Problems with hatching

[katie246]

My lock down should be tonight but the other eggs look no where near ready so don't know what to do now, plus I don't like to store the eggs for too long so I have eggs at different stages of incubation in the one bator and just move the few that are ready to the other one and lock down and it worked great last year.

 

[WVduckchick]

I hatched about 50 ducklings last year and had a great result with help and I have used the same bator and settings this year the only difference is that I used shipped eggs last year and my own eggs this year also it is the same time of year as well so I just don't understand it

I know you've done well in the past. Is this the first try with your own eggs? Did they just start laying? Or just resume laying? Possibly a feed issue?

 

[casportpony]

I've got a video on how to hatch duck eggs on my Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSSsSBy85-NWPQbzT-61brQ?view_as=subscriber
If you are hatching out waterfowl make sure the temperate is 37.5 degrees Celsius and 55%-60% Humidity. Rotate the eggs at least three times a day. The last three days you don't want to rotate the eggs so that the ducklings can position themselves to hatch. Humidity is the biggest thing to consider when incubating waterfowl.

55-60% humidity is way to high for many people.

 

[WVduckchick]

My lock down should be tonight but the other eggs look no where near ready so don't know what to do now, plus I don't like to store the eggs for too long so I have eggs at different stages of incubation in the one bator and just move the few that are ready to the other one and lock down and it worked great last year.

I use a hatcher too, sometimes. Depends on how many eggs I have going. You can wait for them to start drawing down, or internal pips to move them. Go by the growth, not the calendar.

 

[WVduckchick]

55-60% humidity is way to high for many people.

x2. Mine would drown.

 

[MountaingateHomestead]

The last thing I have to add is to make sure that the eggs are never refrigerated or washed. Only select eggs that appear clean and in the correct shape. Don't use soap unless it is specifically designed for hatching. I hope this helps

 

[katie246]

I know you've done well in the past. Is this the first try with your own eggs? Did they just start laying? Or just resume laying? Possibly a feed issue?

They didn't stop laying over the winter they are 18 months old now and I have them on duck layer pellets and put the vitamin powder in with them they free range as much as I can let them and I also feed them corn and I start to shoot the maize for them before I feed it them my runner ducks are fed the same and their eggs are hatching fine it's just the cayugas

 

[MountaingateHomestead]

55-60% humidity is way to high for many people.

I would disagree. I've done this as a business for a long time and that is the correct amount recommend from a variety of breeders and hatcheries. For waterfowl it needs to be high because they have a thicker shell.

 

[katie246]

I use a hatcher too, sometimes. Depends on how many eggs I have going. You can wait for them to start drawing down, or internal pips to move them. Go by the growth, not the calendar.

Yes I always go by the growth of the egg as they are all different and I had better results this way

 

[MountaingateHomestead]

What age are they? Have you done a fertility test out of 5 eggs.