Help with duck eggs (Day 27)

[Crazy Duck Lover]

Hi there! Today is day 27 of my duck egg incubation. On day 25, before I put them into lockdown, I candled them and I could see all of them moving around in their shell. According to 'Storeys Guide to Raising Ducks" it says to put the temperature to 98.0* and the humidity to 65-70%. I did that. Is it normal to not see any pips yet? I don't want to open the incubator and candle them... so what do I do? Am I over reacting? I have a neice on the way and I want a successful hatch for her! Thanks for the help!!

 

[1muttsfan]

They should start pipping in the next 24 hours, unless they are Muscovy. Not all eggs pip early, and your hatch may happen over a day or so. Be patient, and Good Luck!

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

My eggs pipped yesterday and are zipping this morning. While I was sleeping my mom checked on them (around 6:30 and 7) and they still had only piped. I woke up at 7:30 and they had started to zip. Is it ok that there hasn’t been any progress or do I need to do something?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I incubate duck and goose eggs, and find that they can really take their time going from pip to hatch - sometimes as long as 2 days. Be patient...they need adequate time to absorb their yolks and for blood vessels to dry up, and this is very important for their survival.

Best of luck with your hatch!

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

I incubate duck and goose eggs, and find that they can really take their time going from pip to hatch - sometimes as long as 2 days. Be patient...they need adequate time to absorb their yolks and for blood vessels to dry up, and this is very important for their survival.

Best of luck with your hatch!

At what point should I be worried? They’ve made maybe another crack or two... but still no ducklings!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

It's generally advised to not let a zip stall for more than 30 minutes (some say an hour). I'll tag one of our hatching experts
@MGG

 

[HeatherKellyB]

What kind of ducks are you incubating?

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

What kind of ducks are you incubating?

It’s a mix of cayuga welsh rouen khaki and golden 300. I’ll attach some pics in a sec

 

[The Cave]

Following because I am on day 17 of incubating duck eggs (Pekin!) trying to absorb all the information I can. I have heard they take their sweet time...some internally pip days before externally pipping that I have seen online!

 

[MGG]

My eggs pipped yesterday and are zipping this morning. While I was sleeping my mom checked on them (around 6:30 and 7) and they still had only piped. I woke up at 7:30 and they had started to zip. Is it ok that there hasn’t been any progress or do I need to do something?

It's very normal, yes. Ducks are just about the slowest hatchers out there, lol. It's not uncommon at all for them to take 48+ hours from pip to hatch. Don't worry. I've only ever HAD to assist a couple ducks, of the 100+ that I've successfully hatched. I doubt that you will have to assist any.

At what point should I be worried? They’ve made maybe another crack or two... but still no ducklings!

If they make any more cracks, start the 24 hour countdown over again. Usually if it's been 24 hours or more with ZERO progress, you can think about making a hole or something. But you have to start the count over again if they make any progress.