Post hatch important questions

[edoucet]

Hi guys! I recently tried to hatch 5 healthy duck eggs.
First off, the first egg hatched 3 days late. Fine, he came out feisty and healthy! The next day, the second egg hatched, even though she pipped on the wrong end. She’s a bossy little thing!
But the next three eggs were very very slow. I had to assist all three and ALL THREE came out with malformed legs, unable to uncurl from hatching position or blink their eyes. To me, it appeared to be a neurological issue. They all ended up dying. What could have caused this? I did open the incubator during hatch but one of the ducklings was actually sticky membrane so the humidity definitely wasn’t too low. It was around 70 during hatch. There was one temperature spike during early incubation (I built my own incubator) to about 106 F for upwards of three hours. These are all the things I can think of that may have gone wrong.
Is it more likely to have been genetic? Were they in the eggs too long??
Please help me find answers so I don’t repeat my mistakes.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Hi guys! I recently tried to hatch 5 healthy duck eggs.
First off, the first egg hatched 3 days late. Fine, he came out feisty and healthy! The next day, the second egg hatched, even though she pipped on the wrong end. She’s a bossy little thing!
But the next three eggs were very very slow. I had to assist all three and ALL THREE came out with malformed legs, unable to uncurl from hatching position or blink their eyes. To me, it appeared to be a neurological issue. They all ended up dying. What could have caused this? I did open the incubator during hatch but one of the ducklings was actually sticky membrane so the humidity definitely wasn’t too low. It was around 70 during hatch. There was one temperature spike during early incubation (I built my own incubator) to about 106 F for upwards of three hours. These are all the things I can think of that may have gone wrong.
Is it more likely to have been genetic? Were they in the eggs too long??
Please help me find answers so I don’t repeat my mistakes.

The temp could have been a problem. But it sounds to me more like a too low temp for the majority of the incubation. I had 1 chicken chick hatch like this a few weeks ago that ended up dying. It had been incubated by a first time broody and was several days late.

Do you know the approximate over all temp?

 

[edoucet]

The temp could have been a problem. But it sounds to me more like a too low temp for the majority of the incubation. I had 1 chicken chick hatch like this a few weeks ago that ended up dying. It had been incubated by a first time broody and was several days late.

Do you know the approximate over all temp?

My thermometer indicated about 99 degrees, maybe a little less.

 

[edoucet]

Maybe since they hatched late it’s a sign that it was too cold???

 

[Rose Quartz]

My thermometer indicated about 99 degrees, maybe a little less.

Does it have a fan or no?

- maybe try upping it to 99.5 - 100

Make sure you have a steady temp before adding eggs though. Especially if you're working with a home made.

 

[Kiki]

My thermometer indicated about 99 degrees, maybe a little less.

Is your thermometer calibrated?

If your eggs are 3 & 4 days late your temperature is not correct/ good enough.