How can I tell when my duck eggs are going to hatch?

[Southernchickens]

I have a mallard hen who is sitting on some muscovy eggs. I forgot to write down when she started sitting but I know it is getting close to hatch day. I candled the eggs today and I saw most of the egg was dark and the air pocket was the only thing I could see through. Is there any way to tell when they are going to hatch like peeping or something when I candle.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I made up this diagram a few nights ago- so should help you too.

You can often see movement at the base of the aircell when hatching is very close- once they are just about to pip internally or sometimes after- thay start to move up into the aircell to around where the dotted line is. Hope some of this makes sense... Good luck for a great hatch and lots of babies for you soon.

 

[Southernchickens]

I just went out to the duck pen and the ducklings have cracked the shell on the eggs. I can feel them squirming inside and picking at the shell

 

[Crayonsmom]

Nice diagram, duckyfromoz! This is just what my duck egg looked like when I candled it yesterday. (Granted, I wasn't supposed to candle, but one's internally pipped now!)

 

[vasthi]

Hiiii.... I've been incubating 3 duck eggs. They started at march 14th and today it's April 11th.... so today it's day 28, according to my countings... and I wiil like to know how do they must look internally when I candle them. In one of the eggs I'm seeing that the duckling it's starting to get thru the air cell, and I see a litlle yellow dot, that wasn't there yesterday... the dot it's passing by the air cell. My question is... are whe close to see'em hatc???

 

[Isabella Huston]

Muskovy duck eggs are about to hatch into our farm!

 

[Margaret50436]

Anybody here live in San Diego county? Reason I’m asking because I think one or two of mine Muskovy ducks eggs will survive and I do not want to lose them when they start Hatching and when you assist them? Mother was killed by Coyotes so I took the eggs... I have a homemade incubator made with heating pad...