Shrink wrap? Pip? New at this..questions????

[Sophie Mae]

Hi,
My dad and I made our own incubator following all the advice on the forum, thanks.. A few questions. I had 8 pekin duck eggs, candled at 14 days and 5 were forming.

So I am confused, what exactly is a pip? When do they Zip? Do I remove each duckling once it hatches, how do they become shrink wrapped? Do duck eggs require lock down and if so when and how do I lock down? Do I do anything special? I have been reading past posts and keep getting different suggestions. Any help would be great! Looking forward to some Christmas Duckies!

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
A pip is the first crack in the egg when they are preparing to come out. Next comes the zip - they zip the top off the egg and come out. Once you have a pip - DO NOT OPEN THE BATOR, because that is what causes shrink wrapping. Shrink wrapping is when the mebrance becomes dried out and it sticks to the chick so they cannot move (duckling in your case). Pekins take 28 days to incubate, and yes you lockdown on day 25, which means you stop turning, increase humidity and sit on your hands.

Hatching ducks requires higher humidity than chickens. When I hatch ducks I try for 50-55% humidity consistently, then up it to 75-80% during the last three days (lockdown).

 

[Sophie Mae]

Thanks so very much!

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Your welcome

I hope it helped.