Should I be worried about my hatching eggs- 3 ducklings

[Aidanhall92]

Are you hatching your penkin ducks for pets or for the eggs and meat? I didn’t find out until recently you can actually eat duck eggs! I’m not opposed to the idea.. I just initially figured they would be pets, and didn’t know I could do anything else since they weren’t chicks/chickens!

Mine are definitely pets, Im a vegetarian haha. In the UK its not uncommon to bake with duck eggs though so im interested to make some cakes with the eggs we get! Other than that they will be cuddled and loved haha

 

[JaeG]

I have one beautiful jet black baby who took all night to hatch (must be around the 36 hour mark from the external pip). Another has externally pipped so hopefully the rest will follow suit. Where I made safety holes I can see the membranes are still nice and white. I'll have to wait until she's out of the incubator to share a picture because I have to shine a torch in to see in there - a camera would have no hope. I would like an incubator I can see into easily. She's hard enough to see anyway because I put black shelf liner under the eggs, so she's well camouflaged.

I think Muscovy are about as difficult as other ducks, but it does seem that you might lose some at the point where they are internally pipping and starting to breath with their lungs which is where I have lost a couple. But if these 5 hatch that will be more than enough stomachs to feed.

 

[X3Jack930]

Mine are definitely pets, Im a vegetarian haha. In the UK its not uncommon to bake with duck eggs though so im interested to make some cakes with the eggs we get! Other than that they will be cuddled and loved haha

Yes! Same!!!!!! “Cuddled and Loved” pets I did hear that duck eggs were good! I didn’t know you could even eat duck eggs!!

 

[X3Jack930]

I have one beautiful jet black baby who took all night to hatch (must be around the 36 hour mark from the external pip). Another has externally pipped so hopefully the rest will follow suit. Where I made safety holes I can see the membranes are still nice and white. I'll have to wait until she's out of the incubator to share a picture because I have to shine a torch in to see in there - a camera would have no hope. I would like an incubator I can see into easily. She's hard enough to see anyway because I put black shelf liner under the eggs, so she's well camouflaged.

I think Muscovy are about as difficult as other ducks, but it does seem that you might lose some at the point where they are internally pipping and starting to breath with their lungs which is where I have lost a couple. But if these 5 hatch that will be more than enough stomachs to feed.

Yay! Great to hear! I can’t wait to see the pictures! I wish you the best on the remainder of your little hatchlings!!

As of right now, I have 5 hatched, one hatching right now, 3 more externally pipped and a lagger who as of 3pm, still didn’t internally pip but every time I checked beside the last time the air sac kept getting bigger- so I hope she’s okay in there!

Aww, that’s ashame- I hope I don’t lose any- everything is going so well right now!

 

[JaeG]

Yay! Great to hear! I can’t wait to see the pictures! I wish you the best on the remainder of your little hatchlings!!

As of right now, I have 5 hatched, one hatching right now, 3 more externally pipped and a lagger who as of 3pm, still didn’t internally pip but every time I checked beside the last time the air sac kept getting bigger- so I hope she’s okay in there!

Aww, that’s ashame- I hope I don’t lose any- everything is going so well right now!

I had to help the one I first made a safety hole for. It never externally pipped and it had been 48 hours since I'd made the safety hole. It was very ready to hatch and complained the whole time, but once it was out it was pooped. It's sleeping it off in the incubator but I got a photo.


Boy ducks leave a lot of goop in their shells!

Even if your last little lagger doesn't hatch you've done extremely well with your little brood.

 

[JaeG]

Yay! Great to hear! I can’t wait to see the pictures! I wish you the best on the remainder of your little hatchlings!!

As of right now, I have 5 hatched, one hatching right now, 3 more externally pipped and a lagger who as of 3pm, still didn’t internally pip but every time I checked beside the last time the air sac kept getting bigger- so I hope she’s okay in there!

Aww, that’s ashame- I hope I don’t lose any- everything is going so well right now!

I'm very happy to report also, unlike the one I had to help, two of the eggs I added a safety holes to have pipped externally and the last one we are waiting on was the last to pip internally so I'm not expecting that one to quite yet, especially if it's taken the other two this long! This duck hatching business isn't for the faint of heart!

 

[X3Jack930]

I had to help the one I first made a safety hole for. It never externally pipped and it had been 48 hours since I'd made the safety hole. It was very ready to hatch and complained the whole time, but once it was out it was pooped. It's sleeping it off in the incubator but I got a photo.
View attachment 2113050

Boy ducks leave a lot of goop in their shells!

Even if your last little lagger doesn't hatch you've done extremely well with your little brood.

