JUNE - JULY HATCH-ALONG!!!!!!!

[Enigmius]

Yeah I removed it this morning from the lockdown incubator. I checked the other eggs whilst I did. Two birds are definitely internally pipped in the air cell. And two others look like they are "right there". I don't hear chirping though, but the incubators are kind of noisy.

Make that three birds in the air cell space, one of those had a tiny external pip! fingers crossed! Humidity is at 64%

 

[Bookworm0124]

Awesome news about the babies and momma!!! I think that all five of our ducks have gone into some kind of broody, non egglaying state. Only two are really acting broody, in a pretty lackadaisical way. Lichen still walks around fluffed up most of the time and quacking like a broody hen would cluck, like she’s oddly imitating a broody hen... Do yours do that? It’s weird not getting duck eggs anymore, as they’ve been our most amazingly consistent layers for 8 months!

Sounds challenging to process your own drake, so good on your DD! We are looking at that soon, our cockerels that we bred are coming in on 8 weeks. We’ve decided to process at 3 mo and it will be a family project...

My hen started like that, and since I had no idea what was going on I didn't recognize the sign. She hasn't left the nest lately so she has water and food delivered. It's definitely weird not getting eggs!! She was my only layer add my pullets are only 15 weeks old. Hopefully soon!! I had to beg for some from a neighbor.
The Drake wasn't as hard as I thought. He was a year old and I read somewhere that they're easier to pluck than younger ducks. Still a little trickier than when I did a Cockerel a few weeks ago.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

My hen started like that, and since I had no idea what was going on I didn't recognize the sign. She hasn't left the nest lately so she has water and food delivered. It's definitely weird not getting eggs!! She was my only layer add my pullets are only 15 weeks old. Hopefully soon!! I had to beg for some from a neighbor.
The Drake wasn't as hard as I thought. He was a year old and I read somewhere that they're easier to pluck than younger ducks. Still a little trickier than when I did a Cockerel a few weeks ago.

My DD has a business of selling eggs. Even though I think duck eggs are amazingly delish, she’s had some difficulty establishing a client base for duck eggs. A lot of people are kind of weirded out by any unusual egg, even our richer tasting hen eggs... So now we’ve needed to tell our already too small clientele that we don’t even have duck eggs to sell! It’s possible I’m just missing a huge hidden nest somewhere, but I’ve looked and looked and it would have to be really big by now!

I’m amazed by how synchronized the duck hens are in their laying. When we let them out on the pond, the hens all “breed” each other too. Other duck owners say it’s purely a dominance display, but I don’t think so; that wouldn’t explain the way they take turns or give invitations to each other... I also haven’t seen this mounting behavior since the group went broody. Note that we have no drake due to concerns about hen injuries, since the chickens and ducks share the coop and run.

 

[Enigmius]

I now have two external pipped eggs in the lockdown-incubator. So now the next step can take 24-48 hours right?
Anyhow, here is a picture of the newest external pipped egg.
It’s actually in the aircell. That circle was drawn quite a while back.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I now have two external pipped eggs in the lockdown-incubator. So now the next step can take 24-48 hours right?
Anyhow, here is a picture of the newest external pipped egg.
It’s actually in the aircell. That circle was drawn quite a while back.

Yes, ducks can take anywhere from a 1 to sometimes up to 3 days. It took almost 3 days for my goslings to hatch.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I now have two external pipped eggs in the lockdown-incubator. So now the next step can take 24-48 hours right?
Anyhow, here is a picture of the newest external pipped egg.
It’s actually in the aircell. That circle was drawn quite a while back.

 

[Compost King]

I forgot to turn my eggs all day today, just slipped my mind... I turned them 2 hours ago and will turn them one more time before I go to bed as I am staying up a little late tonight. how is this going to affect them?

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I forgot to turn my eggs all day today, just slipped my mind... I turned them 2 hours ago and will turn them one more time before I go to bed as I am staying up a little late tonight. how is this going to affect them?

They’ll be fine! You should see the shipped egg protocols that people do where they don’t turn at all or turn the tiniest bit...

 

[AquaDuck]

Oh boy it's starting!
The 3 early birds (a broody duck lay in them for a few days before setting) have internally pipped. One was yellow when I candled yesterday morning. That's a baaad sign, something not right with the climate in there. I perforated the shell to the aircell with a needle, and it's still alive, I can see the beak moving. Phew! That was a close one.
Didn't get a good shot of it, but look how funky, gooey and weird it is in there. Anticipating major assistance on this one...

I'm gonna pin-prick every single internal pip in this batch. Not being able to externally pip and suffocating is the main reason for death this year, not having that this time around! I use a needle to get the tiniest possible opening, so not to dry out the membrane.

 

[Bookworm0124]

Woke up to what I think is just one baby so far. Definitely an early bird. Today is day 26. I'm not bugging Mama too much. Can't wait for the rest to hatch. Compared to my 1 month old ducklings these guys are so tiny!!