Peeping is also a really good sign!! Beaker sounds like such a character. No Gulp needed.... Good on you for teying to make your own - Homemade incubators can be very good- but just like a mass produced type - they can still need some tweeking over a number of hatches to get right. I cant remember how many late nights..or all nighters I have pulled waiting for a particular egg. I have driven home on my lunch breaks from work to check - and even once let my daughter miss a school sports carnival to stay home and watch a hatch. Misting could be good through the air hole- I always find that after misting they can be very active.
Poking a hole can be done with a very fine drill bit. Rotated through the fingers very gently- and especially when it gets close to breaking through. The drill bit could easily go through the shell- and hit the duckling if not carefully controlled. It can help to let them breath- and if you pull away a very small bit of shell- you can shine a flashlight inside to see what the membrane looks like. If it is white it is dry and the duckling may need further assistance - either way- it is a good idea to give it a fine mist spray before putting it back into the incubator. Sometimes peeling of the shell is needed to assist hatches- but one important factor to remember is- sometimes ducklings dont hatch for a good reason- helping may not be the kindest thing for a deformed baby that would not hatch on its own. Your ducklings arent past due yet- so I wouldnt suggest anything just yet- maybe later in the day if there is still no sign of a pip after steady high humidity and misting. Did you take any notice of the size of the air cell in the last few days?? Would you say it takes up nearly 1/3 of the space inside the egg... or much smaller or bigger??/
Poking a hole can be done with a very fine drill bit. Rotated through the fingers very gently- and especially when it gets close to breaking through. The drill bit could easily go through the shell- and hit the duckling if not carefully controlled. It can help to let them breath- and if you pull away a very small bit of shell- you can shine a flashlight inside to see what the membrane looks like. If it is white it is dry and the duckling may need further assistance - either way- it is a good idea to give it a fine mist spray before putting it back into the incubator. Sometimes peeling of the shell is needed to assist hatches- but one important factor to remember is- sometimes ducklings dont hatch for a good reason- helping may not be the kindest thing for a deformed baby that would not hatch on its own. Your ducklings arent past due yet- so I wouldnt suggest anything just yet- maybe later in the day if there is still no sign of a pip after steady high humidity and misting. Did you take any notice of the size of the air cell in the last few days?? Would you say it takes up nearly 1/3 of the space inside the egg... or much smaller or bigger??/
