How long do ducks take?

[ritzzy]

I know chicks usually hatch on the 20th or 21st day or so, but what about ducks? My duck eggs are due tomorrow/sunday and I wasn't sure. How long does it take them usually from pip to hatch? I heard something like 48 hours but that doesn't seem right.

 

[glenolam]

Ducks take 28 days to incubate. So you should stop turning the eggs on day 25.

I've had ducklings take 2 hours to pip, zip and come out and I've had some take 2 days. If it looks like the little guy is stuck and it's been a day or two since pipping, warm up the room the bator is in and start a hot shower to get the humidity up in the room too (or whatever you can to get the room hot and moist). Take the pipped egg out and check to see if the duckling is having a hard time breaking the membrane. Sometimes if the humidity is too low or the temp is too low the membrane will begin to stick to the duckling and they can't break out. In that case, mist the egg slightly with warm water and put it back in the incubator (making sure to add water to the incubator if the humidity is too low). If in an hour or two the duckling hasn't made any progress, you could help it a little and crack more shell and the membrane, but be sure you dont' do all the work. The little guys need to learn it the hard way.

 

[ritzzy]

Thank you. You answered my question.

 

[L0rraine]

(Whoops - looks like someone already responded - but here was my answer anyway)

I'm not a real experienced hatcher, but this has been my experience (always under a momma duck tho', I've never used an incuabtor):

Ducks are due on day 28. When mine have been under a broody duck they are usually late (2-4 days) and maybe that's because in the first few days the duck is just looking serious about nesting, but isn't actually incubating the eggs (I don't know)

It seems like sometimes the first pips can come a few days before the ducklings actually "zip" out of the shell, but not always. Most of my ducklings have hatched - after starting to zip - within 24 hours, but not always.

If you start to worry about your eggs, make sure that you read the Sticky post at the top of this thread "Incubating & Hatching Eggs Important Topic Index - Please Review by silkiechicken" It can be VERY helpful. Interfering can do more harm than good, but there are those here that do do it successfully and there are links to their posts within that thread.

My most recent problem had to do with the ducklings not being able to get through the white membrane under the shell. The first one I helped nearly died from bleeders (but it did survive); the second one I helped only by wrapping the egg in a very, wet warm wash cloth to moisten the membrane, and then slipping it back under the duck (that duckling was out the next morning); the third one I didn't help at all and it didn't make it out of the shell -- so it's very hard to know what to do. But those that say to 'LET NATURE TAKE IT'S COURSE!', do have a pretty good point.

Another good reminder is that the ducklings have an egg sack attached that gives them food an energy during the hatching process and it lasts for about three days. So they shouldn't get too weak after the first day and give up. So don't worry too much about any quiet 'resting' periods after the process starts.

Good luck -- Hope it's an uneventful hatch and you have lots of babies to enjoy.

 

[ritzzy]

Thank you! My eggs are wiggling like crazy so I assume any time now, we should have a pip.

 

[Brickman House]

I've had quick and slow eggs in both chickens and ducks.

In general, in my experience, ducks are slower pip to zip than chicks. It was not uncommon in my duck hatch to have two days between pip and actual hatch. Nervewracking, but ultimately successful-- 15 out of 17 healthy ducklings.

 

[Kittymomma]

I had to laugh when I saw this thread. I wanted to ask the same question. I just finished my second duck hatch. The first time I put the 1/2 incubated eggs uneder a BA that went broody and it seemed to take a long time, but it's hard to tell when they're under a hen. My second duck hatch ended last night and took around 36 hours from first pip to all the ducklings out. The funny thing was that the first egg to have a pip was the last to hatch.

I probably would have been bad and tried to help, but yesterday was insanely busy for me so I just let them do their thing and it came out fine. I was surprised at how much longer they took then the chicks though.

 

[ritzzy]

Oh boy, the idea of them taking so long makes me nervous for this hatch LOL!

Here's another question..... How do you know when a duckling is just taking a long time vs. when it's in jeopardy?

 

[L0rraine]

I think you are going to have a fairly speechless crew on this one. My sense is that it's sooooo hard to know they're in trouble until it's almost too late. Though I know there are those who are much more experienced who have a better sense, but I'm thinking it's still hard to describe exactly what to look for.

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
x2 The first one to pip took 36 hours from pip to hatch. I really didn't think s/he was going to make it but didn't want to endanger the rest of them to help the one. If I had been able to be home more during the hatch I might have given in and tried to help which in retrospect would have been the wrong thing to do. It's awfully hard to watch them struggle for that long and easy to talk yourself into messing with them if you spend too much time staring at the bator.

I think it's best to leave things be unless you have a known problem like a major humidity drop and many of the chicks are looking shrink wrapped. The ones that need help often (not always, but often) don't do well and it's probably not worth putting the rest of the ducklings/chicks at risk to help a weak one.