Paranoid about air cells

[Dani0703]

I'm hatching my first batch of duck eggs and I think their air cells are too small and would like some other opinions.
Yes I know the eggs are dirty, they were shipped to me. Being shipped eggs I've been incubating them upright because their air cells were a little wobbly (shipping box was not labeled fragile and looks like it got booted around)
I'm on day 20, sorry these pictures are horrible I'm trying not to handle the eggs too much. The air cells are drawn in pencil, I can take better pictures tomorrow

 

[FarmInProgress]

Mmm... the first couple are good but the ones in the back looked saddle like

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Shipped eggs are always tricky. Eggs with saddled air cells even more so. Even if you do everything correctly.

I just finished hatching my first duck eggs after years of hatching chickens. I wish I had more information to offer. I used the Metzer Farms hatching guide. They were purchased locally, incubated horizontally, cooled/misted.

Here's a picture of my duck eggs as they pipped and zipped. You can see the lines labeled "21" to compare with your eggs. I also drew lines when I candled them daily. So that's what the other lines are. Gives you an idea of how much they change when the ducklings internally pip and move into hatch position. They dipped more but I stopped marking air cells at about day 24.

Best of luck with your hatch!

 

[JaeG]

We are hatching Muscovy eggs for the first time and are weighing weekly to make sure they are on track. I love this method (and percentage calculators online make working out how much the eggs need to lose quick and easy). Its so much easier than tracking the air cells. Keep it in mind for next time.

 

[Dani0703]

Shipped eggs are always tricky. Eggs with saddled air cells even more so. Even if you do everything correctly.

I just finished hatching my first duck eggs after years of hatching chickens. I wish I had more information to offer. I used the Metzer Farms hatching guide. They were purchased locally, incubated horizontally, cooled/misted.

Here's a picture of my duck eggs as they pipped and zipped. You can see the lines labeled "21" to compare with your eggs. I also drew lines when I candled them daily. So that's what the other lines are. Gives you an idea of how much they change when the ducklings internally pip and move into hatch position. They dipped more but I stopped marking air cells at about day 24.

Best of luck with your hatch!

View attachment 2089411View attachment 2089412

Thank you, your pictures definitely give a better visual than the diagrams
I've looked at multiple different hatching guides but every one is a little different. I thought about misting but decided against it, I was worried that my eggs being dirty it would allow bacteria to get in

 

[Dani0703]

We are hatching Muscovy eggs for the first time and are weighing weekly to make sure they are on track. I love this method (and percentage calculators online make working out how much the eggs need to lose quick and easy). Its so much easier than tracking the air cells. Keep it in mind for next time.

I thought about doing this but at the time it sounded a little more complicated and I wasn't sure I wanted to delve into that but it would be useful to know right about now

 

[Dani0703]

I always hate reading a thread and wondering how everything turned out so I figured I'd give an update.
4 of the eggs were late quitters, the air cells never changed in these ones after my post and the veins were gone. There was still clear space between the dark part of the embryo and pointy end of the egg.

On the bright side I got two healthy babies, late hatchers possibly because of the way I was tilting the incubator.

 

[JaeG]

And they sure are gorgeous babies!