Thread formerly known as Hatch day is today

[VikiG]

First time hatch advice please!
Ducklings started hatching about 6-8 hours ago, so far just their bills are out & cheeping. Apart from the pain staking watching & waiting what else should I do? I read horror stories about membranes drying out etc. aargh!
Also one is pecking out the wrong end of the egg, will he make it? Any advice, pointers, tips very welcome.
Thank you !

 

[ChristineR]

First time hatch advice please!
Ducklings started hatching about 6-8 hours ago, so far just their bills are out & cheeping. Apart from the pain staking watching & waiting what else should I do? I read horror stories about membranes drying out etc. aargh!
Also one is pecking out the wrong end of the egg, will he make it? Any advice, pointers, tips very welcome.
Thank you !

Ducklings take forever to hatch. Right now, just be patient.

The wrong end pipper might need help, but wait and see.

 

[ducklover87]

Go ahead and candle. You should see veins and a little "blob." I wouldn't toss any eggs yet, though, if they look clear. Give them a few more days.

So far I have 3 ducklings hatched and none of them are black or chocolate. I was expecting some black because half of my hens are black. What the heck? Seems unlikely, but my drakes are blue and silver.

Ok thanks!

 

[bakingintherain]

Buff ducks... 7 external pips ... my first ducky hatch

Congrats!

Well, #8 FINALLY hatched! It's the last of the eggs, so 8 out of 12 isn't too bad, right?

i think that is pretty good, were they shipped eggs?

Oh, yeah - I forgot to mention - I have ducklings hatching! I wouldn't be surprised if I have a few out when I get home from work today. I think I should always time my hatches when I'm at work. That way I can't sit there and worry.

Also, I set 6 Seb eggs on Tuesday. My new incubator seems to have slight temp fluctuations, though. Will it hurt them much if the temp has gone between 99 and 100 degrees? I know the first 24 hours are pretty critical. I hope I don't have a bad hatch.

not an expert but i don't think so

Thanks to the electric company and their need for immediate payment (due date was yesterday), they turned my power off today and it was off for several hours. The older ducklings were fine, they all huddled together for warmth, but the one that just hatched today was shivering. I took it out of the bator, wrapped it in a cloth then put it inside my shirt. I was wearing a shirt, sweatshirt, and two blankets to keep the poor thing warm. It's doing ok now, but I was really worried about it for a while there.

Hope everyone is having a better day than I am.

that sucks, but at least you get some quality snuggle time

five of the six new babies.. 3 more eggs have pipped

Want to read something a little disturbing?

http://www.blisstree.com/2013/03/21/food/genetics-duck-fathers-chicken/

Scientists injected chicken dna into a drake and he fathered a chicken. Huh? Just not right!

leave our **** food and animals alone grrrr

 

[bellah1]

So yesterday was hatch day and still not even an internal pip, I candled all 3 (4never made it passed internally pipping and died) are still moving. How long after hatch day is the longest anyone has had eggs hatch? (These are duck eggs by the way)
and is there anyway to tell if you have to much humidity? 3 of the 4 that died were shrink wrapped so I upped my humidity almost 3 days ago (they pipped internally early) but now I'm paranoid that I could get the humidity to high and they will drown. Aaarrgh!!!!!

 

[CricketR4]

First time hatch advice please!
Ducklings started hatching about 6-8 hours ago, so far just their bills are out & cheeping. Apart from the pain staking watching & waiting what else should I do? I read horror stories about membranes drying out etc. aargh!
Also one is pecking out the wrong end of the egg, will he make it? Any advice, pointers, tips very welcome.
Thank you !

I had one that pipped on the wrong end. It needed some help cause it took so long to zip that the membrane dried out, but otherwise it's fine. And yes, they take FOREVER to hatch!

 

[CricketR4]

i think that is pretty good, were they shipped eggs?

Nope, they were eggs that I incubated from my ducks that I've already got.

 

[CricketR4]

So yesterday was hatch day and still not even an internal pip, I candled all 3 (4never made it passed internally pipping and died) are still moving. How long after hatch day is the longest anyone has had eggs hatch? (These are duck eggs by the way)
and is there anyway to tell if you have to much humidity? 3 of the 4 that died were shrink wrapped so I upped my humidity almost 3 days ago (they pipped internally early) but now I'm paranoid that I could get the humidity to high and they will drown. Aaarrgh!!!!!

Let me put it this way. My ducklings hatch day was on Sunday 3/17. I had one hatch on Saturday 3/16, one hatch on Sunday, two hatch on Monday, one hatch EARLY Tuesday morning, one hatch on Wednesday and the last one hatched yesterday. They took SO long to hatch!

 

[psue]

We ended up with 9 out of the 12 eggs that went into lockdown.. not bad for the first ducky hatch

 

[bakingintherain]

We ended up with 9 out of the 12 eggs that went into lockdown.. not bad for the first ducky hatch