Incubation progress of Muscovy eggs

[charlindabob]

I candled my Muscovy eggs today (day 14 on a 34-35 day hatch) and tomorrow I will candle once again as I weigh each egg and lay them on their side, but I have a question:

All my eggs show some increase in the air sac and all show blood veins and I even saw some dark spots (eye?) in several, but at the pointed end (down end) I see in each egg what appears to be clear liquid without any blood veins (just clear) and above that, holding the egg pointed end down, the duck "mass" and above that the air sac. Is the clear liquid in the bottom of the egg normal?....Thanks!

 

[yinepu]

None of my nests are predator proof, but most of the hens prefer making their nests up against the house and the skunks, coons, opossums, foxes and coyotes seem to stay away so far. We do have a 5' chain link, that used to keep most things out, but with the drought they've come down from the hills and figured out how to go over and under it.

-Kathy

As I predicted.. our broody muscovy had her nest raided last night. I'm betting on raccoons.. they left behind one egg (which I found this afternoon).. it was pretty cold, but I did candle and see the lil spider .. couldn't tell if the heart was still beating or not.. so I plopped it into one of the incubators.. in a few days I'll know if I got to it in time or not,.. so that proves my point of why I trust the incubator vs a broody...

I suspect I've probably done lots of things wrong in this process. It's a great big learning curve and it's going to be interesting to see how the first incubation turns out. I'm getting very nervous as I keep getting told how difficult Scovies are to incubate.
All I can do is learn from each mistake and not repeat it an keep talking to wonderful people like all of you

nah.. hatching scovys is easy peasy... I do it all the time

I'm pretty sure this link is somewhere in this thread, but here it is again in case you haven't read it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubating-and-hatching-muscovy-eggs

-Kathy

Ain't that the truth! Another reason I started to incubate Muscovy eggs it to hone my incubation skills for the 2014 pea egg season. Figure if I could get the kinks out I might have better luck with peafowl.

-Kathy

-Kathy

let me know if you need any help with the peas.. I just put peafowl eggs in the bator last week.. and like scovys.. they are easy peasy too... and I'll be writing up a few new articles on hatching out bantam ducks (calls, east indies, mandarins and so on) and peafowl since I have had several requests... I would do one on reptiles and parrots... but we don't seem to have a need for it on this forum.. lol...

what I find funny is, if you check.. people have problems hatching out everything.. the "scovy people" swear scovies are hard to hatch... "silkie people" swear silkies are hard to hatch.. the "call duck people" claim they have problems hatching out calls and that they are "tricky" to hatch.. "mandarin people" swear you can't hatch out mandarins without a broody... the "peafowl peeps" swear peafowl are hard to hatch...the "shipped egg people" expect horrible results...and the list goes on

funny thing is hatching out one is no more difficult than hatching out anything else.. you just need to know the tips for that species and how your bator works.. IT CAN BE DONE (and it's NOT as hard as "they" want you to think it is)!!!

truth be told I have a lot of secrets that I employ for storing and hatching eggs... lol.. i just don't share them with people who troll me!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I candled my Muscovy eggs today (day 14 on a 34-35 day hatch) and tomorrow I will candle once again as I weigh each egg and lay them on their side, but I have a question:

All my eggs show some increase in the air sac and all show blood veins and I even saw some dark spots (eye?) in several, but at the pointed end (down end) I see in each egg what appears to be clear liquid without any blood veins (just clear) and above that, holding the egg pointed end down, the duck "mass" and above that the air sac. Is the clear liquid in the bottom of the egg normal?....Thanks!

http://wildliferehabber.com/sites/default/files/wr_duckeggchart.jpg maybe this will help.

 

[charlindabob]

Thanks, the chart is great and I can adapt that to a Muscovy timetable, but it doesn't solve my issue. I have clear liquid in the bottom of my otherwise viable eggs. Every one of them. I don't see that on any chart and am concerned. Today is weigh-in day and lay on their side day and all I can say is "Good grief Charlie Brown!". I am more confused now than ever.

