~Shipped Duck Egg 'Hatch-a-long' Due Aug 21, 2013 CANDLING PICS~

[Griffin Nest]

~UPDATE!! Day 7~

3 of the ducks are strong and healthy and they are a week old!! They LOVE getting water EVERYWHERE and making me clean their brooder twice a day

Also, if you noticed I had a 4th egg. It's not dead!! During incubation I noticed this egg looked less developed than everyone else, and I concluded that it was probably a muscovy egg which takes 35 days to hatch. I put it in a small incubator just for him and waited the extra week.













Yes its a Chickbator, I know

But I did some extreme makeovers to it to make sure it doesn't kill everything that goes in it. I attached it to a dimmer for heat control, and I placed it inside a stryofoam cooler for better insulation. I also put 2 water bottles in to keep the temperature more stable. It's been working pretty well! I've heard a LOT of stories about muscovies being the hardest thing to hatch. (People getting 2/35 hatch rates!!!) So I'm REALLY hoping this one comes out.

 

[Griffin Nest]

Day 35!! Egg #4 is finally coming!! Saw a pip yesterday!

 

[sweetsilence83]

I'm not against helping when needed. I help when I've been helping when I know I can. I refrained from helping once and the duckling ended up going from chirping to shrink wrapped and dead in the time I took debating wether or not I should help. I'm not against helping. I was just telling you that I have noticed that duckling can be internally pipped for a really long time. I just hatched 5 more and I think if I hadn't helped the one marked 7/29 today he would have died. He was frantically chirping with no pip. When I pipped for him I couldn't see an internal pip. So I cranked the humidity and let him do the rest. When I checked the incubator around 2:45pm today I heard chirping and the little guy had made a LOT of progress, but I heard more chirping that sounded like it was coming from the non lock down incubator. I checked the other incubator and sure enough there was a duckling actively hatching in there, 3 days early. So I quickly moved him into the hatch-a-bator (that's what I call the incubator move the eggs to during lockdown). I was waiting for this last little fuzzy butt to hatch, so I could hose out the hatch-a-bator and move the others over. Both ducklings were fine, except the one that cooked a for 5 extra days looked kind of like he has a major neck and leg cramp, and he probably does. But so far both duckies are fluffing up nicely. I did have time to clean out my hatch-a-bator before the next round of hatching. I have really got to stop throwing my duck eggs in the incubator.

 

[Griffin Nest]

I'm not against helping when needed. I help when I've been helping when I know I can. I refrained from helping once and the duckling ended up going from chirping to shrink wrapped and dead in the time I took debating wether or not I should help. I'm not against helping. I was just telling you that I have noticed that duckling can be internally pipped for a really long time. I just hatched 5 more and I think if I hadn't helped the one marked 7/29 today he would have died. He was frantically chirping with no pip. When I pipped for him I couldn't see an internal pip. So I cranked the humidity and let him do the rest. When I checked the incubator around 2:45pm today I heard chirping and the little guy had made a LOT of progress, but I heard more chirping that sounded like it was coming from the non lock down incubator. I checked the other incubator and sure enough there was a duckling actively hatching in there, 3 days early. So I quickly moved him into the hatch-a-bator (that's what I call the incubator move the eggs to during lockdown). I was waiting for this last little fuzzy butt to hatch, so I could hose out the hatch-a-bator and move the others over. Both ducklings were fine, except the one that cooked a for 5 extra days looked kind of like he has a major neck and leg cramp, and he probably does. But so far both duckies are fluffing up nicely. I did have time to clean out my hatch-a-bator before the next round of hatching. I have really got to stop throwing my duck eggs in the incubator.

Lol yea, sometimes you just have to help. I don't know what went wrong in my hatch but it looks like the 4th egg needs help too

I think it was caused by the weird air cells caused by shipping. The air is just everywhere and to me it looks impossible for anything to move in there. It's been pipped for 36 hours and I think its time for me to help again ugh

 

[Griffin Nest]

UPDATE!!! THE MUSCOVY HATCHED!

It was at 4 in the morning on Wednesday but he came out

IT'S SO CUTE!! I put the older ducklings in the big brooder outside so the little baby had to stay alone in the small brooder. He will not let me leave him alone!!! I have to hold him practically all day

I even slept a couple hours with him. I tried moving him to the big brooder with the others so he's not noisy. It's a hot day so I think it will be fine.They all went for a swim together and are getting along.