What do you guys think about these Duck eggs? Healthy or unhealthy?

[HomeofTheChicks]

Oh, I definitely don't use the water method. It always makes me think I'm going to drown the eggs. I don't have a humidity thermometer so I have been guessing on that part. The humidity they are on seems to be okay since they are alive. The movement test worked on 3 out of 4 of the eggs with duck number two not responding. Ill give them this coming Tuesday for lockdown. I raised the humidity yesterday. @BelovedBirds
- wow! I didn't know it worked like that. Ill definitely wait 48 hours before calling it day 1.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Oh, I definitely don't use the water method. It always makes me think I'm going to drown the eggs. I don't have a humidity thermometer so I have been guessing on that part. The humidity they are on seems to be okay since they are alive. The movement test worked on 3 out of 4 of the eggs with duck number two not responding. Ill give them this coming Tuesday for lockdown. I raised the humidity yesterday. @BelovedBirds
- wow! I didn't know it worked like that. Ill definitely wait 48 hours before calling it day 1.

Just to clarify- You wait 24 hours, then on the start of that "second" day, that's day 1
First day is technically zero so they're a day less than you thought-
They are alive, but high humidity can be dangerous for two reasons, it can delay hatch because the egg has more moisture left, or it can even result in problems during hatch. Chicks can sometimes end up breathing in the liquid and "drowning", after they've pipped. It is something that can happen when the humidity is too high, and it won't happen until hatch time. Not saying this to scare you, just to explain why it's important

It's really important to use a hygrometer to measure humidity, and especially, a calibrated thermometer.
I very strongly suggest reducing the humidity until the air cells grow to a better size, then raising it. That way the eggs may lose more moisture before hatch. Perhaps raise it on Monday or Tuesday if all goes well?
Could you perhaps pick up a hygrometer?

 

[BelovedBirds]

This is my first time incubating duck eggs and tomorrow is supposed to be their lockdown day. I candled these eggs yesterday so these pictures are a day old. Only one of the eggs (Duck egg #1) looks like it's actually going to hatch in a few days. The others appear to be maybe a couple of days behind or possibly dead. I tried the movement test and so far maybe 2 or 3 out of 4 moved slightly. The funny thing is, I was about to throw out duck egg #1 in the beginning because it wasn't developing like the others. I decided to give it an extra day and came back to it looking like it was doing better than the others! How odd. I hope these eggs are okay and everything is normal. I have lockdown day set for tomorrow. Should I give them extra time?

@New duck mommy 2021 what are your thoughts?

 

[HomeofTheChicks]

Just to clarify- You wait 24 hours, then on the start of that "second" day, that's day 1
First day is technically zero so they're a day less than you thought-
They are alive, but high humidity can be dangerous for two reasons, it can delay hatch because the egg has more moisture left, or it can even result in problems during hatch. Chicks can sometimes end up breathing in the liquid and "drowning", after they've pipped. It is something that can happen when the humidity is too high, and it won't happen until hatch time. Not saying this to scare you, just to explain why it's important

It's really important to use a hygrometer to measure humidity, and especially, a calibrated thermometer.
I very strongly suggest reducing the humidity until the air cells grow to a better size, then raising it. That way the eggs may lose more moisture before hatch. Perhaps raise it on Monday or Tuesday if all goes well?
Could you perhaps pick up a hygrometer?

Okay, I'll lower the humidity. Ill try and find a hygrometer online too.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Okay, I'll lower the humidity. Ill try and find a hygrometer online too.

In the meantime try and keep it around where you had it before, possibly a little lower. Hopefully it'll be around 40-50%, but you'll be able to check once the hygrometer arrives. If you don't have one, you may want a thermometer which you can calibrate, also
Good luck keep us updated

 

[HomeofTheChicks]

In the meantime try and keep it around where you had it before, possibly a little lower. Hopefully it'll be around 40-50%, but you'll be able to check once the hygrometer arrives. If you don't have one, you may want a thermometer which you can calibrate, also
Good luck keep us updated

will do!

 

[HomeofTheChicks]

In the meantime try and keep it around where you had it before, possibly a little lower. Hopefully it'll be around 40-50%, but you'll be able to check once the hygrometer arrives. If you don't have one, you may want a thermometer which you can calibrate, also
Good luck keep us updated

I'm on Walmart right now and I'm not sure what hygrometer is best for my incubator. My incubator is rectangular that has a plastic lid that fits on top of it. Its height is about 6 inches and its width is about a foot long. Do you know of any hygrometers recommended for this type of incubator?

 

[BelovedBirds]

I'm on Walmart right now and I'm not sure what hygrometer is best for my incubator. My incubator is rectangular that has a plastic lid that fits on top of it. Its height is about 6 inches and its width is about a foot long. Do you know of any hygrometers recommended for this type of incubator?

Most hygrometers are fairly small, they should fit
Anything is better than nothing
For my incubator I used a room hygrometer, pretty standard little thing. Worked really well
Most hygrometers can be calibrated too

 

[BelovedBirds]

I'm on Walmart right now and I'm not sure what hygrometer is best for my incubator. My incubator is rectangular that has a plastic lid that fits on top of it. Its height is about 6 inches and its width is about a foot long. Do you know of any hygrometers recommended for this type of incubator?

I had a quick look, most of their hygrometers look okay, I'd simply pick one with good reviews

 

[HomeofTheChicks]

I had a quick look, most of their hygrometers look okay, I'd simply pick one with good reviews

Some of them I found had cords. Do you have a battery powered hygrometer?