Lockdown too early I think

[ivy_huan]

First time hatching anything and I tortured myself with duck eggs . The girl who sold them to me said she wasn't sure the breed. It's a mixed breed...

I treated them like normal duck eggs and spray and cool since day 10 hand turned for at least 5 times a day

Not knowing what to look for. I put them all in lockdown on day 25 and scared to death to open the incubator. Today is day 29. After some suggestions from a couple members here. I candled them tonight.
Well one of them I'm pretty sure is dead and I can see movements in two of the 5 eggs. One I don't think is doing too hot and the one that was most active before lockdown has no movements but some small vein visible

Could some of them be Muscovy mix and develop slower ?

Could I have harmed them putting them in lockdown too early ?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

You cannot harm them by putting them in lockdown early. I had an automatic turner break after only a few days of incubation (and I didn’t notice) and two still hatched. You can harm them with too much humidity during incubation. It is possible they are Muscovy mixes but more likely your temperature is off. What kind of incubator are you using? If it isn’t a really expensive one they can have temperature swings and cold spots. I would dispose of the bad looking ones and keep the others locked down for a few more days.

 

[ivy_huan]

You cannot harm them by putting them in lockdown early. I had an automatic turner break after only a few days of incubation (and I didn’t notice) and two still hatched. You can harm them with too much humidity during incubation. It is possible they are Muscovy mixes but more likely your temperature is off. What kind of incubator are you using? If it isn’t a really expensive one they can have temperature swings and cold spots. I would dispose of the bad looking ones and keep the others locked down for a few more days.

Thank you for your reply
I'll discard that one tomorrow morning.
I have a hand me down hovabator with a small analog hygrometer combo in it.
This is my first time hatching anything so I just used what I have on hand. Temperature could been off. Will they still hatch ? Yea I didn't realize until later on in the process that the location I have the incubator gets some afternoon sun. So I since moved it.
How are the other ones look ? I have been googling to see pictures but can't find anything to compare with

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Thank you for your reply
I'll discard that one tomorrow morning.
I have a hand me down hovabator with a small analog hygrometer combo in it.
This is my first time hatching anything so I just used what I have on hand. Temperature could been off. Will they still hatch ? Yea I didn't realize until later on in the process that the location I have the incubator gets some afternoon sun. So I since moved it.
How are the other ones look ? I have been googling to see pictures but can't find anything to compare with

It is hard for me to tell from pictures but if they are moving that is good. The pictures do look like hatching position. The could still hatch, just late. I use an old hovabator too. The problem with them is that they heat based on a timer not a thermostat. So, if the room warms up it gets too hot or vice versa. I bought an external thermostat off Amazon to stop that problem and have had really good hatches since. I also dry hatch, not adding any water until lockdown.

 

[ivy_huan]

It is hard for me to tell from pictures but if they are moving that is good. The pictures do look like hatching position. The could still hatch, just late. I use an old hovabator too. The problem with them is that they heat based on a timer not a thermostat. So, if the room warms up it gets too hot or vice versa. I bought an external thermostat off Amazon to stop that problem and have had really good hatches since. I also dry hatch, not adding any water until lockdown.

This is my first hatch ever. so hopefully I will get at least a couple of them hatching lol
I have chicken and quail eggs lined up for next round already... Next weekend...
Hopefully these will come out by then
Which thermostat did you get. I'm looking for one too. I am using one in a Multi tool I have handy in the I incubator.

I'm gonna look into dry hatch for my next batch. With auto Turner it should be a lot less labor intense than this one lol

 

[cheezenkwackers]

This is my first hatch ever. so hopefully I will get at least a couple of them hatching lol
I have chicken and quail eggs lined up for next round already... Next weekend...
Hopefully these will come out by then
Which thermostat did you get. I'm looking for one too. I am using one in a Multi tool I have handy in the I incubator.

I'm gonna look into dry hatch for my next batch. With auto Turner it should be a lot less labor intense than this one lol

This is what I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HXM5UAC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I keep the incubator (turned to as hot as it will go) plugged into the "heat" plug and a small fan which blows air over the outside of the incubator in the cool slot. I am not sure the fan helps, but I had it and figured it might pull some of the heat out when the incubator gets too hot. I place the temperature sensing probe through one of the holes (red plugs removed) and between two eggs with the tip about half way down an egg. Duct tape, on the outside of the incubator, keeps it in place.
I have had really good hatches for years this way. Only time I did not was when I got lazy and didn't clean the incubator with bleach water between hatchings. Good luck!

 

[Kiki]

First time hatching anything and I tortured myself with duck eggs . The girl who sold them to me said she wasn't sure the breed. It's a mixed breed...

I treated them like normal duck eggs and spray and cool since day 10 hand turned for at least 5 times a day

Not knowing what to look for. I put them all in lockdown on day 25 and scared to death to open the incubator. Today is day 29. After some suggestions from a couple members here. I candled them tonight.
Well one of them I'm pretty sure is dead and I can see movements in two of the 5 eggs. One I don't think is doing too hot and the one that was most active before lockdown has no movements but some small vein visible

Could some of them be Muscovy mix and develop slower ? View attachment 3154149View attachment 3154146View attachment 3154147
Could I have harmed them putting them in lockdown too early ?

No you didn't harm them by locking them down a few days early.


Did you have a calibrated thermometer in your incubator and a salt tested humidity gauge?

Not having a calibrated thermometer means that you are not 100% positive the temperature wasn't getting too hot.
Not having a salt tested humidity gauge means that you weren't sure what the humidity level was and having too high of a humidity level is not good.

The eggs pictured here do not look good.

 

[ivy_huan]

This is what I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HXM5UAC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I keep the incubator (turned to as hot as it will go) plugged into the "heat" plug and a small fan which blows air over the outside of the incubator in the cool slot. I am not sure the fan helps, but I had it and figured it might pull some of the heat out when the incubator gets too hot. I place the temperature sensing probe through one of the holes (red plugs removed) and between two eggs with the tip about half way down an egg. Duct tape, on the outside of the incubator, keeps it in place.
I have had really good hatches for years this way. Only time I did not was when I got lazy and didn't clean the incubator with bleach water between hatchings. Good luck!

I think that could be one of my problem too. I was new at it and didn't think it was that bad and gave it a good wipe down. I'll make sure I give them a good cleaning next round. And Hopefully I'll have two hatches lol so far only 2,3 eggs are alive

 

[ivy_huan]

No you didn't harm them by locking them down a few days early.


Did you have a calibrated thermometer in your incubator and a salt tested humidity gauge?

Not having a calibrated thermometer means that you are not 100% positive the temperature wasn't getting too hot.
Not having a salt tested humidity gauge means that you weren't sure what the humidity level was and having too high of a humidity level is not good.

The eggs pictured here do not look good.

I didn't. I actually didn't know it's a thing till after I have them in the incubator
It's one of those analog combo ones from a survival multi tool.
I don't think it was too hot or too humid. No condensation build up but I think I will give the incubator a good clean up next time and try again. Just hope I'll have one or two hatches. I think I saw movements in one of those eggs. I'm gonna leave them in a little longer see if the other two that I can definitely see movements hatches around 35 ish day