Ducklings pipping and big humidity problems

[namuh]

I have 9 duck eggs in the incubator. Tuesday was day 28. Our furnace broke in the middle of the night on Monday night and we woke up to humidity at like 49%. Of course I did everything I could to bring it up and then left for work. My husband tried all day and barely had it in the 60s. I got it to 70% by the time I got home. 2 eggs had pipped but only cracks, no holes. Another pipped yesterday morning… but this morning still no progress with any and humidity dropped super low again.
but I suspected shrink wrapping because of the humidity issues and went ahead after reading several threads to try to at least get the cap off of the one that had been pipped for longer now - and sure enough it was definitely shrink wrapped a bit.
I made sure to be in my bathroom with the shower on and it steamy but it’s still chilly in my house (could be why my humidity dropped last night) so I did it quick and made sure the membrane was wet with warm water on a q-tip and put it back into the incubator.

I’m at a loss. No other pips. The one is still tapping but I imagine it’s also on the verge of shrink wrap. Do I help??

My incubator is going in the garbage and I’m getting a new one. Can I save these ones if they’re shrink wrapped and exhausted??

 

[Dr Evy]

Any update now? The humidity sounds like it didn’t get dangerously low, but I suppose there is a chance of shrink wrapping, especially if the incubator was opened. What kind of duck eggs are these? I would probably candle and possibly make safety holes since they’re past hatching time now. If you can, bring the ones that pipped into the steamy bathroom again and open the egg up a little to see if they are shrink wrapped. Shrink wrapping will look almost like if you filled a garbage bag with stuffed animals and then used a vacuum to suck out the extra air. If the membrane looks well, looser than that, and still has veins then they are not ready to hatch.
Chicks take time to hatch. I’ve never hatched ducks, but I’ve heard they can take longer to hatch than chickens, and in my experience my chickens have taken around 24 hours from external pip to zipping.
Did you have a calibrated thermometer and hydrometer in your incubator? If you don’t the unstable temperature or humidity can lead to prolonged hatches or hatching problems. Best of luck to you, keep me updated.

 

[namuh]

Any update now? The humidity sounds like it didn’t get dangerously low, but I suppose there is a chance of shrink wrapping, especially if the incubator was opened. What kind of duck eggs are these? I would probably candle and possibly make safety holes since they’re past hatching time now. If you can, bring the ones that pipped into the steamy bathroom again and open the egg up a little to see if they are shrink wrapped. Shrink wrapping will look almost like if you filled a garbage bag with stuffed animals and then used a vacuum to suck out the extra air. If the membrane looks well, looser than that, and still has veins then they are not ready to hatch.
Chicks take time to hatch. I’ve never hatched ducks, but I’ve heard they can take longer to hatch than chickens, and in my experience my chickens have taken around 24 hours from external pip to zipping.
Did you have a calibrated thermometer and hydrometer in your incubator? If you don’t the unstable temperature or humidity can lead to prolonged hatches or hatching problems. Best of luck to you, keep me updated.

Any update now? The humidity sounds like it didn’t get dangerously low, but I suppose there is a chance of shrink wrapping, especially if the incubator was opened. What kind of duck eggs are these? I would probably candle and possibly make safety holes since they’re past hatching time now. If you can, bring the ones that pipped into the steamy bathroom again and open the egg up a little to see if they are shrink wrapped. Shrink wrapping will look almost like if you filled a garbage bag with stuffed animals and then used a vacuum to suck out the extra air. If the membrane looks well, looser than that, and still has veins then they are not ready to hatch.
Chicks take time to hatch. I’ve never hatched ducks, but I’ve heard they can take longer to hatch than chickens, and in my experience my chickens have taken around 24 hours from external pip to zipping.
Did you have a calibrated thermometer and hydrometer in your incubator? If you don’t the unstable temperature or humidity can lead to prolonged hatches or hatching problems. Best of luck to you, keep me updated.

Thank you, so far my husband said the one I tried to help is still alive. I may go ahead and get the cap off of the other two and candle the others that haven’t pipped when I get home. He’s been keeping the humidity up as much as possible but it was definitely shrink wrapping for sure. When I removed shell and the outer membrane part of the inner membrane was dried onto its bill/nose area so it wasn’t peeping, once I got that off it started peeping.
I had opened the incubator a few times because we couldn’t get the humidity up so I was wetting paper towels and putting them in the corners. But not too much.
I’ll post another update tonight.

