The Duck Thread

[Starfire669]

I have a Cayuga duckling! He/she hatched last night! 4 more eggs have pips with one halfway through zipping! My first ever hatch, I am so exited.

Sorry about the bad lighting, I just woke up, heard the peeps, and ran to the bator! I'll get better pics later.

 

[jtn42248]

I have a Cayuga duckling! He/she hatched last night! 4 more eggs have pips with one halfway through zipping! My first ever hatch, I am so exited.



Sorry about the bad lighting, I just woke up, heard the peeps, and ran to the bator! I'll get better pics later.

Amazing and wonderful. I have only had day old's from hatcheries but I bet they are pretty much the same as far as taking care of them when you hatch them yourself. Make sure they stay warm, introduce them to water and scatter a little feed around their food dish so they discover it. Be sure you add a little Brewers Yeast if you do not have access to water fowl chick food. Hope all goes well with other hatches so he/she will have some friends.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Congrats Starfire!!!!

 

[Starfire669]

Amazing and wonderful. I have only had day old's from hatcheries but I bet they are pretty much the same as far as taking care of them when you hatch them yourself. Make sure they stay warm, introduce them to water and scatter a little feed around their food dish so they discover it. Be sure you add a little Brewers Yeast if you do not have access to water fowl chick food. Hope all goes well with other hatches so he/she will have some friends.

Thanks! I have a second duckling pushing out of its shell right now! Yay!

 

[jtn42248]

Thanks! I have a second duckling pushing out of its shell right now! Yay!

I am so jealous!!! Mine are laying eggs like crazy but only in their pen overnight. It still in in the low 40's and lower at night so I am afraid the eggs get to cold to incubate. There is a warm spell on its way this weekend. Maybe I will gather some and try it then. Just what I would need though. A bunch of baby Cayuga's to go with the 16 I already have.

 

[Ramblin Rooster]

how is hatching ducks eggs different than hatching chickens eggs?

 

[Starfire669]

I am so jealous!!! Mine are laying eggs like crazy but only in their pen overnight. It still in in the low 40's and lower at night so I am afraid the eggs get to cold to incubate. There is a warm spell on its way this weekend. Maybe I will gather some and try it then. Just what I would need though. A bunch of baby Cayuga's to go with the 16 I already have.

We are getting lows in the upper 30 low 40 right now. I think I collected these eggs that are hatching when it was 40-50 outside. I set 11 Cayuga duck eggs, 2 were infertile, 1 died early on, and it looks like 2 more died in late development. So far 2 have fully hatched, 3 have external pips, and I can hear clicking in the last egg, but no pip yet. So if all of these hatch I will get 6 ducklings from 9 fertile eggs. Not bad for my first ever incubation.

 

[Starfire669]

how is hatching ducks eggs different than hatching chickens eggs?

I haven't hatched chicken eggs yet, this is literally my first hatch ever. But duck and goose eggs require a higher humidity than chicken eggs, and take longer to hatch. Chickens I believe take 21 days, most ducks take 28 days, Muscovy ducks take 35 days I think (not sure as I don't have them), and geese take 30 days.

I have a question for the more experienced people. I noticed that once my ducklings pip, the membrane drys really fast. I have a high humidity so I am not sure why this is happening. What I have been doing is every 2 hours I crack the lid just a tiny bit and mist the pip spot to keep the membrane wet. I chose misting instead using a wet Q-tip to minimize the heat loss. Any tips on what could be causing this and how best to deal with it?

Forgot to say that the misting is very obviously helping. Every time I mist the ducklings make jumps in progress.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I haven't hatched chicken eggs yet, this is literally my first hatch ever. But duck and goose eggs require a higher humidity than chicken eggs, and take longer to hatch. Chickens I believe take 21 days, most ducks take 28 days, Muscovy ducks take 35 days I think (not sure as I don't have them), and geese take 30 days.

I have a question for the more experienced people. I noticed that once my ducklings pip, the membrane drys really fast. I have a high humidity so I am not sure why this is happening. What I have been doing is every 2 hours I crack the lid just a tiny bit and mist the pip spot to keep the membrane wet. I chose misting instead using a wet Q-tip to minimize the heat loss. Any tips on what could be causing this and how best to deal with it?

Forgot to say that the misting is very obviously helping. Every time I mist the ducklings make jumps in progress.

PM Lacrystol she is expert on this kind of stuff.

 

[Starfire669]

PM Lacrystol she is expert on this kind of stuff.

Thank you, I just did. My 3rd duckling just hatched and number 4 is starting to zip. Numbers 5 and 6 are still at external pip and resting. I can see movement and hear clicking from them. Number 6 did have difficulty breaking the membrane, it was dry, so I popped a tiny hole in it and wet with Q-tip and then put it back. It is doing fine, I can see it pushing against the hole now that it's moist again.