Incubating Duck eggs

[babyboy1_mom]

Hi all. New here and asking for advice.

I have 9 Runner eggs in the bator (from my pair) and I have been candling them off and on, but when I candled them on the 18th day, some of them didn't seem to have very much room left in the shell to grow. (Not for another 10 days.) Can a forming duckling grow too big in it's shell and die? If so, then did I do something to make them grow too fast?

I have hatched chick eggs and quail eggs, but this is my first time trying to hatch duck eggs. My chick and quail hatches have alway been very good. I know that all 9 duck eggs were doing good before this. I just got concerned when I last candled them and it didn't look like they have enough room to grow for 10 more days.

Any information on hatching ducklings will be greatly appreciated. When should I stop candling? (Haven't done so since 18th day, on day 21 now.)

Thanks,
Dorothy

 

[kstaven]

By day 18 most of the egg will be filled with a duckling. So I would not be worried about that at all.

You have to remember that at this stage a good amount of the yolk sac is still there and over the next 10 days it will be absorbed. So there is still room even if you can't see it by candling.

Overly large chicks are usually a sign of too much humidity with chickens. It is pretty hard to do that with duck eggs. Due to the thin shell it is easy to get them too dry.

I only candle day 10, 18, and 25 with my duck eggs.

 

[babyboy1_mom]

Thanks for the information. Hatching eggs is just as bad, if not worse, than being pregnant and waiting to see what you are going to have and making sure that every thing is going to all work out good in the end. lol (I had a very rough and scary pregnancy)

I can hardly wait for these little babies to hatch. I am so excited.

Dorothy

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Well Dorothy - PLEASE post pictures immediately when they hatch! I'm waiting right along with you because runners are one of my favorites!

Crossing fingers -

 

[babyboy1_mom]

Thanks for the finger crossing Ducky. I am not set up with my camera yet, so I better get busy. lol

Time to go feed the rest of the gang right now. They are waiting on me right now. lol

Dorothy