problem w/lockdown

[laura13617]

i have a problem w/the lockdown of the bator.. i have 4 duck eggs that will need to be turned.... what do i do?
i dont want to interrupt the hatchin process for the chicks but i dont want to lose the duck eggs either..pls help thk u

 

[Brickman House]

This is why staggered hatches can be problematic, unless you have a separate hatcher. Next time, you might be better served by planning your hatch so that the chicks and ducks hatch at the same time-- set the duck eggs a week before the chicken eggs.

At this point, absent a separate hatcher, you have two choices:

1. Don't turn the duck eggs for the duration of the chick hatch, and hope it doesn't hurt them; or

2. Reach in to turn the duck eggs, and do it quickly, hoping that the loss of heat and humidity doesn't hurt the hatching chicks. Don't know what your set up is, but you might try sticking something through a vent hole to turn them, or just hope the chicks kicking around in there do some turning on their own.

Which eggs are more important to you-- the chick or the duck? If it were me, I'd probably leave the bator closed for the duration of the hatch, and take my chances on not turning the duck eggs. The ducks are fairly well developed by week 3, and less likely to stick to the shells. Prevailing wisdom of this board seems to be that regular turning is most important during the first couple weeks of incubation.

 

[babsbag]

Don't you have to mist the duck eggs as well? I have never hatched out ducks.

When I did my first and only hatch I misted the inside of my incubator with WARM water when I had to open the incubator and all my viable eggs hatched. I opend it quite a few times as I didn't like the chicks playing football with the unhatched eggs.

Your chicks might just move them around enough so you don't have to worry. Or maybe move them around with a bamboo skewer through a vent hole.

You don't want your humidity to drop when you have a pip.

 

[laura13617]

my 16 chicken eggs are important to me..the 4 duck eggs were given to me and she had no idea how long they had already sat around.

my 1st time tryin.. i will know better for next time wish me luck w/my chicks i'm on day 12

thanks for the advice

 

[featherbaby]

Quote:
Don't feel bad, I made a similar mistake too. I have 8 of my own eggs in the bator (my first time hatching), then ordered 8 from a BYC auction. They went in the bator 3 days later. Now I will have hatching chicks from the first batch during lockdown of the second batch.
Live and learn. I won't do that again. Everybody tells me that in the last part of the hatching cycle the drop in humidity will cause the membranes to "shrink wrap" the hatching chick and kill it. Therefore, I'm not opening the bator until every body that's alive is out and safe.
I don't want to be responsible for doing something that will harm them. I would not risk the 16 chickens for the 4 duck eggs. They will probably be fine at this late stage without being turned.

 

[CorralitosSunflower]

You would be surprised how resilient duck eggs tend to be. The very first time I hatched a long time ago (I was a teenager with no knowledge about it) I borrowed an incubator and some fertile duck eggs and dispite the NUMEROUS things I did wrong, candled everyday, temp fluxuation, lockdown- whats that? (I opened the bator many many times to see the cute babies zipping the shell), they all made it! If you can roll them around with a stick through one of the vents I would try that. Otherwise don't worry about it, you will be doing good to your other 16 chicks.

 

[harryg6167]

Personally I think lockdown is overrated somewhat. The first time I incubated I
ignorantly opened and shut the incubator during "lockdown" whether to get
hatched chicks out or even to add a little water for humidity.
Even now after hatching a few hundred chicks I still open the bators during
lockdown and if some are pipped I just simply mist the eggs a bit with warm water.
Not saying it will work for everybody or that it will work every time but that's
just how I do it and it works out fine for me.