Temperature Spike during Duck Egg incubation

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

Hello. I recently picked up 3 duck eggs from a nearby poultry pet shop. We aren't sure if they are fertile yet as they were laid yesterday. I put them in my homemade incubator and while we had some issues getting the temp high enough at first eventually we had it at a good 37•C-38•C the whole afternoon. Last night was when we started having issues. I woke up through the night to check on the temp and humidity and it spiked from 37 to 40•C and then from 40°C to 30°C and then a few hours later, a horrendous spike of 50°C. Could it have spiked because I covered the incubator with a blanket through the night so I could sleep? And my most important Q, Will the eggs still develop??

 

[JaeG]

You'll have to wait and see but it takes a long time for the internal temperature of the egg to heat up to the same temperature as the air (and to heat up to a lethal temperature), so there's definitely still hope. If it happens again and the eggs feel hot you can run them under cold water until they feel just warm again.

 

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

@JaeG Thank you so much!! I seem to have gotten the perfect temp and humidity at the moment. I'm using a heating mat as I couldn't find the right light. But it's staying at a good 36°C-37°C with the humidity being between 55% and 60%.