June Hatch A Long

[jolenesdad]

Just checked my shipped eggs. I think I have two more quitters. Opinions? Egg 15 I've had marked down as questionable for a few days. Today is day 17. Egg labeled 13 is one that's good for comparison. This would make 5 no good out of 15 so far.

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I’m going to forever be the optimist after this hatch. So many eggs I thought were behind in development or not right are hatching.

I would not count 4 out. Is there any movement at all in 15?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Just checked my shipped eggs. I think I have two more quitters. Opinions? Egg 15 I've had marked down as questionable for a few days. Today is day 17. Egg labeled 13 is one that's good for comparison. This would make 5 no good out of 15 so far.

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A lot of unfilled space in that egg... :-(

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Just checked my shipped eggs. I think I have two more quitters. Opinions? Egg 15 I've had marked down as questionable for a few days. Today is day 17. Egg labeled 13 is one that's good for comparison. This would make 5 no good out of 15 so far.

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I agree, egg 15 looks like an early quitter but I wouldn't give up on 4 just yet unless it's "sloshy". If even the slightest movement of the egg causes the embryo to twirl in the egg that late in development then it's likely starting to break down.

 

[LilyD]

Okay!

I have 23/30 external pips.

One of those external pips is a quitter and one of the non pippers definitely is gone. While the humidity had spiked from three silver Appleyards hatching, I grabbed all the bottom hatching eggs and I’m really glad I did.

I think they’ve pipped the bottom because they appear to my novice eyes to be shrink wrapped. I’ve included photos below. In the one of the group in the incubator you can see how far away that membrane is from the shell. It would make sense... these guys are stuck a bit, can’t move, scratch a blood vessel trying, and finally get a hole on the bottom. Plausible?

Thanks to everything I’ve learned here from everyone but especially @LilyD and @CluckNDoodle , I chipped away a hole in each air cell to look safely for veins. I feel like I am going to have to assist each of these bottom pips when the time is right. They all have lots of veins, one or two lightish veins. I tried to do that on the side of the air cell in a way that they will still hopefully be able to kick out on their own. I’m feeling really cautiously optimistic about it all. A little stumped why these would be this way, but analyze later!

Cluckndoodle here is a photo of the non pipped egg that didn’t make it. I saw the bruise so grabbed it too wondering if I could rescue it, but it was already gone. This is the worst bruise of all, clearly insurmountable.


Silver Appleyard
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Hard, hard membrane on the bottom pippers.
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If you blow this up you can see how separated the membrane is. I could have taken the entire bottom of the shell.
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Swoon!
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Hi!
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:-/
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The bottom one likely pipped through a main vessel and bled too much it's one of the hazards when they pip the wrong end.

The others look great as the veins recede I usually try and peel just the shell not the membrane away like they would while zipping from the point of their external pip around the egg. Then once they get out from there you can assess the yolk sac to see if they need more time on the half shell...

 

[LilyD]

Wow! I would be so stressed out!!! I hope that you are able to free your chicks that pipped the small end! That bruising is wild... so is it blood from pipping through a blood vessel? And... thanks for the pic of your adorable duckling !! I’m living vicariously here... I hope your babies do wonderfully overnight!

Yes what usually happens with that malposition is they pip through a vein and if it's a big one they can bleed to much get weak and then die.

 

[LilyD]

I have NO idea what the blood vessel is.

I’ve never done ducks. Oh and about your earlier question... no I haven’t ever imprinted ducks before (see above). but I’ve spoken to a few people who say the ducks let the human imprint go.

They already respond to my voice and the word in the incubator I cannot wait to get them out.

A single duck with humans or a house duck is a different story. We will see how it goes. I have a waiting list off Craigslist for any extras knowing and hoping they are imprinted!

My first muscovy hatch was amazing. I talked to them through the whole thing. The drakes from that hatch were like little puppy dogs and would lay down with me in the yard and take naps. The duck mommas were some of the best and I could sit in with them and feed them and the babies they were hatching out while they were still sitting on eggs. I got a batch from a hatchery that weren't imprinted and they were vicious little things. Would attack you if you came near their babies after hatching and man do they have big claws.

 

[LilyD]

Just checked my shipped eggs. I think I have two more quitters. Opinions? Egg 15 I've had marked down as questionable for a few days. Today is day 17. Egg labeled 13 is one that's good for comparison. This would make 5 no good out of 15 so far.

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I would agree 13 and 15 are quitters should be mostly black by now.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Your confidence in me means so much!!!