At two weeks eggs should lose about 5.6% of their weight, right? That's 2.8% per week if I understand correctly. Well, my 14 all viable looking eggs have lost from 3.7% to 10.8% in weight over the first two weeks. Here is the break down:

start in grams day 15 lost in grams lost % should weigh

81g 74g 7g 8.6% 77g
85g 81g 4g 4.7% 80g
81g 76g 5g 6.2% 77g
84g 79g 5g 6.0% 79g
81g 75g 6g 7.4% 77g
86g 82g 4g 4.6% 81g
74g 66g 8g 10.8% 70g
81g 78g 3g 3.7% 77g
82g 75g 7g 8.5% 77g
83g 79g 4g 4.8% 78g
75g 72g 3g 4.0% 71g
80g 76g 4g 5.0% 76g
84g 79g 5g 6.0% 79g
76g 71g 5g 6.6% 72g

I rounded some figures off, but what really surprises me is some of the weight loss differences in these eggs. They were all in the same incubator on the same shelf and all treated exactly the same. The one that lost 10.8 percent was the smallest egg, but another that weighed only ONE gram more only lost 4.0%. From one extreme to the other. Ideally the second column and the last column should read the same.

Hope my little chart comes out ok.

 

[Dianne88]

yinepu, what starter would you recommend? Purina Start & Grow or some other brand? Sometimes you have to get what's available. Right now I have them on some non-medicated egg layer type of feed from a mill, BUT I DO NOT INTEND leaving them on this, it is just what I had on hand and I was going to the feed store today, but have my plate full and will go tomorrow. Sort of glad I waited and read your post so I could ask recommendations. And yeah, I'm fond of exotics, mostly Aspidites and Gilas. Still carry a fair share of scars from some pythons in the 18-22' range. Also, Jon from WOWSAFARM, what do you suggest ? Just look at your babies Jon, the cutest little buggers, huh? I am a former Marine and seen my fair share of war and sorrow and I usually don't get all excited over some eggs that hatch, but I guess I am just getting senile huh? I'm like an old mother hen as the saying goes.

My husband just retired from the Marine Corps Aug 1 after 25 yrs. Small world! Love your babies, so happy for you!

 

[charlindabob]

I forgot to say how precious your ducklings are. They all look very healthy. So are these babies for food or Eye candy in the yard or pond? if you don't mind me askin

I hope your lil one makes it.

A friend in OK just asked me the same question via email and this was my response:

Muscovies are the best meat duck (so I have read numerous times) and their breast is much larger than Pekin ducks and it is much less greasy and taste like beef, again so I have read.

I want this particular type of Muscovy because they are a great fast growing meat bird, they are white which IMO makes for a better carcass, they are friendly, lay a fair amount of eggs, get bigger than "regular" Muscovies, eat just about any insect they can including flies, broody and they are QUIET. Easy to keep as long as they don't fly and I think the white ones are pretty, at least much prettier than most wild ones. I may never eat one, but yet again if I have too many I suppose I will. Right now I just want to look at them. I see it as the perfect duck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

and more info. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubating-and-hatching-muscovy-eggs

 

[Lacrystol]

Leave it to Kathy to come to my rescue! Thank you! The pictures are a huge help and none of mine look anything like that! Sigh.

Ms Lydia - Thank you. Clearly, I was wrong...although I did see a youtube video, the advice to lower the humidity came from the link you sent me, which I have read. It's very helpful also - thank you!

I guess I will keep trying - as long as my beautiful little Zippy keeps laying!

Another question: Do you think I "ruined" her perhaps wanting to sit on the eggs by removing them as she lays them? I let one stay in the nest for half a day, and when she didn't return, I started taking away the eggs as she lays. Should I encourage her to sit on any new ones by slipping the oldest (and clearly "veinless") eggs back in her nestbox?

Many thanks!

Michelle

If you disturbed her nest, she will not return. you can't encourage her to go back, She will probably end up finding a new spot.. Understand Ducks will lay in one spot even cover the eggs, after they have collected so many then they will start to sit on them. They do this so that ALL the babies will hatch at the exact same time. No guessing on there part..

 

[Lacrystol]

Once you have figured out who's Suppose to be in Lockdown, CANDLE THEM see if they are still moving alive..

 

[Miss Lydia]

I just candled #4-8 (days 35, 34, 33, 32 and 31) and ALL have movement. I can HEAR #4 "peeping" and can hear a very rhythmic "pecking" noise as well as see him rhythmically moving - Is he trying to break out?

Michelle

Sounds like it. if you can hear peeping it has pipped internally, so now you need to close up the bator because you don't want to risk shrink wrapping the duckling.