The Duck Thread

[K5245]

Hello everyone! I am very new to hatching duck eggs. I built my own incubator, and it seems to have the correct temperature and humidity. Today is day 6, and I have candled the duck eggs, but I am still not seeing anything in any of my 15 eggs. I'm just wondering if this is normal. Thanks!

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Hello everyone! I am very new to hatching duck eggs. I built my own incubator, and it seems to have the correct temperature and humidity. Today is day 6, and I have candled the duck eggs, but I am still not seeing anything in any of my 15 eggs. I'm just wondering if this is normal. Thanks!

I too am new to hatching duck eggs, and I actually did an experiment with a normal store bought bator and a homemade one and everything seemed the same... Temp, Humidity ect. Except when it came to be time to candle, the eggs in the homemade bator weren't developing, but the ones in the store bought bator were/are developing extremely well. Anyways from what I've seen from my own experience if they haven't started developing in the first week they aren't going to.

 

[Ren2014]

I tell her " mommy needs some love " and she sits on my lap and let's me pet and kiss her knock..

I'm so jealous! My ducks would just laugh at me, lol.

Just a few pics

Broody mama mallards. They puff up when I come near. Apparently that's supposed to be scary lol.


Treat time with the chicky duckies. Some of the roos are starting to crow. Huh boy...

Biff the buff (I love saying that) is still the boss, and she lets everyone know it, especially the chickens.

I just love broody mommas and their fiesty attitudes. It's comical.
OMG, my chickens rule the yard here. I can't even give the ducks treats when the chickens are out. They come from everywhere and run the ducks off

Hello everyone! I am very new to hatching duck eggs. I built my own incubator, and it seems to have the correct temperature and humidity. Today is day 6, and I have candled the duck eggs, but I am still not seeing anything in any of my 15 eggs. I'm just wondering if this is normal. Thanks!

Day 6 can still be a bit early for a new hatcher/rookie candler to see much. What color are the eggs? I don't give up on anything until day 15.

 

[WVduckchick]

Hello everyone! I am very new to hatching duck eggs. I built my own incubator, and it seems to have the correct temperature and humidity. Today is day 6, and I have candled the duck eggs, but I am still not seeing anything in any of my 15 eggs. I'm just wondering if this is normal. Thanks!

Agree with Ren2014, day 6 is still early. Be sure you have a bright light, with fresh batteries
Here is a reference chart for what you "should" see, and around what days.

I too am new to hatching duck eggs, and I actually did an experiment with a normal store bought bator and a homemade one and everything seemed the same... Temp, Humidity ect. Except when it came to be time to candle, the eggs in the homemade bator weren't developing, but the ones in the store bought bator were/are developing extremely well. Anyways from what I've seen from my own experience if they haven't started developing in the first week they aren't going to.

Hopefully its coincidence that your homemade vs. store bought bators gave you different results. Try the homemade one again some time!

I don't toss anything until day 10, at the earliest. Just to be safe.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Agree with Ren2014, day 6 is still early. Be sure you have a bright light, with fresh batteries
Here is a reference chart for what you "should" see, and around what days.



Hopefully its coincidence that your homemade vs. store bought bators gave you different results. Try the homemade one again some time!

I don't toss anything until day 10, at the earliest. Just to be safe.

I haven't tossed any earlier than day 14, but I have gotten a general idea of what I should see in the first week. I also use that chart as a reference and from what I've seen in the eggs so far they look like 10-12 days even though they are only 8. Althoug I'm not sure if hat's a good sign or not.

 

[jtn42248]

I have never had very good luck in candling of duck eggs. I have mostly Cayugas and their eggs tend to grey and/or black so almost impossible to do. But even my Khaki eggs are just too thick shelled for anything I have to shine through. The last batch of duck eggs I incubated (15 eggs) only one developed and hatched. The others were duds even though my birds are at "it" all the time. I have read that a female duck can actually direct and hold the seman to be disposed of later if she does not want offspring from that particular male. Don't know how true that is but there it is. Actually the ritual of duck mating is such that, if I were a female, I would not want offspring from any of those males.

 

[Ren2014]

I use that chart also and a few others. Something that I've not seen though on any chart is the smaller end of the egg being clear for many days into incubation and my eggs are always clear in the small end even up to the last few days. Another thing I've seen in my eggs is the embryo never seems to be in the middle and the veins only run in one direction. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there something I'm doing wrong to cause this?

 

[Ren2014]

I have never had very good luck in candling of duck eggs. I have mostly Cayugas and their eggs tend to grey and/or black so almost impossible to do. But even my Khaki eggs are just too thick shelled for anything I have to shine through. The last batch of duck eggs I incubated (15 eggs) only one developed and hatched. The others were duds even though my birds are at "it" all the time. I have read that a female duck can actually direct and hold the seman to be disposed of later if she does not want offspring from that particular male. Don't know how true that is but there it is. Actually the ritual of duck mating is such that, if I were a female, I would not want offspring from any of those males.

Same here until I started incubating white eggs and using two different light sources. I have read the same thing about the female being able to choose which semen she wants as the father. I also read recently that because the male's organ is twisted/screwy like the female can twist opposite to prevent the male. I'm not exactly sure how true that last one is

EDIT>>>

So, I did some research and found this: While male ducks have corkscrew-shaped phalluses, female ducks have anti-corkscrew-shaped vaginal tracts. That is, female ducks have reproductive organs specifically designed to be hard to penetrate. This means that only the fittest males can successfully copulate with female ducks.
http://www.yalescientific.org/2010/09/unraveling-the-mysteries-of-duck-mating/

And another article that references the above research: Females protect themselves from undesired insemination through their long and complex oviduct (the equivalent of the vagina in birds). Brennan found that the vaginal tubes were not straight but had “all these weird structures, these pockets and spirals.” This served to impede the sperm’s fertilization mission; unwanted sperm could be stored in side chambers to be ejected later. The success of this design is proven by the fact that as many as one in three duck matings are rapes, but in nine out of ten of these, the offending sperm is eliminated, so 97 percent of all duck offspring are the result of the choice of the mother.
http://www.webvet.com/main/2009/01/09/duck-mating-sex-lives-ducks



That says it way better than what I said, lol.

 

[Pyxis]

I use that chart also and a few others.  Something that I've not seen though on any chart is the smaller end of the egg being clear for many days into incubation and my eggs are always clear in the small end even up to the last few days.  Another thing I've seen in my eggs is the embryo never seems to be in the middle and the veins only run in one direction.  Has anyone else experienced this?  Is there something I'm doing wrong to cause this?

Are you incubating the eggs vertically? If so the embryo tends to form at the top of the egg instead of in the middle. Also if you don't give the egg a 180 degree rotation each day, even if it's in an automatic turner, the chorio-allantioc membrane doesn't develop as quickly/uniformly, which can lead to seeing veining on only one side

 

[Julie Birb]

Screeeeeeeam. Ducks under decks that have orange webs, huggable kissable ducks that pancake with the doggy, ducks that don't allow touching are all very burd in that I love them and they are soft and amazing. There!!