Little bit of help requered with Muscovy eggs. :)

[Miss Lydia]

That’s great news! You’ll have to load your video on Vimeo or you tube or something similar then copy an paste here.

 

[Nathalie]

That’s great news! You’ll have to load your video on Vimeo or you tube or something similar then copy an paste here.

Ooooohhh… okay, will do so! I obviously missed that one. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Nathalie]

Here they are!

Video was taken early this morning, during their 15 minute cooling period.

And here's mama duck, with the "siblings" of the 2 rescues.

And this female is the cultrate of it all, with the daddy. He can be a real ass at times, but this time he's just excited because he knows he's getting his mealworms.

 

[Nathalie]

UPDATE! The air cells have much grown since I made the first post on them! The babies are still very well alive and kicking! It won't be long now before the first internal pip will happen. That is, if everything goes to plan of course. You never know what nature brings us, do we.

Baby Muscovy number 1:

Baby Muscovy number 2:

 

[Nathalie]

I have a pretty urgent question now though about the lockdown. As I said I have no clue at all how old these babies are, so now I'm trying to figure out when would be the right time to put them in lockdown and raise the humidity (and lower the temperature). I would like to give them the best chances of survival, you see. The previous babies from a previous nest that I rescued had already pipped when I took them inside (mama duck had abandoned them after 3 days sitting on already hatched chicks), so those went straight into the hatchery. With succes. But now, with these ones, I have absolutely no clue what-so-ever.

Should I wait until I see an internal pipping? Or should that one egg with the bigger air cell already be put in lockdown? Where can I find a guide on this subject (looked around on the forum but couldn't find anything that matched my question since most people knew how old the babies were)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[shawluvsbirds]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-beginners-guide-to-incubation.73350/

Maybe this will help.

 

[Nathalie]

UPDATE!

We have the first internal pip, people! I repeat, we have the first internal pip!

The duckling that was in an older stage has finally decided that it's nearly time to explore the world. I noticed it yesterday evening at 7:41PM local time, when I checked on them as per usual (checking on them every 4 hours). I quickly raised the humidity a bit further by adding a (warm) wet washcloth near the egg and near the heatlamp. This raised the humidity by about 20%, which should do the trick (has done the trick before). I also dampened down the egg a bit with a damp paper towel, just to make sure the chick will be able to pierce the second membrane without to much hassle. Did the same thing this morning (7:15AM), since the washcloth had almost gone dry and the humidity had dropped a bit. The internal pip has almost passed the 12 hours mark, so now it's a nervous waiting game. I haven't heard a peeping sound yet, but then again the brooder/hatchery is located in our living room, far away from the bedroom. And I just woke up, soooo.... And the fact that my hearing isn't what it used to be anymore... yeah.

 

[Nathalie]

UPDATE 2!

Duckling number two has now officially made the internal pip too!! Man, this one is kicking! I could literally feel it in my hands pecking at the shell! I wonder if by tonight this one will be the first to hatch, though it always LOOKED smaller than the other one and younger. So nervous now!

 

[Nathalie]

UPDATE 3!

THE BABIES HATCHED SUCCESFULLY AND GOT THEIR FIRST REAL GLANCE OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS!

Baby duckling one. This one needed a tiny little bit of help, since his head was preventing from the rest of the body to pop out (his foot and head were having a battle ). A very gentle tiny weeny push with the tip of my finger to untangle them and there it went, all the way out! Just like that. It had already absorbed the entire yolk and blood in the veins, so it was time for him/her to come out. No worries, I quickly put it back in the hatchery.

Baby duckling two, in the back. This one is getting out by itself. YAY!

15 minutes later they were both completely detached and out of the shell. Two healthy babies!!!

 

[shawluvsbirds]

hooray for little duckies!