Question — Hatching Mallard Eggs

[silkie1472]

I am hatching some mallard eggs, and until this point I have assumed that the incubation period was 28 days with slight variation depending on the breed of duck.

I candled the eggs this afternoon, and while doing so I noticed that one of the ducklings is pretty close to the air cell already. There are 9, almost 8, days left until the expected hatch date, but the progress I’m seeing suggests an early hatch. Could there be this much of a variation (-3 days than that of other breeds)?

 

[albinosilver]

What does the aircell look like?

 

[Jbently28]

The air cell will start to dip down to one side a few days before hatching. This gives a general idea of when it will hatch.

 

[silkie1472]

The air cell will start to dip down to one side a few days before hatching. This gives a general idea of when it will hatch.

Yes, the air cell is beginning to change for a few of the eggs. There is just one in particular that looks slightly ahead of the others. We’ll see in a few days.