Mandarin egg incubation

[LALADY1101]

I have 12 shipped Mandarin eggs in the incubator that are on day 7. My silkie hen went broody on Mon or Tues of this week. I candled the mandarin eggs last night just to see if I could tell what's going on with them. There were 2 clears, 2 with veining starting, the rest of them I'm not too sure about. I see the darker yolk, but there's no veining as of yet. My question is should I take them from the incubator and put them with the broody hen or should I leave them in the bator. These eggs are so expensive and I really want to do the right thing. Suggestions??

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I have 12 of my mandarin eggs in the incubator right now, on day 5, and I see distinct veining in all of them. Wait another couple of days, and see.

 

[LALADY1101]

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UH OH.......that doesn't bode well for me

 

[4-H chicken mom]

That's going to be a tough call. Pros-broodys do a much better job at incubating than we do. Cons-what do you do if she stops sitting. OK better yet. How has your incubating successes been? Good or Bad?

Good luck with whatever you decide. Keep us informed

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

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Fully agree with that, it's all based on your abilities, me I can hatch a rock, and have had horrible luck with broodies getting up and forgetting what they are doing, especially if new like yours, just a couple days of it, you never know, I'd feel better if she had been broody a week or two.
I agree by day 4 you can see development, IF you rae good and know what you are looking for, by day 7 it's a no brainer, if they still look clear by this weekend, well..... Duck eggs, especially wild types, just dont ship well.
I'm pullin for ya though !

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

For me, I prefer hatching them myself. I can moniter their humidity, temp, and air sac. I did a great job of it last year. The one thing I did learn was to either hand turn or use my brinsea. I will never use those yellow hovabator egg turners for duck eggs again. So I put 12 in, 12 developed, I will have to keep track of how many I get to hatch with each batch.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

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Yep, I hand turn all my waterfowl too, not sure what it is, put I have always had bad luck in a turner. I think it's due to the unnatural way they sit in the trays, just my threory, but no egg really sits that way in nature, and it's not a full turn in a turner, the embryo just tilts from side to side of the top end of the egg, laid down and hand turned 3-4 times a day seems to be the way to go to me

 

[Scott]

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Yep, I hand turn all my waterfowl too, not sure what it is, put I have always had bad luck in a turner. I think it's due to the unnatural way they sit in the trays, just my threory, but no egg really sits that way in nature, and it's not a full turn in a turner, the embryo just tilts from side to side of the top end of the egg, laid down and hand turned 3-4 times a day seems to be the way to go to me

Agreed. Waterfowl eggs need to be turned on their sides.

 

[LALADY1101]

We've been hand turning 3x a day. It's not looking too good though. I candled this am and still no development on the 8 that were questionable. Even the 2 that were starting to vein aren't looking too good. I don't think they're gonna make it. I'm not sure what a detached air cell looks like, but I do know that the air cells look nothing like the silkies I've hatched or the Rouen eggs that are in another bator at the moment. I knew I was taking a risk with these eggs, but man I really thought I'd at least get a couple of babies. I'm pretty disappointed. I ordered 10 eggs, she sent 2 extras for a total of 12, but by the time I paid for the eggs and shipping, it was $103.50. It's looking like that was a COMPLETE waste of money. I probably should have just ordered a pair from someone. Expensive lesson to learn!!

On a more positive note.......Mandie (my mandarin hen) showed back up this morning. Max (drake) seems to be settling in. He's quacking ALOT, so maybe she'll hear him and stick around long enough for us to catch her, clip her wings and put her in the aviary with him. Maybe we'll end up with babies from them.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

there ya go, get her caught back up!
Hate to hear of the loss, I do tell people a lot, for what eggs sell for (especially ebay) you can get you a yearling pair for easily, usually less, there are quite a few breeders out there that still sell them for $40- $50 per pair