Help please with first hatch

[lj2016]

Nothing No movement or chirps from either. Not sure what's gone wrong, it's like they've pipped and then died. Any thoughts on why this might be? I'll leave them in the hatcher another day and then I guess it's safe to say they are definitely gone

 

[Ravynscroft]

So sorry... how big were their air cells? Was there any liquid or goo inside the eggs?

 

[lj2016]

No liquid/gunk that I can see. The one where I can't see the beak (just the pip crack), almost looks completely solid inside, there's a small gap between the outer egg shell and whatevers iniside. I've put them back in quickly as I'm still holding out for a miracle that they'll hatch maybe overnight. It's been hard as I'm new to duck hatching and I've been trying to candle the eggs all based on pictures from online. I guess I've gone wrong somewhere. Just sad they made it this far and then died somehow at the end. I am very grateful for your advice

 

[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...

 

[lj2016]

We have an automatic egg turner. I've had humidity during incubation at about as constant to 50% as I cold (never going out of about 45-65%). For the hatcher which is a separate incubator I've had humidity higher at about 70% as I'd read that's what they needed. I've got independent thermometers so I'm confident that the temp has held steady as well. Still no movement in the eggs today so I think it's safe to say they have died

 

[WVduckchick]

There are lots of reasons that we lose chicks and ducks, but I wouldn't count these ducks out yet. How many hours since pip?

 

[lj2016]

Since they pipped I'd say it's been about 44hrs now. I've not noticed any movement/chirps since that happened. Just seems strange they pipped and then haven't moved since

 

[WVduckchick]

Have you pecked on the incubator, or tried talking to them? Shine your light on them usually gets a reaction. And usually they will make like a second pip, they start knocking on the shell a little more when it gets close to time. How many eggs do you have in there? Any more pips? You could maybe try candling real quick to see what's going on too.

 

[lj2016]

I have 9 eggs total but they are all way past hatch date and no sign of pips in any apart from these 2. Tried knocking on the incubator and making noise etc and still nothing from any of the eggs. Should I candle all of them? I'll also send petter pics of the 2 that have pipped but not moved since . . .

 

[WVduckchick]

Personally I would candle them all real quick to see what's going on. Just be sure to keep the humidity up.

What day are they actually on? And just for kicks, some folks accidentally count days incorrectly, and count the day set as 1. Day 1 doesn't start until 24 hours after setting. So if you set on a Tuesday, typical hatch day would be a Tuesday. But some things can cause delays, like low temps, power failures, etc.