The Quack Shack

[Supercow]

That egg to her right doesn't look good how do you feel about it

That one actually worked out fine .. The one to the left though is the one that made its pip in a non-air-sac location. And even that one was able to hatch.

We started with 24 eggs,
- lost 8 in the first week, didn't start
- lost 2 before lockdown, strange color hues and aroma
- lost 2 during lockdown, turned out that one was actually undeveloped (since week 3 maybe?) and we didn't notice, and the other just could not punch through the internal envelope and we didn't notice that either
- might lose 1 or 2 more as we start helping and exploring more aggressively

All in all I think we'll be at about 40% success rate, possibly 50%.

Going by every weird thing we encountered in this batch... I don't understand how Welshies survive natural hatching. Maybe 1/10 of them.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

How well I can relate and you are not alone. Our power went out in a bad storm Sunday during the night for 8 hours. I am on day 10 with this little egg but really don't expect it to hatch. Mine will make it to as far as day 18 and then quit. Some even make it to hatch day and die in the shell. Don't feel alone, I am doing it for fun though just to see what type of ducklings I would get out of these small eggs which would have to be Call ducks. It's fun to see them progress but sad when they don't make it all the way.

I do get sad when they don't make it all the way

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

That one actually worked out fine .. The one to the left though is the one that made its pip in a non-air-sac location. And even that one was able to hatch.

We started with 24 eggs,
- lost 8 in the first week, didn't start
- lost 2 before lockdown, strange color hues and aroma
- lost 2 during lockdown, turned out that one was actually undeveloped (since week 3 maybe?) and we didn't notice, and the other just could not punch through the internal envelope and we didn't notice that either
- might lose 1 or 2 more as we start helping and exploring more aggressively

All in all I think we'll be at about 40% success rate, possibly 50%.

Going by every weird thing we encountered in this batch... I don't understand how Welshies survive natural hatching. Maybe 1/10 of them.

I do think this is why ducks lay so many eggs to make a nest. And from observing Muscovies (from behind bullet proof glass) the mothers do asisst with hatching. I have no paitence for hatching ducks, they take oh so very long like @Magnolia Ducks said. The funnest eggs to hatch are jumbo quail, it's like watching popcorn, one pops and they all start popping. Also, they are bite size

 

[Luv Ducks]

That one actually worked out fine .. The one to the left though is the one that made its pip in a non-air-sac location. And even that one was able to hatch.

We started with 24 eggs,
- lost 8 in the first week, didn't start
- lost 2 before lockdown, strange color hues and aroma
- lost 2 during lockdown, turned out that one was actually undeveloped (since week 3 maybe?) and we didn't notice, and the other just could not punch through the internal envelope and we didn't notice that either
- might lose 1 or 2 more as we start helping and exploring more aggressively

All in all I think we'll be at about 40% success rate, possibly 50%.

Going by every weird thing we encountered in this batch... I don't understand how Welshies survive natural hatching. Maybe 1/10 of them.

How many have hatched altogether now? I am so glad that some of them made it. The egg I have is a Call Duck egg and I know they have problems hatching to start with. It's day 14 and still alive but I don't have high hopes since the last one started to try to hatch out at day 18 and died. Congratulations on your babies!!!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Frank do you make a hole in the shell and membrane or only the shell. My last egg that made the hole in only day 18 was only in the shell. I ended up making a small hole in the membrane but there was no way it was going to make it. I still have no idea how it managed to make the pip in the shell so early when it was beneath all of that yolk and blood vessels.

I punch a hole through the shell and the membrane, so that the duxling can breathe air from outside the egg. Usually they become much stronger then and move more vigorous.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I'm worried because soon it will be 36 hours since the attempted external pips. We are not really seeing any progress vs. 12 hours ago when we made the holes, just some chirping every so often. It is early morning here.

I directed some lights at the incubators now as I read that light can motivate the ducklings to hatch. Through the holes we made I can see some movement but it's like they are just sitting in there like nah we're good not getting out tnx.

At what time (48 h?) do you stop waiting for zips, and what do you do then? Just open the shells (the part over the air sac), regardless of any risk, because the alternative is that they would die of exhaustion anyway?

So far i have been too impatient and have created little peep-holes with every duxling that has pipped internally and did not made progress for over 24 hours. In 2023 i literally pulled them all out of their shells after two days because they were all fully developed. There were no blood vessels visible at the membrane and they were just happily sitting in their shells, talking to each other. Some even pooped into the eggs…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

One little miss duckling hatched

1 not really moving, not having high hopes for that one
12 to go

View attachment 4089003

That's the point where i at least open a little peep-hole to see what's going on in that egg.

 

[Supercow]

We made little holes at first and then after a while started removing a good part of the shell.

The result is that we now have 12 Welshies:

- 9 are in good shape and having a party in a grape trough with a heating plate
- 2 are probably going to make it
- 1 is probably not going to make it, it's not 100% impossible but he's not really making much progress

The 2+1 tricky ones are getting vitamin-mineral-sugar water by dropper. One of them is already showing the drinking "throw your head up and gargle it down" instinct.

Starting the first Khaki batch from our ladies' eggs tomorrow.

 

[Supercow]

I must say I expected the "you can tell Welshie girls/guys apart by bill color when hatched" thing to be more obvious ... Either we have 100% girls or I'm clueless, and I know which is the more likely option...

 

[Luv Ducks]

That's what I figured, it's been a while since I tried this so I thought I had better check. Thanks Frank.

I punch a hole through the shell and the membrane, so that the duxling can breathe air from outside the egg. Usually they become much stronger then and move more vigorous.