Mama Duck Attacked!!

[MamacatPatch]

Ok I got it set up finally. I am uploading some pix of it. I won't know until tonight after I candle them if any are viable.

From the top looking down. Should I cover the open spots on the top with a towel or aluminum foil or something to keep the heat and humidity inside? Is the lamp ok there?

I put a rectangle pan on top of the towel on the bottom of the aquarium. No heating pad. Then I set the eggs on top of a roasting type thing with holes in it. Is this acceptable?

A look at the overall setup. I have an aquarium hanging thermometer in there. Should it be closer to the eggs?

 

[chickboss]

Quote:
Looks great, I love the roasting pan.

You have water in the pan? I would see if you can get that themometer down closer to egg level. But don't let it touch the eggs or the pan, because you will get false readings. What's the temp registering at where it is? Just curious. I would put a towel or something over the opening, like you said, to trap in the humidity and heat. And just a thought, if your water is in the pan, do you have a way of refilling with out moving the eggs? I might just put the water in the bottom of the tank. Gives you a lot of wet surface area. I had a horrible time trying to get my humidity up in my tank incubator. If you leave the towel in, so that there isn't standing water, you should be okay in terms of babies drowining. The temps will let you know if the lamp is good, just watch out for hot spots. It may be up high enough that it won't matter. Turn the eggs 3 or 5 times a day, you want to use an odd number so that they rest on a different side every night when they are sitting the longest.

Looking good!

 

[MamacatPatch]

Ok great, thanks for your input. Since it is an aquarium I can put water in the bottom easily! But then I'd have to find something else to put the egg 'rack' on top of. Or you mean just fill the area outside the pan so there'll be water outside and inside the pan? Yes, the pan has water but the pan isn't very big.

Right now the temp is really low ... guess it takes awhile to heat up? I will put a towel over the open spots now. I will keep you posted. Can't wait till tonight to candle them and see how many have duckies!

 

[chickboss]

Quote:
I meant leave it totally as is, just put water in the bottom of the tank with the towel in there during hatch time. That way you will have a wet towel on the bottom, which should give you lots of humidity, but if ducklings fall onto towel, they won't drown in standing water. Sorry I wasn't that clear. My temp took a bit to get up at first. You may have to find a way to lower that light to the inside if it doesn't start rising before too long though.

I know, I can't wait for you to candle either! I'm toatlly sucked in!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Good eggs are supposed to float, if it has a live baby in it, it will move once the water settles.

 

[chickboss]

Quote:
My thought was that if they were fairly developed they would be heavy. Not so? Ahhhhh.....

I hope I wasn't wrong! How long had she been setting? Maybe you should grab those floaters! EEEk!

I knew that they would float if they were "fresh."

 

[MamacatPatch]

OH CRAP!!!! Luckily I put them in the trash but gently because if they were rotten I didn't want them to smell up the trash! Going to go dig them out now and find a bigger thing to lay them on!!!!!

 

[chickboss]

I'm sorry! Can you mark them, so that you know which ones were viable when you candle. I would like to know for sure so that if I ever have a similar situation, I can check them.

 

[MamacatPatch]

Ok, I put eight small mason jars full of water on the bottom and two trays on them with holes and slots. I dug out the eggs from the trash and I have 28 eggs total! I'll mark the floaters with 'F' and number them too. This is turning into an interesting experiment and good training!

Oy vay, we're under a tornado watch now so if I don't get on again till tomorrow, you know why!!!

 

[chickboss]

Turns out your learning experiment is good for me to!

I will be hoping that the storm passes you by with out developing into anything fierce. Good luck!