Awww! How adorable! They’re still even amazingly cute even all gooey Yes, they have A LOT of goop, lol! They have that membrane, the left over yolk sac and that whitish goopy stuff that must be part of the yolk sac or something? That’s exactly what my 6th Hatcher did at 6:30pm- now she’s all fluffy and you wouldn’t even know she was pooped after fighting her way out! I helped her out to- she had been externally pipped, then did a through and through, she started zipping and just stopped? I knew something was weird because all the rest once they did the poke through, the zip and boom- they were out within 5 minutes, so I’m not sure why she was having trouble? Her sac was not dry, she had finished her yolk, veins receded, I believe she was even positioned right (one wing over head), so I don’t know why she stopped partially through the zip. She was not peeping, she was just wiggling her beak at me too, it was weird- maybe she just needed a break, was tired and was trying to build up more energy? So I finished her zip for her, put her back but she pushed herself out of shell and looked exactly like yours in the picture! I have 3 external pippers left that externally pipped from 6am this morning to 6pm tonight, so I'll just continue candling and hope they get out soon! I think my last egg is not going to internally pip/hatch. She was fine- just lagging, but breathing, moving, she just needed to internally pip, and she still hasn’t. I didn’t see any movement the last two candles (since 6pm). I feel horrible- like could it be my fault? I don’t understand how everyone else is perfect but #10 is so far behind and may not even make it?

You’ll have to update me again in the morning and keep me posted throughout the day regarding your babies! I can’t wait to hear some more good news!!! So exciting!!!

Picture #1- Duckings 1, 2 and 3 that hatched!

Picture #2- Ducklings 4, 5 and 6 that hatched!

 

[X3Jack930]

I'm very happy to report also, unlike the one I had to help, two of the eggs I added a safety holes to have pipped externally and the last one we are waiting on was the last to pip internally so I'm not expecting that one to quite yet, especially if it's taken the other two this long! This duck hatching business isn't for the faint of heart!

Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that! As I said in my earlier reply- definitely keep me updated please!!! I’m so excited for you!! OMGosh- I totally agree- this is so darn stressful. My pregnancy with my son (22 hour labor) was less stressful than this!!!!

 

[JaeG]

Your babies are adorable too - don't you just love them so much!?

Your little lagger may have not made it under her mum either - I doubt it's anything you have done looking at how the rest of the babies are hatching just fine. That is the heart breaking thing about hatching. You want them all to make it and sometimes they just don't.

Here are a couple of photos of our two hatchlings (the others I'm not expecting to do anything until at least tomorrow). They have been transferred to the brooder which looks enormous with just two littlies in there. I might block them up one end for tonight.

At the moment they are just called what their eggs were labelled as. The lady I got the eggs from had given me three from each of the three nests her hens were making. So there was the Front nest (which F2 was from), the Side nest (which S2 was from), and the Back nest which are the three I'm waiting on still, but those three eggs are massive (I'm hoping for a girl from one of those to lay me massive eggs).

This is F2 who hatched all by herself


And little S2 who needed help but is perfectly perfect. It likes to jump which is hilarious.

 

[TwoCrows]

Awww! How adorable! They’re still even amazingly cute even all gooey Yes, they have A LOT of goop, lol! They have that membrane, the left over yolk sac and that whitish goopy stuff that must be part of the yolk sac or something? That’s exactly what my 6th Hatcher did at 6:30pm- now she’s all fluffy and you wouldn’t even know she was pooped after fighting her way out! I helped her out to- she had been externally pipped, then did a through and through, she started zipping and just stopped? I knew something was weird because all the rest once they did the poke through, the zip and boom- they were out within 5 minutes, so I’m not sure why she was having trouble? Her sac was not dry, she had finished her yolk, veins receded, I believe she was even positioned right (one wing over head), so I don’t know why she stopped partially through the zip. She was not peeping, she was just wiggling her beak at me too, it was weird- maybe she just needed a break, was tired and was trying to build up more energy? So I finished her zip for her, put her back but she pushed herself out of shell and looked exactly like yours in the picture! I have 3 external pippers left that externally pipped from 6am this morning to 6pm tonight, so I'll just continue candling and hope they get out soon! I think my last egg is not going to internally pip/hatch. She was fine- just lagging, but breathing, moving, she just needed to internally pip, and she still hasn’t. I didn’t see any movement the last two candles (since 6pm). I feel horrible- like could it be my fault? I don’t understand how everyone else is perfect but #10 is so far behind and may not even make it?

You’ll have to update me again in the morning and keep me posted throughout the day regarding your babies! I can’t wait to hear some more good news!!! So exciting!!!

Picture #1- Duckings 1, 2 and 3 that hatched!

Picture #2- Ducklings 4, 5 and 6 that hatched!

Heart warming stuff here!! You had me so curious following on your profile! Thanks for tagging me!!

Your babies are adorable too - don't you just love them so much!?

Your little lagger may have not made it under her mum either - I doubt it's anything you have done looking at how the rest of the babies are hatching just fine. That is the heart breaking thing about hatching. You want them all to make it and sometimes they just don't.

Here are a couple of photos of our two hatchlings (the others I'm not expecting to do anything until at least tomorrow). They have been transferred to the brooder which looks enormous with just two littlies in there. I might block them up one end for tonight.

At the moment they are just called what their eggs were labelled as. The lady I got the eggs from had given me three from each of the three nests her hens were making. So there was the Front nest (which F2 was from), the Side nest (which S2 was from), and the Back nest which are the three I'm waiting on still, but those three eggs are massive (I'm hoping for a girl from one of those to lay me massive eggs).

This is F2 who hatched all by herself
View attachment 2113499 View attachment 2113500

And little S2 who needed help but is perfectly perfect. It likes to jump which is hilarious.
View attachment 2113501
View attachment 2113522

Cuteness overload here too!