If you see them pip before that 3-4 days, go ahead and start lockdown. Turn them 3x a day for another 3-4 days, and then bump the humidity back up and follow lockdown procedure again. Lower the humidity to 45-50% (they've just been through about 3 days of high humidity with hatch #1, and must lose the right volume for a strong hatch). Unless it seems clear that they're not viable (stinky, obvious dark liquid sloshing.) I would give them a quick gentle wipe to remove any "hatching goo", then return them to the incubator. Once all pipped eggs have hatched, I would then candle those left. Put them all on lockdown together, and allow the hatch to go naturally. In that case, I feel the best you can do is to incubate them as though they're all the same, following the protocol in this post for non-muscovy eggs. BUT - am I right that you're not certain which, if any, are muscovies? Normally I would suggest trying to borrow an incubator and incubating the muscovy eggs separately. I'm wishing you an amazing hatch the next time around and if I can answer any questions along the way, don't hesitate to ask! Best wishes!!ĪH!! You know what, I had the thought that I should ask if there were any chance of muscovy in there, and I'm sorry I didn't! This is a tough call. I can't help trying to sleuth out what might be going on, any time I hear about a hatch not going well. I'm sure you are probably right on top of making sure they're getting turned plenty, but it definitely seems that Waterfowl are even more sensitive to getting plenty of turning than chicks - without it they can be too weak to hatch, leading to losses at hatch time.Īnyway, please forgive the brainstorming. The only other thing that comes to mind with the very late losses is making sure that they're getting turned at least three times daily - if you're not using an autoturner. Since you mention that the hatch is usually staggered over 3 days, the one other thing I might do is just triple check your thermometer to make sure it's spot on.sometimes the thermometer that comes with an incubator can be a bit off, and to me a staggered hatch like that suggests a slight temperature issue. And if you're not sure you've got all your supplies ready for when they hatch, my friend Lisa has a great list that will help you prepare for brooding out ducklings.Īw, Kate! That's so heartbreaking to lose them at the end like that! You know, my friend Ruth was just telling me the other day that her hatch rate used to be low, but as soon as she started the misting and cooling it went way up.Wondering how you can help your sweet fluff balls grow up to be super-friendly and cuddly ducks? Let me tell you all my tricks (hint: start talking to them now!).Need tips on how to guarantee you're only hatching purebred ducklings, if you keep multiple duck breeds? I tell you all about how to do that here.Whether you're looking to hatch a few eggs to perpetuate your own backyard flock, or you're starting a small hatching operation to earn some extra income from home - I really do hope these tips help you to have great hatch! This gives me consistently high hatch rates, with vigorous, fluffy ducklings. And I'd found a delightful little side-enterprise that helped us bring in some extra income - one more step toward being self-sufficient here on the homestead.īelow, I've created a little cheat sheet, detailing the steps I follow for successfully hatching duck eggs. By the end of that summer, I'd solidified my duckling hatching method. They also hatched over a shorter period of time, rather than many hours apart. I also found that my ducklings all hatched clean and fluffy (no patches of sticky down, like with my first batch). The more I hatched, the better my hatch rates got. What if tried a slightly lower humidity? What if I misted twice a day? What if I didn't mist at all? What if I washed the eggs first? What if I didn't? The more I hatched, the better I got at it. I incubated them using two different circulated-air incubators ( this one by Hovabator, and this one by Brinsea), as well as an old plywood still-air incubator that I'd build with my dad as a kid. By the time summer was over, I'd hatched out 227 ducklings in my kitchen. Would I hatch more? Oh, indeed, I hatched more. And I had a list of people who wanted to buy more, if I would be willing to hatch them. I didn't need that many, so I posted them in my Facebook farming group. I had a great first attempt, and ended up with 32 ducklings from that hatch. Turns out, duck eggs really aren't that hard to hatch successfully.
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