 

[namuh]

Any update now? The humidity sounds like it didn’t get dangerously low, but I suppose there is a chance of shrink wrapping, especially if the incubator was opened. What kind of duck eggs are these? I would probably candle and possibly make safety holes since they’re past hatching time now. If you can, bring the ones that pipped into the steamy bathroom again and open the egg up a little to see if they are shrink wrapped. Shrink wrapping will look almost like if you filled a garbage bag with stuffed animals and then used a vacuum to suck out the extra air. If the membrane looks well, looser than that, and still has veins then they are not ready to hatch.
Chicks take time to hatch. I’ve never hatched ducks, but I’ve heard they can take longer to hatch than chickens, and in my experience my chickens have taken around 24 hours from external pip to zipping.
Did you have a calibrated thermometer and hydrometer in your incubator? If you don’t the unstable temperature or humidity can lead to prolonged hatches or hatching problems. Best of luck to you, keep me updated.

I’m sorry I didn’t answer any of your questions
My incubator is a very simple one with the temp and humidity recorded on the screen on the top, can’t remember the model off of the top of my head. I also don’t know what kind of ducks though I know there isn’t any Muscovy. I got the eggs from a friend with a few breeds of ducks on her farm

 

[Dr Evy]

Thank you, so far my husband said the one I tried to help is still alive. I may go ahead and get the cap off of the other two and candle the others that haven’t pipped when I get home. He’s been keeping the humidity up as much as possible but it was definitely shrink wrapping for sure. When I removed shell and the outer membrane part of the inner membrane was dried onto its bill/nose area so it wasn’t peeping, once I got that off it started peeping.
I had opened the incubator a few times because we couldn’t get the humidity up so I was wetting paper towels and putting them in the corners. But not too much.
I’ll post another update tonight.

I’m sorry I didn’t answer any of your questions
My incubator is a very simple one with the temp and humidity recorded on the screen on the top, can’t remember the model off of the top of my head. I also don’t know what kind of ducks though I know there isn’t any Muscovy. I got the eggs from a friend with a few breeds of ducks on her farm

Take a picture of the ones that you opened the egg shell if you can! I’m glad to hear at least one is alive.

 

[namuh]

Take a picture of the ones that you opened the egg shell if you can! I’m glad to hear at least one is alive.

Incubator pics are them currently. The picture of the one on the rag is the one who is out successfully in the incubator, that was when I was helping it.

I lost one that was positioned wrong, it was trying to pip opposite of air sac, I was chipping away shell and it was already little to no movement, when I did find the bruise where it was trying to pip I opened the membrane but it didn’t make it
I’m hopeful I can help the one that’s partly out after he absorbs more blood and yolk sac. I saw a twinge of blood so I wrapped him and placed him back in incubator.
There are no signs of life in the eggs that are left. I’m nervous to crack them open.

 

[namuh]

Take a picture of the ones that you opened the egg shell if you can! I’m glad to hear at least one is alive.

Apparently she had Cayuga females and a Rouen male, as well as Toulouse geese females and a white Chinese goose male

 

[Dr Evy]

Incubator pics are them currently. The picture of the one on the rag is the one who is out successfully in the incubator, that was when I was helping it.

I lost one that was positioned wrong, it was trying to pip opposite of air sac, I was chipping away shell and it was already little to no movement, when I did find the bruise where it was trying to pip I opened the membrane but it didn’t make it
I’m hopeful I can help the one that’s partly out after he absorbs more blood and yolk sac. I saw a twinge of blood so I wrapped him and placed him back in incubator.
There are no signs of life in the eggs that are left. I’m nervous to crack them open.

I’m sorry you lost one. That’s so hard when they are so close to hatching. You did all you could. What do the rest of the eggs look like?

 

[namuh]

I’m sorry you lost one. That’s so hard when they are so close to hatching. You did all you could. What do the rest of the eggs look like?

I have a few chicken eggs in the incubator too, but these ones are the last of the duck eggs. When I candle them one of them is like all black except for the air sac, the others you can see veins close to the air sac and there is another space on the other end of the egg as well in those three but it still looks like they are fully formed.
Chicken eggs were due to hatch today but nothing. I actually can’t see into three of the eggs because they are completely non candle-able lol. I don’t know if they were fertile so I wasn’t counting on them… but with the fluctuation of humidity so much I don’t know that they’d have made it anyway.
I’ve learned SO much this time - my third time hatching - and I’m going to be so much more mindful next time.

 

[Dr Evy]

I have a few chicken eggs in the incubator too, but these ones are the last of the duck eggs. When I candle them one of them is like all black except for the air sac, the others you can see veins close to the air sac and there is another space on the other end of the egg as well in those three but it still looks like they are fully formed.
Chicken eggs were due to hatch today but nothing. I actually can’t see into three of the eggs because they are completely non candle-able lol. I don’t know if they were fertile so I wasn’t counting on them… but with the fluctuation of humidity so much I don’t know that they’d have made it anyway.
I’ve learned SO much this time - my third time hatching - and I’m going to be so much more mindful next time.

That doesn’t sound like they’re not viable! No beaks in the air cell? Do you see any movement?