Why are my duck eggs dying on day 28?????

[FenDruadin]

I'm sorry for all your troubles. It's interesting though--I started with duck eggs and am on my first batch of chicken eggs, and they scare me!!

Most folks say not to open the incubator because it affects the humidity and can cause chicks to stick to the membrane.

What has your humidity been running? Ducks like a higher humidity than chickens, so if you are using the same methods you were with chickens that may be your problem.

If it's humidity then you need to open all your vents. Do you have vent plugs in?

 

[CityChicker]

Where did you hear about this towel thing you are doing? I have never heard of that before. I would think it would be very hard to judge the exact temperature with the towel. I mean the incubation temperature is critical to within about two degrees. Anything above or below that can start killing eggs.

Fully formed dead in shell chicks (especially after pipping) is almost always a humidity issue. Duck eggs need much higher humidity than chicken eggs. I move mine to the hatcher at day 25. I keep the hatcher temp. at about 98.5 degrees and the humidity at 75%. If the eggs have lost too much weight (I weigh them with a gram scale), then I will up the humidity to 85%.

Once they are in the hatcher, do NOT open it! I try not to open it until the first eggs have been hatched for 24+ hours. Keeping that humidity up is just critical. Also, don't be too quick to help out pipped duck eggs or write them off as dead in shell. They will regularly externally pip 48-72 hours in advance. One of my last hatches, I had one that was pipped Sunday morning and didn't hatch until Wednesday evening! Ducks generally will pip and then rest for, at a minimum, 24 hours before hatching.

 

[MDC]

If the humidity is too high they can drown in the shell, too.

I do not add water to the incubator but spritz the eggs once a day after I've allowed the eggs to cool for 10-15 minutes.