Duck eggs, unsure on day. Help.

[Ash287]

Hi!

Newbie here and looking for some advice please.

We ended up with 6 duck eggs (mummy duck was dead on nest along with 5 other eggs) so I brought the remaining 6 home, bought an incubator the next day (27th April) and have since had 1 hatch successfully (1st May) and one died whilst hatching the next day.

My query is about the other 4 I have still in the incubator. After candleling them, I’m 95% sure there is still movement in them but everywhere says that they should all hatch around the same time. It will be a week tomorrow since Donny hatched, is there any chance the other are still alive or are my eyes playing tricks on me because I desperately want them to survive

Thank you in advance for your advice

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hi!

Newbie here and looking for some advice please.

We ended up with 6 duck eggs (mummy duck was dead on nest along with 5 other eggs) so I brought the remaining 6 home, bought an incubator the next day (27th April) and have since had 1 hatch successfully (1st May) and one died whilst hatching the next day.

My query is about the other 4 I have still in the incubator. After candleling them, I’m 95% sure there is still movement in them but everywhere says that they should all hatch around the same time. It will be a week tomorrow since Donny hatched, is there any chance the other are still alive or are my eyes playing tricks on me because I desperately want them to survive

Thank you in advance for your advice

What breed of duck is this? Was it a wild mama duck?

 

[Ash287]

What breed of duck is this? Was it a wild mama duck?

Hi. Yes was a wild mum. Was a mallard I think

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hi. Yes was a wild mum. Was a mallard I think

Okay.
Just so that you are aware, mallards could be protected, depends on location, if they're protected by law it'd be illegal to take their eggs.
So just be careful, you may want to check your local rules, if there is an issue there, you could find a wildlife rehabber to take them

As for the eggs, can you post photos of them being candled? We might be able to tell you if they're alive or not. Staggered hatches are possible, especially if some eggs got cooler than others, development can be slowed a little.

 

[Ash287]

Thank you for the advise,we have double checked that all is ok.

Ive attached photos of each egg (the best I can), and one of little Donny.

 

[KathiQuacks]

The eggs look pretty lively to me! Definitely not as far along, though.. How strange. Perhaps she laid new eggs in the middle of incubation? Although, it’s not common for a wild duck.

Also, little Donny is adorable. He certainly looks like a Mallard.

 

[Ash287]

Thank you for getting back to me. Do you think I should still be turning them? Or should I just let them be? I’ve got the humidity up from when Donny hatched so I believe that should stay up now too

 

[BelovedBirds]

Thank you for the advise,we have double checked that all is ok.

Ive attached photos of each egg (the best I can), and one of little Donny.

They seem to be alive, I'm seeing veins in the eggs, some look a little questionable but if you're seeing movement then I'd say they're okay-
They certainly aren't as far along, as I mentioned previously, long exposure to colder temps can slow development, its possible that these weren't kept as warm, but that's just a theory. As KathiQuacks stated, it's not common for a wild duck to lay during brooding and produce a staggered hatch, but that's a possibility for sure.

As for turning them, they should be okay either way, they look big enough to be moving about in the egg and that reduces risks associated with not turning. That said, they don't look ready for lockdown to me, and I'd probably lower the humidity back down a bit until they fill up their eggs more. When they fill up the eggs and it's all black, or the air cells draws down to one side, then I'd bump the humidity. But it looks like that could be days away. All up to you, that's just my two cents

Are you familiar with ducks and their care? If you have any questions about duckling care, we'd be happy to answer and help-
Little Donny is just adorable, bless him!

 

[Ash287]

They seem to be alive, I'm seeing veins in the eggs, some look a little questionable but if you're seeing movement then I'd say they're okay-
They certainly aren't as far along, as I mentioned previously, long exposure to colder temps can slow development, its possible that these weren't kept as warm, but that's just a theory. As KathiQuacks stated, it's not common for a wild duck to lay during brooding and produce a staggered hatch, but that's a possibility for sure.

As for turning them, they should be okay either way, they look big enough to be moving about in the egg and that reduces risks associated with not turning. That said, they don't look ready for lockdown to me, and I'd probably lower the humidity back down a bit until they fill up their eggs more. When they fill up the eggs and it's all black, or the air cells draws down to one side, then I'd bump the humidity. But it looks like that could be days away. All up to you, that's just my two cents

Are you familiar with ducks and their care? If you have any questions about duckling care, we'd be happy to answer and help-
Little Donny is just adorable, bless him!

They seem to be alive, I'm seeing veins in the eggs, some look a little questionable but if you're seeing movement then I'd say they're okay-
They certainly aren't as far along, as I mentioned previously, long exposure to colder temps can slow development, its possible that these weren't kept as warm, but that's just a theory. As KathiQuacks stated, it's not common for a wild duck to lay during brooding and produce a staggered hatch, but that's a possibility for sure.

As for turning them, they should be okay either way, they look big enough to be moving about in the egg and that reduces risks associated with not turning. That said, they don't look ready for lockdown to me, and I'd probably lower the humidity back down a bit until they fill up their eggs more. When they fill up the eggs and it's all black, or the air cells draws down to one side, then I'd bump the humidity. But it looks like that could be days away. All up to you, that's just my two cents

Are you familiar with ducks and their care? If you have any questions about duckling care, we'd be happy to answer and help-
Little Donny is just adorable, bless him!

Thank you so much for you reply and advice!

I’ll try lowering the humidity a little and leave them a while longer. Is it ok to candle them every day to keep a check or better to just leave them be? I’d hate for one to be in trouble and lose them. Little Dewey was 3/4 unzipped when I lost him

I’ve never looked after ducks or the likes before but I’ve done a lot of googling since last Friday but I’m still unsure about bits, very grateful that I’ve found this website! You guys are a great help!

If these eggs do hatch would the be ok to go in with Donny or will there be too much of an age gap? (Not sure if it matters or not)

Thank you again for all you help

 

[BelovedBirds]

Thank you so much for you reply and advice!

No problem at all!

I’ll try lowering the humidity a little and leave them a while longer. Is it ok to candle them every day to keep a check or better to just leave them be? I’d hate for one to be in trouble and lose them. Little Dewey was 3/4 unzipped when I lost him

So sorry to hear that. Candling daily is perfectly safe, as long as you're very careful not to drop them or anything like that, and don't have them out of the incubator too long if you do need to take them out to candle. And try to put them back in the same position so they aren't turned, if you aren't continuing to turn them.

I’ve never looked after ducks or the likes before but I’ve done a lot of googling since last Friday but I’m still unsure about bits, very grateful that I’ve found this website! You guys are a great help!

I found it super helpful also, when I hatched my babies! What are you currently feeding Donny? Thats a good place to start, if you need any help there

If these eggs do hatch would the be ok to go in with Donny or will there be too much of an age gap? (Not sure if it matters or not)

they will probably be alright, if theres too much of a size differnece, they may have to be separate, but itd be nice if they could see eachother still, through a divide of some sort.
if you havent already, I reccomend giving Donny a little mirror, perhaps a plush toy also, it can help with loneliness with single ducklings, whenever we arent there. Makes them feel like they have another little duck there!

Thank you again for all you help

You're welcome! Hope this helps