I put 5 Pekin eggs in the incubator, my first time trying to hatch anything. One Duckling hatched on the 9th one on the 10th and one on the 12th. the Ducklings are all doing great. I can still hear strong heart beats on the other two eggs. Has anyone ever seen hatchings so far apart? They were all put in on the same day and it took 31 days for the first pip. Never had done it before so wanted to practice on Pekin eggs I really want white Call ducklings but now my Call hen is laying on her eggs. Should I leave them? The mom was last years baby, do you think she will hatch them ? Or do you think I should pull the eggs?
oegblady~~They can take 48 hours after first pip before they hatch, so yes, it is like watching paint dry
Just a Country Girl~~I would just leave the eggs with the mama duck, they do a much better job than we do. As for the hatching, the day 31 pip was probably due to low temps in the incubator, and the drawn out hatch is probably due to inconsistent temps in the incubator. Do you have a still air? That would do it. Next time, make sure to rotate the eggs in the incubator, so they all have higher/lower temps equally. That should straighten the hatch out.
The incubator is a really nice one, the temp stayed at about 100 the whole time and it has an egg turner, I stopped the turner a couple days before they were due to hatch. Could it have been anything else that I did wrong? Are young White Calls usually good Brooders? I want more Calls bad and I can't find any around.
So i noticed the first pip yesterday around lunch time.
It could have pipped earlier? I'm just saying i have no idea when it actually pipped.
So today around lunch will be 24 hours since it hatched so it may make some progress today or tonight?
But it could not be till tomorrow that i see any progress??
BOY! I'm going to lose my mind waiting on these Ducks
I just keep stareing at the incu and useing my little mag light
I'm really going to need some me time after this
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I don't have call ducks, so I can't say from experience. But I have been told that young hens weren't good mothers, and from my experience this is not true. I have one hen that was a terrible mother as a youngster, and is still a terrible mother as a 'veteran'. Then I have other hens that were wonderful as youngsters and adults. It could possibly be that the thermometer in your incubator wasn't as accurate as you thought? What kind of bator and thermometer do you use? Did you calibrate your thermometer?
I have 9 pips. 1 egg has a pretty big hole, and I can see the beak. Im thinking he will need help later to get out. Sometimes all the ducklings can do is make a large hole, and they never finish zipping.
Hey everybody, just found this thread!!! I have 4 ancona duck eggs in the incubator right now, and i also have 4 pomeranian goose eggs in there, and i'm expecting 4 sebastopol eggs in the mail tomorrow!!!!!
Still peeking with my mag light i see a little more chipping away of the pip
Sundownwaterfowl If mine only get the big hole like you spoke of how long should i wait before i help ???
I use to try and help chicks and ended up with them dieing or have deformity's and haveing to put them down.
So i don't ever help anymore but i will these if you think it's necessary??
I'm loving this thread! I have 8 muscovies that reach day 31 on the 23rd and 3 more (out of another batch of 8) that are a week behind. I know staggered hatches aren't suggested, but what are ya gonna do when the addiction strikes? I like the possibility of having unrelated birds to start my Muscovy flock.
I'm glad I am learning from those that have gone before on here, because I had no idea that it could take 48 hours from pip to hatch. I am amazed at the size of some of these eggs that are much larger than the others.
I have chicken eggs in there reaching 18 days today. I will be taking those racks out of the turner, so the ducks can keep turning without me opening the incubator. I was thinking of covering the ducks with cloth or something to keep them from getting dirty from the chix-has anyone tried this?
Edited to add I am using an LG with fan and turner.