Also, I’ll be trying to prepare notes after the hatch based on what I saw before, and then what happened. Shipped vs fresh, fluid vs veining. I am a little disappointed I have t tracked certain things but I’m learning so much for next time. I rushed to start without noting which eggs some were so I hope I have remnants to identify them. I’m excited for the future though I think I’m really going to learn how these things go together. And overall I’m so pleased to learn patience. I keep saying cluckndoodles big line that they e been in there this long a few more minutes or hours isn’t going to kill them.

I’m at a loss with some things though because I’m pretty sure some of these assists are the local eggs too. Ducks are hard. I think I’ve got lots going on.

Potentially a slightly warmer temp than I need, or hot spots in the incubator. Remember I didn’t rotate these eggs.

Then, I’m wondering if there’s any connection to upright vs not turning. And lastly the TOTAL UNKNOWN is the shipped damage. These Metzer farms assorted eggs remember were delivered in a leaking box! :-/

And this is annoying. (Not really) my two worst saddle eggs look to both be hatching. The one I incubated on its side AND the one up and down, so no epiphany there. One of them needed assist. Will be interesting to see which one.

I look forward to any interesting findings you might have once the hatch is done and you check your notes! I'm going to be extremely detailed for my July hatch, even with weather patterns prior to me getting the eggs, I'm ready this time, lol. Then again, I don't think we'll ever really stop learning! Even when we think we're ready, it's like my incubator knew I was ready for a challenge on this last hatch, yikes!

Hot spots in the incubator are my new nemesis in my IncuView incubator. I'm getting the crash course with these Peacock and Turkey eggs after I hatched my Geese in there. I will say, it's the easiest incubator I have ever cleaned though!

FYI, I've never actually lost a saddled air cell chick, they don't even worry me anymore. As long as the saddle is stable they haven't even needed assistance. Then again, now that they don't concern me, it's going to be my next hatch issue.

 

[LilyD]

@Mixed flock enthusiast casportpony and WVduckchick are the ones for duck hatching emergencies. And @LilyD has lots of duck experience.

More updates later. 10 hatched... 4 total assists and maybe 5 left to assist. Lots of other good external pips.

These bottom hatchers are weird. I can’t find areas where the membrane is attached to them. It’s tight but I don’t really know what I’m looking at. I think some are maybe just too big. Strange that it’s just these eggs.

Here’s the egg I’ve got question on. I mistook a foot for a beak internal pip. Waaaaaaaah. So.... I thought it had been 48+ hours since internal pip, so I did a safety hole and then chipped away to get the membrane visible. Lots of veining.

But unfortunately, he hasn’t pipped. I think he is also upside down. Do I wait around for him to try and pip on the bottom? I mean there’s nothing else to do, right?

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I’m floored I am saving all these eggs. I owe it all to you guys. Am I doing this right? I open a small part of the air cell, check for veins, if they’re gone, chip away the shell trying to let them get out on their own but most of them I have to do most of it.

Here’s some more interesting photos. OH AND A CHOCOLATE RUNNER IN MY HANDS AFTER HELPING THIS SWEET BABY!!!!! (I mean I think that’s what it is.)

No veins ready to go!
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Here’s that egg, bottom side where the chicks head is. This is the bruised area when exposed and with coconut oil.
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Here’s how the bruises look when candled.
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And the best photo....
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Also, fluid shell HATCHED in a carton with a TON of disgusting fluid in the bottom of the shell.

Yup you have to wait for him to attempt to pip or for the veining to go away enough that you can try and turn him in the egg to get his head towards the top. Sometimes their feet are over their head too so don't count out the head being at the top he may surprise you.

 

[LilyD]

I look forward to any interesting findings you might have once the hatch is done and you check your notes! I'm going to be extremely detailed for my July hatch, even with weather patterns prior to me getting the eggs, I'm ready this time, lol. Then again, I don't think we'll ever really stop learning! Even when we think we're ready, it's like my incubator knew I was ready for a challenge on this last hatch, yikes!

Hot spots in the incubator are my new nemesis in my IncuView incubator. I'm getting the crash course with these Peacock and Turkey eggs after I hatched my Geese in there. I will say, it's the easiest incubator I have ever cleaned though!

FYI, I've never actually lost a saddled air cell chick, they don't even worry me anymore. As long as the saddle is stable they haven't even needed assistance. Then again, now that they don't concern me, it's going to be my next hatch issue.

The only real issue I have with saddle shaped air cells is that sometimes they can be more prone to sticky chick because too much fluid has been lost due to the larger air cell. I tend to watch them more for quitters day 7-14 because those tend to be the ones that give up between then. If they make it to 18 usually they hatch but may need extra assistance due to not having as much room.