Weird air cell

I just took a photo of one of my current eggs hatching. Sorry for the quality of the photo- but it may help set your mind at ease.
46956_egg.jpg


The air cell looked normal shape yesterday- but now due to the duckling moving as well as being faced the wrong way in the egg the membrane has pulled away further creating that shadowed effect. You can also see a yellow tinge to the shell where it has pipped through the membrane and the shell.

I agree with CityChicker.. Lockdown now as they are pipping earlier than expected and be prepared to assist the hatch if necessary.
 
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My eggs are all pekin ducks. And my temp has been 99-100 and humidity for the most part 55%-57% - there was once I had a little trouble bringing the humidity back up when I got rid of a porous egg but when I finally added hot water instead of room temp water it came up just fine. And I haven't taken them out since about 10:15 or so last night. That is when I took that pic but was concerned of the shape and if it would make it.

I wasn't sure if it was an actual pip though because its more of a "crack" and isnt like poked out. Its still smooth. I have been keeping an eye on things but have not going into lock down just yet.

Okay, to me, from the picture, it appears that the duckling has internally (and probably externally) pipped. You have said that multiple eggs have cracks and you have also said that the cracks are from the inside. That indicates they are pipped, unless you have some other explanation for how multiple eggs got cracked. Without being there to see what you are seeing though, we are limited in the advice we can give you. I can tell you though that the egg appears WAY too dehydrated for a Pekin egg at day 23. Something has gone wrong somewhere and probably with both temperature and humidity. I would seriously calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer and/or double check your dates. If it is honestly day 23, your temperature has been too high and your humidity has been too low (or you inadvertently dehydrated them too much by spraying them).

You have to go by your results, not some arbitrary numbers someone has given you online. The air cells should take up about 1/3 of the egg going into lockdown. Yours appear to have lost more moisture than they should, which can be the result of numerous things. I also read on one of your other threads that you have been spraying the eggs. That does the opposite of what most people would automatically think. It actually dehydrates the eggs MORE. At any rate, in my experience, once they have pipped, it is too late to worry about what the humidity has been. You need to worry about what the humidity currently is and get them into lock down if they have really pipped. We can only go by what you are saying and you have said A. Multiple eggs are cracked and B. You hear peeping and tapping. That would seem to indicate they are hatching, even though they are obviously early or your dates are off.

Again, it cannot be stressed enough, go by results and what you are actually seeing. Do not go by arbitrary numbers quoted or even by what you are seeing on your gauges. Instruments like thermometers are known to fail and typical numbers quoted cannot take into account all situations.
 
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I would not go into lock down until the scheduled date, with one exception. External pip! That is when you really have to go into lock down regardless of how much time you thing there should be before hatching. 1/2 degree during the incubation and make a difference when it comes to hatching early, or late for that matter. Nature gets ready when it is ready and not when we want it to be ready. Just like human babies, they are never on time either. I would never go into lock down based on candling. That being said I only candle once per week to weed out eggs that are not good. My last candle is when I put them into the hatcher.
 
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My eggs are all pekin ducks. And my temp has been 99-100 and humidity for the most part 55%-57% - there was once I had a little trouble bringing the humidity back up when I got rid of a porous egg but when I finally added hot water instead of room temp water it came up just fine. And I haven't taken them out since about 10:15 or so last night. That is when I took that pic but was concerned of the shape and if it would make it.

I wasn't sure if it was an actual pip though because its more of a "crack" and isnt like poked out. Its still smooth. I have been keeping an eye on things but have not going into lock down just yet.

Okay, to me, from the picture, it appears that the duckling has internally (and probably externally) pipped. You have said that multiple eggs have cracks and you have also said that the cracks are from the inside. That indicates they are pipped, unless you have some other explanation for how multiple eggs got cracked. Without being there to see what you are seeing though, we are limited in the advice we can give you. I can tell you though that the egg appears WAY too dehydrated for a Pekin egg at day 23. Something has gone wrong somewhere and probably with both temperature and humidity. I would seriously calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer and/or double check your dates. If it is honestly day 23, your temperature has been too high and your humidity has been too low (or you inadvertently dehydrated them too much by spraying them).

You have to go by your results, not some arbitrary numbers someone has given you online. The air cells should take up about 1/3 of the egg going into lockdown. Yours appear to have lost more moisture than they should, which can be the result of numerous things. I also read on one of your other threads that you have been spraying the eggs. That does the opposite of what most people would automatically think. It actually dehydrates the eggs MORE. At any rate, in my experience, once they have pipped, it is too late to worry about what the humidity has been. You need to worry about what the humidity currently is and get them into lock down if they have really pipped. We can only go by what you are saying and you have said A. Multiple eggs are cracked and B. You hear peeping and tapping. That would seem to indicate they are hatching, even though they are obviously early or your dates are off.

Again, it cannot be stressed enough, go by results and what you are actually seeing. Do not go by arbitrary numbers quoted or even by what you are seeing on your gauges. Instruments like thermometers are known to fail and typical numbers quoted cannot take into account all situations.

Thank you for the advice and help. Yes I had been spraying since day 10 I think (someone on here told me I should start spraying on day 10 so I had sprayed 1x a day since then..) Does that mean it they won't hatch? And last night when I held the egg to my ear I did hear a soft/faint tapping sound but have not heard actual peeping. I'm going to go up the humidity now and shut the fan off now. Humidity should be 75% now? And should I candle first? No?
 
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Where did you get these eggs? Any chance momma duck may have sat on them a while before they went into the incubator? 23 days seems way early: my pekins usually hatch at 30 days.
 
Not all ducks chirp in their eggs. Tapping and scratching sounds tell you that they have piped internally or are very close to. Rocking eggs are another sign. CityChicker is right that you should go by what you see. Also your temperature reading could have been low, because the thermometer may have been in the wrong spot in the incubator. That could have gotten you to have the temperature running higher then it should because you were adjusting to what you have been reading. The temperature is usually cooled near the floor or sides of the machine. It is best to measure near the center of the machine and near the top of the eggs.
 
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I got them from and auction here on BYC and she had lots of great ratings. From what I understand, the momma did NOT sit on them and they were hatched the day and day before they were shipped out.
 
If the thermometer was sitting on top of the eggs...depending on the type of machine you are using- ( fan or still air ) the reading could have been higher than at the core of the egg itself. Assuming it was reading correctly this could mean the temp was on the low side rather than too high which would not explain them starting to hatch earlier than expected. Temperature should be measured form a point mid hight of the eggs not on top or the floor of the incubator. I put mine on a small cardboard box to raise it a little. I use three different thermometers to ensure they are calibrated and to check temps in different places in the bator... I dont check them as often as I used to- but it is still important not to get complacent about the temp and humidity.
 

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