MerryFeather
Songster
- May 10, 2021
- 81
- 87
- 106
I have two sets of duck hatching eggs from our own flock we have tried to incubate in a NR360 incubator this month. The first set of 4 all lived until Day 12 and 13. Then 3 died suddenly. I noticed first the veins disappearing and the embryo still moving. Then a day or so later they were dead. 1 is still going on Day 28 right now and has a pip.
The other set of 4 was started 2 weeks later in another NR360 incubator. 1 egg was not fertile. 3 were doing great until yesterday which was Day 11. The same thing is happening. Embyros still moving but veins clumping. They were still alive today at Day 12 but most of the normal veins are gone and clumped in one spot. I am pretty sure they will be gone by tomorrow.
What could be causing the deaths at this stage in development? I know flock nutrition is important. Our birds are good weights and eat Kalmbach Duck feed. They only get some peas and black soldier fly larva as treats. They are all year old ducks from Metzer. A Welsh Harlequin drake and his 8 ladies. 2 Khakis, 2 Buff, 3 Welsh, and 1 Blue Swedish. Do those potential crosses not work genetically?
I keep the humidity between 45 to 55 although usually on the higher end of that because the incubator doesn't seem to do lower than that. And I keep multiple thermometers running. I know it isn't too high a heat. My Govee tracking has not recorded any spikes and neither has my other one. If anything they run a touch low but bumping the incubators up the .5 makes them jump a whole degree according to the egg temp. What should I look at before I try again? I don't want to keep failing these poor eggs.
The other set of 4 was started 2 weeks later in another NR360 incubator. 1 egg was not fertile. 3 were doing great until yesterday which was Day 11. The same thing is happening. Embyros still moving but veins clumping. They were still alive today at Day 12 but most of the normal veins are gone and clumped in one spot. I am pretty sure they will be gone by tomorrow.
What could be causing the deaths at this stage in development? I know flock nutrition is important. Our birds are good weights and eat Kalmbach Duck feed. They only get some peas and black soldier fly larva as treats. They are all year old ducks from Metzer. A Welsh Harlequin drake and his 8 ladies. 2 Khakis, 2 Buff, 3 Welsh, and 1 Blue Swedish. Do those potential crosses not work genetically?
I keep the humidity between 45 to 55 although usually on the higher end of that because the incubator doesn't seem to do lower than that. And I keep multiple thermometers running. I know it isn't too high a heat. My Govee tracking has not recorded any spikes and neither has my other one. If anything they run a touch low but bumping the incubators up the .5 makes them jump a whole degree according to the egg temp. What should I look at before I try again? I don't want to keep failing these poor eggs.
