Not Sure If Pipped

[LauMin]

Hello
I am two days into lockdown and I don’t know if I have internally pipped eggs. Last candled the night before lockdown and no pips. If I stare for long enough I can see some rocking. I can’t hear anything over the noise of the incubator.
I know opening the lid is a big no but this is torture. My air sacs weren’t quite as big as I would have liked.. so I am worried about them. Any advice...

 

[Isaac 0]

I suggest you read this, it shows the difference between shadowing and a internal pip-

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed.491013/

 

[LauMin]

This is great but I wish I’d read this before I started the whole process. This person seems like an expert but I am miles away from being anywhere near this capable.
Dumb it down for a first time Hatcher, would you candle throughout lockdown or just try and be patient now?
I’m concerned at doing more harm than good by opening the lid...

 

[DaSouthernYankee]

This is great but I wish I’d read this before I started the whole process. This person seems like an expert but I am miles away from being anywhere near this capable.
Dumb it down for a first time Hatcher, would you candle throughout lockdown or just try and be patient now?
I’m concerned at doing more harm than good by opening the lid...

A lot of people are against lockdown candling but I personally candled till nearly the end. I wanted to know what was happening in there and I still hatched 7 successful healthy ducklings. However I did number them all and track candling process every single day. It was kind of my learning experience with the incubator. I wanted to identify the air sacs, veins, heart formation, growth inside the egg etc.

 

[LauMin]

Thank you. Really appreciate your input. Can I ask how many eggs you started off with when you hatched 7?
I started with 4, one was infertile so only three chances!

 

[DaSouthernYankee]

Thank you. Really appreciate your input. Can I ask how many eggs you started off with when you hatched 7?
I started with 4, one was infertile so only three chances!

No problem, like I said most people won’t candle and I can’t say the science behind it but mine had out pips and everything while I candles, I was just very careful not to take them out too long.

And if I remember correctly I started with 17. I marked each egg on a notebook and everyday wrote what happened. Some were infertile and nothing changed. Some got veins and then stopped developing. I think a good half the non hatchers turned out infertile so I really only had a loss of 5 and that means more success than not!

What kind of duck do you have and she only laid four total??

 

[DaSouthernYankee]

Also side note- if they’re rocking (I had to stare hard too I thought I was seeing things!!) those babies are coming soon.

 

[LauMin]

They’re Aylesbury eggs from a local farmer. He collected us 6 but the incubator is only small so we only put 4 in.
I thought it would keep my daughter busy during our lockdown but instead we have just gone a bit insane staring into an incubator.
Fingers crossed..!

 

[LauMin]

I candled and I think two had pipped... can’t be 100% sure. It wasn’t as clear as the pips I’ve googled and I tried to be quick. The third was still moving.
I’m just going to have to hope!!
This is torture! I don’t know how you do it.

 

[LauMin]

Hello. Please can anyone advise, does that look like the duckling is trying to get out at the wrong end?
Many thanks