Incubating ducks, day 26 already holes in the eggs, too soon?

[CSKA]

Dear all,

I am incubating Rouen ducks and it's now day 26 (considering day zero the point I turned the machine on).

I was going to make the change (add humidity and place the welcome carpet so they dont spread and hurt their legs when they come out) and I noticed pretty much every egg (I mean 90%) have the initial hole in them. I hear their sounds too.

None is out, only the initial hole is visible.

So this is exactly at day 26 at the same time of day I turned it on, (it's suppose to take 28).

Is this too soon? Or it's normal? Could the temperature be too high rushing them out?

 

[Mantisquailman]

Normal

 

[CSKA]

Normal

Normal, means they will take their time and only come out close or by day 28, or that is normal to be less than 28 days?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Eggs do not always hatch exactly when they should, either under a broody or in an incubator. Different things can cause that: heredity, humidity, how and how long the eggs were stored before incubation began, and just differences in the eggs. One big cause can possible be the average incubating temperature. If the average temperature is low the eggs can be late, if it is a bit high they can be early.

I don't know exactly what is going on with your eggs. My chicken eggs often hatch one or two days early, whether under a broody hen or in my incubator. The incubator has been calibrated so I know the temperature is correct. I think that is because of heredity but I'm not sure.

Since your hatch is uniformly early I'd suggest you calibrate the incubator after the hatch is over to make sure it is heating correctly. They can easily be off based on factory settings. For this hatch try to raise the humidity now and stop turning. Since so many have pipped you run the risk of shrink-wrapping some when you open the incubator to lay them down. You might take the incubator into the bathroom with the shower running to raise the humidity in there as you prepare for lockdown. Or spritz the eggs with warm water to keep the membrane form drying out. Shrink-wrapping the eggs after pip doesn't happen all the time but it's wise to take some precautions.

90% pip isn't bad. You may be in for a great hatch. Let us know how it goes.

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

Normal, means they will take their time and only come out close or by day 28, or that is normal to be less than 28 days?

Pipping on day 26 sounds like they're right about on time. Hatching is a long process for ducks.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Dear all,

I am incubating Rouen ducks and it's now day 26 (considering day zero the point I turned the machine on).

I was going to make the change (add humidity and place the welcome carpet so they don't spread and hurt their legs when they come out) and I noticed pretty much every egg (I mean 90%) have the initial hole in them. I hear their sounds too.

None is out, only the initial hole is visible.

So this is exactly at day 26 at the same time of day I turned it on, (it's suppose to take 28).

Is this too soon? Or it's normal? Could the temperature be too high rushing them out?

my chicken's eggs hatched in 19 days. sometimes they just want to say howdy!

 

[CSKA]

Eggs do not always hatch exactly when they should, either under a broody or in an incubator. Different things can cause that: heredity, humidity, how and how long the eggs were stored before incubation began, and just differences in the eggs. One big cause can possible be the average incubating temperature. If the average temperature is low the eggs can be late, if it is a bit high they can be early.

I don't know exactly what is going on with your eggs. My chicken eggs often hatch one or two days early, whether under a broody hen or in my incubator. The incubator has been calibrated so I know the temperature is correct. I think that is because of heredity but I'm not sure.

Since your hatch is uniformly early I'd suggest you calibrate the incubator after the hatch is over to make sure it is heating correctly. They can easily be off based on factory settings. For this hatch try to raise the humidity now and stop turning. Since so many have pipped you run the risk of shrink-wrapping some when you open the incubator to lay them down. You might take the incubator into the bathroom with the shower running to raise the humidity in there as you prepare for lockdown. Or spritz the eggs with warm water to keep the membrane form drying out. Shrink-wrapping the eggs after pip doesn't happen all the time but it's wise to take some precautions.

90% pip isn't bad. You may be in for a great hatch. Let us know how it goes.

This time I have covered 2 incubators with a big plastic box upside down, because it was cold weather in order to preserve the heat. Maybe that rushed them up by keeping it too warm. 5 /17 are out at end of 27 days

 

[CSKA]

my chicken's eggs hatched in 19 days. sometimes they just want to say howdy!

Was that with a broody chicken or incubator? too fast usually means incubator too hot, that was my concern... how big was the failure rate?

 

[CSKA]

Pipping on day 26 sounds like they're right about on time. Hatching is a long process for ducks.

5/17 are out at end of day 27, some are visibly working on it

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Was that with a broody chicken or incubator? too fast usually means incubator too hot, that was my concern... how big was the failure rate?

I ran my incubator a degree hot, it was set to 101 F because the corner was not getting enough heat. I had 2 empty from the start, 1 quitter, 2 that likely died in an unexpected humidity spike. I was able to hatch 10 out of 15 eggs, and I have 9 surviving chickens. (Unrelated to the incubator, cat snuck in and ate one)