Help please with first hatch

[lj2016]

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Please can someone offer some advice as my first ever hatch is underway and not going well Temp is as it should be and the humidity is sitting right as well. I have 1 egg that's cracked and burst and is leaking gunk below, I can't open and remove it as I'm in "lockdown". 1 egg pipped about 15 hours ago and I can see the end of the beak poking out but no sign of movement/chirping since this happened 15 hrs ago. Is this one dead or just resting for a really long time? I've no idea. The second egg has a small hole in it now, again this happened about 15 hrs ago. All I can see in this whole is dark and again no movement/chirping. The eggs are pekins. Appreciate any advice as I'm starting to worry. Thanks

 

[Ravynscroft]

OMG!!!! Adorable!!!

So glad they hatched!! You and they did GREAT!!!

WV is awesome support!

 

[WVduckchick]

I swear, no matter how many cute little chicks I hatch, there's nothing more adorable than baby ducklings.

 

[WVduckchick]

Oops, I meant to add that too. I'd pull the leaky one too.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Ducks are a bit different than chickens for sure... don't beat yourself up, great hatches the first time are rare...

Curious, what has been your humidity throughout incubation? Did you use a turner or hand turn? Misting at all?

And of course, they take much longer from pip to hatch than chickens...

 

[WVduckchick]

Yes I take them out of the incubator with the turner and in to a hatcher where they are just laid down. I'm wondering if maybe my humidity is to high in general and the humidity gage s off. I do live in Florida and there's a lot of humidity here so perhaps I need hardly any water in the water channels

If you are in Florida, I would bet that you can get away with no water in the incubator at all (until lockdown). I don't add water until the last 3 days, unless I'm doing chicks with very porous shells, or some of the smaller bantam eggs like a little higher humidity. My duck eggs are fine with no water until lockdown.

Its easier to gage what the humidity should be by watching air cells. They have to grow to the proper size, so adjusting humidity is how we make that happen. Too large of an air cell (humidity too low) causes the chick to not have enough room to maneuver when it comes time to hatch. Air cells too small (humidity too high) allows the chicks to grow too large, and then not have enough air in the air cell to breathe long enough to get out. Plus with humidity too high, the moisture inside the egg can't dry up enough, so the chicks are in too much goo and they can get stuck. If they do hatch, they usually come out very sticky.

 

[dotknott]

It could be a problem, but it's entirely too early to tell. Hatchlings rarely have the coordination required to pass a roadside sobriety test right out of the shell, so it wouldn't be completely out of the norm. Usually they still stumble around for a day or so.

Keep an eye out for webs that don't unfold, that's the most common thing I've seen hatchlings have issues with, but it's an easy fix.

Splayed legs are common too, but again are an easy fix.

 

[WVduckchick]

Oh, I just looked at the brooder pic again. The rocks in the water tray are good, but you may leave a little more space between a few of them so the ducklings can get their entire bill down into it. They will scoop the water. I think I used about 6-8 pebbles around it, with open spaces between some.
And watch that they don't "eat" the wood chips. You can cover them for a few days with a towel, if they seem to want to eat it. Some do, some don't.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Thanks - I'll get a mirror tomorrow and a similar sized stuffed toy. Got the brooder to 95° which I think is about right? I'll secure the lamp/clamp as well, that's a good idea as I hadn't thought of that falling. Let's hope he's ok when I wake

95° is ok as long as there are cooler spots too... most of the temp stuff is for chicks though, ducklings go a slight bit cooler like 90° and they tend to be quicker to lower the heat on as well... all that thick down they get keeps them warmer than chickens...

Glad to help... fire danger is the biggest issue with those heat lamps... I also prefer to plug a dimmer switch to mine, much easier to control the temps...

Good luck and hope all goes well!

 

[lj2016]

Thanks Here they are . . .