What is wrong with my duck eggs?

[natyvidal]

Hi everyone.

I am coming back again to the same subject since, no matter what I do, my duck egg hatch-ability rate is very low.
I am not new to incubating eggs, but definitely duck eggs this year, it is the first time.
Out of 41 duck eggs that I had in the incubator, only three hatch completely. I candled them half way through the hatching process and eliminated the ones that were not viable. Come hatch day; just three hatched. I've tried three times before this year and by far this is the lowest. Although, previous ones were not that great either.
Humidity was correct, temperature was correct and the tray was removed at the 28 days. As we got closer to hatch day I allowed more oxygen, etc. Some started to break the shell but died in shell. So I am baffled. Not trying to hatch any more. Its heart breaking and loss of money since there is a high demand in the area for ducklings. I am letting my broody chicken hens incubate some of the eggs. They've done it before quite successfully.

But, this is not a permanent solution. I wish to find out what am I doing wrong? Is it possible that the ducks are laying some eggs with the cocci and therefore dying in the shell? Weakening the fetus? I know that all eggs are not viable, but I discarded those half way through the incubation and all the ones in the incubator were viable. Most of the eggs left in the incubator were full term.

Help! Please! Input and possibilities why this is happening? Thank you ahead of time.

PD: the two previous incubating attempts I had more ducklings hatching. First time, I had 15 ducklings, second time, 10 ducklings, and this time 3 ducklings. My hen was able to hatch 8 ducklings from a clutch of 10 eggs. Here are some pictures.

 

[SilverBirds]

What were your humidity and temperature at? What model incubator are you using?

Where are you getting your eggs from? They may have bad genetics causing a high mortality rate.

 

[Earthdale]

How often are you turning them?

 

[IvysAnimals]

Do you have an egg turner or are turning the eggs? The incubator might be the problem, or genetics...

 

[natyvidal]

The incubator is a Farm Innovators 4250 Digital Circulated Air Incubator with Automatic Egg Turner. The eggs are from my own ducks. Ancona and Cayuga. I bought the ducks young from a local breeder that is certified NPIP. I’ve bought a lot of fowl from her and they have been always very healthy. So I don’t think it’s genetics.

Temperature 98.9F. With starting humidity at 50 at beginning and increasing to around 75 when close to hatching date. Also removed the plugs from incubator to allow the eggs oxigen for hatching.

Can the eggs be compromised by bacteria or coccidiosis?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Do you have calibrated humidity and temp readers in the bator ?
The eggs are really dirty could they play a role in not being able to loose humidity like they need to so babies don’t drown during hatch
I know you can’t wash them but you could try using a dry toothbrush to push off the dirt
I am running 50 -55 % humidify this round and my air cells are to small so I have lowered it now in hopes I can get them bigger in the next week
Last time I did 40-45 and air cells were great
Heat I run around 99.5

 

[natyvidal]

I was told that they being dirty; it didn’t mater. Besides the dirty ones are few. These are Cayuga eggs which are dark gray and black. A lot of them were Ancona eggs which are white.

I am including duck eggs pictures. They are fertile.

I am also wondering. Can the eggs be compromised by parasite coccidiosis or bacteria? The way the ducks play with the soil and mud piles they make?

 

[hoppingchicks]

did you open up some of the ones that didn't hatch.......
if you did how far along did some of them get?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I was told that they being dirty; it didn’t mater. Besides the dirty ones are few. These are Cayuga eggs which are dark gray and black. A lot of them were Ancona eggs which are white.

I am including duck eggs pictures. They are fertile.

I am also wondering. Can the eggs be compromised by parasite coccidiosis or bacteria? The way the ducks play with the soil and mud piles they make?

How old are the ducks and drakes ?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I wish to find out what am I doing wrong? Is it possible that the ducks are laying some eggs with the cocci and therefore dying in the shell? Weakening the fetus?

My plugs are in the trash.. I adjust humidity from the start with ALL plugs removed.. that would be one place I would START.

Coccidia are NOT a problem for hatching eggs. Parasites or bacteria (like e-coli and maybe salmonella) yes, perhaps.

Parent nutrition MAY be. What's enough to lay eggs may not be enough to hatch them. And this is partly where parasite management comes in. But feed routine matters! Too many treats or low nutrient feed sources WAY reduce hatch rates. Younger birds make up the difference easier than older ones do.

So, I'm having the hardest time finding something for ducks that's on par with my favorite chicken hatching resource. Maybe you can extrapolate something useful though. Hatch failure analysis starts around page 43..

https://www.hubbardbreeders.com/media/incubation_guideen__053407700_1525_26062017.pdf

This one reminds me that age of parent stock and age of and HOW eggs are stored before incubation impact hatch rates..

https://poultrykeeper.com/incubation-brooding/incubation-troubleshooting-guide/

This link suggest that maybe spritzing your eggs could help increase hatch rates..

https://ucanr.edu/sites/placercounty4h/files/178121.pdf

Did you verify that your turner was still working throughout incubation and not accidentally turned off? Did you use any external hygrometer/thermometer or relying on the built in one? Did the 3 that hatched do so on the correct day and if so what day was that? What day do they hatch under the broody hen for comparison?

This one was also informative in a clear way..

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/deadinshell.html

So one of the things I've done that impacted hatch rates and also hatch frame.. is moving the eggs to a new place in the bator daily.. in order to combat hot spots or cool spots which STILL happen in circulated air bators.

Humidity was correct, temperature was correct and the tray was removed at the 28 days.

I thought these breeds should be hatching on day 28?

https://thegardenmagazine.com/incubating-duck-eggs-how-to-hatch-duck-eggs/

starting humidity at 50 at beginning

This resource as well as most others I saw suggest you raise your initial humidity a bit more than that, closer to 58%..

https://www.metzerfarms.com/hatching-instructions.html

Sorry I can't be more exact as there are many factors at play here. But I do hope it helps give you some ideas for consideration!



Calling in another avid hatcher who I believe has more duck experience than myself to see if perhaps they are able to offer any more insight or support.. @WVduckchick (long time no see), thanks in advance!