Help!

[First Timer!]

Hi everyone, I am looking after my in-laws duck eggs that are due to hatch today/tomorrow. I'm worried as I haven't done this before and I can't get hold of my in-laws for advice! One of the ducklings made a small hole in the egg on Tuesday morning but hasn't done anything else. I can hear it squeaking loudly inside and moving around. All the others, apart from one, have made dents to their eggs but no holes. Does it normally take this long for the duckling to hatch? I'm concerned it can't get out (particularly the one who made the hole). Any advice greatly received!! Thank you!

 

[Pyxis]

!

Ducklings sure do make you wait! They are very slow hatchers, so actually it can take them up to 48 hours from when they pip to when they zip. So sometime this morning it should hopefully start to zip on its own.

What's the humidity in the incubator at?

 

[First Timer!]

I can't tell what the humidity is, I have them in a Brinsea mini eco. Sorry! Desperate for them to be ok!!

 

[First Timer!]

This is a picture of the one that has made a hole. I've heard you should take the lid off of the incubator while they're hatching is that correct?

 

[First Timer!]

Sorry that should read that you SHOULDN'T take the lid off!!!

 

[Pyxis]

You're definitely going to want to know what the humidity is. Humidity is very important for them to be able to hatch. You want it to be at least 65% or higher. Is there any kind of humidity gauge in there? Has humidity been monitored throughout incubation (it should have been)? How much water is in there?

You can take the lid off if you need to, such as to add water to boost humidity or remove an egg for an assisted hatch. It's best not to unless necessary, but as long as humidity is returned to normal quickly after opening it, it won't hurt anything.

The trouble is, if humidity is too low, they can get shrinkwrapped or dry out and get stuck to the membrane, in which case they would not be able to get out of the egg on their own, which would mean you'd have to do an assisted hatch. I do have an article you can read if it comes to that, hopefully it won't:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-assisted-hatching-for-all-poultry.72886/

 

[First Timer!]

I've topped up the water in the middle compartment, it hadn't run out but was a bit low. There is a piece on the side of the incubator that looks like it could be a gauge, I'll take a picture. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[First Timer!]

 

[Pyxis]

That might be where you would hook up a humidity pump if you had one. The condensation in there would lead me to believe the humidity is probably high enough, hopefully.

 

[First Timer!]

Thank you! I'll just wait and see what happens for now. And try not to watch them all day long!!!