.
View attachment 3065297View attachment 3065298

adorable!!!

 

[Croissant]

I agree with Beloved. 30 would be very low and probably wouldn’t have allowed full development, so it is more likely off, but easy to test.

Also, the positioning of an independent thermometer could have implications. If it’s just a plain glass thermometer, be sure it isn’t touching anything and that the tip is elevated off the floor. Maybe tape it to a small plastic cup, or cut an inch slice from a paper towel roll and lay it across it, with the tip out in the open air. It should be around the height of the top of the eggs.
I didn’t have a thermometer handy so I used an ink pen for reference, but something like this.
View attachment 3065287

Oh ok that makes sense! It was touching the bottom earlier so maybe that was the issue, I’ll elevate it and see if there’s a difference while waiting for the water to ice!

Something I noticed was that the only the two eggs on the top right developed but when I moved them to keep them away from the foul egg, the other ones that ended up at in that place were a bit cold to the touch, they weren’t warm, is that because they were dead?

I have 4 new call ducklings this morning.
Assisted 3 yesterday and the final one this morning.
View attachment 3065297View attachment 3065298

Aww such cuties! Congratulations! What incubator did you use, hygrometer and thermometer? If I plan to hatch anymore I’m considering buying a new incubator that works better given this one still causes issues after calibrating everything but I’m not sure which one would be good. An automatically rotating one would’ve been ideal so on days where I’m home late there’s no issue but in that case which one has a more reliable rotator? (how do i calibrate an incubator btw and a humidity meter? Or is it not possible to calibrate a whole incubator and will I have to use the external meters to find the right temperature and water volume I’ll need to add before putting in eggs)

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I have 4 new call ducklings this morning.
Assisted 3 yesterday and the final one this morning.
View attachment 3065297View attachment 3065298

They are beautiful
They grow way too fast !!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I use a little giant incubator ( styrofoam one ) I find my right side runs a little cooler then my left
So as I turn my eggs I also rotate them so they get even heating
That’s been working my last few batches
I learned from my first batch as some babies were born early and some on time

 

[Croissant]

I use a little giant incubator ( styrofoam one ) I find my right side runs a little cooler then my left
So as I turn my eggs I also rotate them so they get even heating
That’s been working my last few batches
I learned from my first batch as some babies were born early and some on time

Oh maybe that might be the issue with mine - I’ll start doing the same! I also just had a look at the thermometer and it reads 37C at the centre, the meter still shows 38.4C though. This is how I placed it:

 

[Croissant]

Humidity is at 44%, should I dry run the incubator and spritz the egg every day in order to get the air cell to catch up during the last few days? Or go ahead and top up the water, or wait till I’ve calibrated the thermometer before adjusting humidity as well?