HELP! FIRST TIME HATCHING AND DON'T KNOW HOW OLD EGGS ARE!

[jmarissa]

I have a Rouen duck who was sitting on 13 eggs. I've had ducks before but always removed the eggs. I thought I'd let her keep them this time. Not knowing what I was doing, I did not keep track of the days. Long story short, we had a fox scare and I decided to remove the eggs from the nest because I wanted my duck going into her house at night, not sitting outside as prey. I immediately set up an incubator and put the eggs in. I candled the eggs and there were only 4 live embryos. So here I am with 4 eggs definitely close to hatching. The problem is, I don't know exactly what day I'm on, and I'm not sure when I should stop turning and go into lockdown. These are pictures from last night. Can anyone tell me how far along these eggs are?? I'm guessing they're somewhere between 21 and 24 days. I'm in a panic and any advice would be appreciated!

Also, 3 of the 4 embryos are very active. The other is not moving. Does this mean it's dead? There are still some red veins but the embryo looks bigger than the others and it's sort of "floaty" (for lack of a better word)

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Check out Metzers website, they have photos showing egg development to compair to.

 

[jmarissa]

I've been referring to Metzer's website for the last week but I'm having a hard time deciding whether these eggs look like day 22 or 24. What would be your guess?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Not seeing the, first hand makes it hard to guess, so I won't. They are close to the end just from the shadowing size I do see.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Maybe the best way to decide when to go into lockdown is to candle the eggs morning and night when you turn them and watch for the bill to be in the aircell. Going into lockdown too early means you arent turning the egg at an important time- while the duckling is trying to move into position to hatch. There is still a good sized clear area in those eggs- so I were say they are 22 rather than 24 days by the pics.

 

[jmarissa]

Thank you for the advice! That makes me feel better. For whatever it's worth, here are 2 picture of the air cell. Not great, but it's all I have right now (they're still shots from a video I took)





.

 

[dominicsaturday]

Your eggs look nearly identical to my 15 Pekin eggs.

The mother was eaten by a coyote and I was able to get the eggs into a home built incubator in time.

It's miraculous to me that all 15 are still alive. I too, find it difficult to determine what day my eggs are on.

Like I said, nearly identical to yours in terms of the space the duckling occupies and the size of the air cell.

Let me know how your eggs progress. Waiting patiently.

-Dom

 

[jmarissa]

I'm sorry to hear that! Great that all 15 survived though!

I just candled my eggs and can't believe how much they've progressed in 2 days. I can hardly see anything anymore, other than the black mass of an embryo (all but 1 was moving around), a few subtly veins and a huge air cell. I looked on the Metzer website at the candling pictures and 1 looks like it's on day 25, the other 3 maybe on 24. I think I'll continue to candle them daily until I see the first internal pip, then I'll lockdown. Does that seem like a good plan? What is your plan?

 

[dominicsaturday]

I will be following a plan similar to yours. I continue to candle them daily until I can see an internal pip. After that, I will no longer handle the eggs until hatching.

I am very worried about keeping a constant humidity level. My incubator dries out quickly, and I do not want my duckling to be shrink wrapped.

I will let you know how I progress. Keep me informed!

 

[jmarissa]

So 2 of my eggs were definitely quitters. Had to toss them last night. No movement, no veins, and they were starting to smell. gross. The good news is, I just candled the 2 remaining eggs and after I put the cover back on both eggs started shaking! Do I go into lockdown now? Or wait until I see an internal pip?