- Nov 16, 2015
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Hi guys, Last night I went outside and discovered that one of my ducks, who has been sitting, had left her nest, for at least a few hrs, and the egg in it which is due either sat or sun this week, was freezing cold. I held the egg near my skin and it was icy cold (it was close to 0deg Celsius air temp).
I took it inside and put it in my incubator which was already running as I have some eggs in it which are just over a week in. Checked on the mum a few times and she stayed off the nest all night. But got back on it late morning. However she isn't getting the egg back as I'm sure it would have died if I hadnt put it inside, and she was off the nest for a couple of hrs on a cold night just a few days ago. After being very diligent until this point.
Anyway, as mentioned, this egg is not due to sat or Sunday. I know this for certain, as I put it under her along with a couple of others after she went broody, and built a very well constructed nest, but was sitting on nothing as she had stopped laying. I had noted after putting the eggs under her that they were due this weekend. She only had one viable egg left as one had not developed at all and the other I found a few days earlier had died at some point.
So this morning I turned it and candled to check if still alive and thought to myself, it looks like it's starting to set up to pip, don't think I'll turn it any more.... Was then gushing at my other little ones moving round in their eggs when I hear this peeping coming from this egg!
I've had eggs pip early before but not this early.
I watched and listened a little bit more, and ended up putting a safety hole in the top of the egg when the peeps started to sound a little distressed. I really can't imagine how it would have been breathing air for anywhere near long enough to have started to run out, but it sounded much happier as soon as I put the hole in .
I have also been concerned about humidity for this one while under the mum who is a first timer and she was virtually never getting off the nest and I never saw her swim when she did get off. And I think I read somewhere that low humidity can cause a hatch to start early but then drag on? But can't remember where...
Anyway the little one must have pipped internally sometime between late last night and lunchtime today. So early Tuesday probably.
It's now 8pm and it's still moving around and chirping to me every so often so is obviously fine right now. No progress in hatching, but has a safety hole and I am not expecting an external pip just yet so I'm not concerned - all seems normal so far aside from the early-ness of it.
I have a couple of questions I am hoping someone maybe able to help me with...
1: the egg is at approx 45deg angle as I read that is optimal, however, should the duckling be on the side closest to the ground or furtherest from it?
2: are there any particular problems a duckling hatching this early is more likely to encounter? If it makes no progress how long would u wait before assisting, given it isn't due till sat or Sun, but has been let get cold twice in the last few days, may have been incubated at too low a humidity etc.
I took it inside and put it in my incubator which was already running as I have some eggs in it which are just over a week in. Checked on the mum a few times and she stayed off the nest all night. But got back on it late morning. However she isn't getting the egg back as I'm sure it would have died if I hadnt put it inside, and she was off the nest for a couple of hrs on a cold night just a few days ago. After being very diligent until this point.
Anyway, as mentioned, this egg is not due to sat or Sunday. I know this for certain, as I put it under her along with a couple of others after she went broody, and built a very well constructed nest, but was sitting on nothing as she had stopped laying. I had noted after putting the eggs under her that they were due this weekend. She only had one viable egg left as one had not developed at all and the other I found a few days earlier had died at some point.
So this morning I turned it and candled to check if still alive and thought to myself, it looks like it's starting to set up to pip, don't think I'll turn it any more.... Was then gushing at my other little ones moving round in their eggs when I hear this peeping coming from this egg!
I've had eggs pip early before but not this early.
I watched and listened a little bit more, and ended up putting a safety hole in the top of the egg when the peeps started to sound a little distressed. I really can't imagine how it would have been breathing air for anywhere near long enough to have started to run out, but it sounded much happier as soon as I put the hole in .
I have also been concerned about humidity for this one while under the mum who is a first timer and she was virtually never getting off the nest and I never saw her swim when she did get off. And I think I read somewhere that low humidity can cause a hatch to start early but then drag on? But can't remember where...
Anyway the little one must have pipped internally sometime between late last night and lunchtime today. So early Tuesday probably.
It's now 8pm and it's still moving around and chirping to me every so often so is obviously fine right now. No progress in hatching, but has a safety hole and I am not expecting an external pip just yet so I'm not concerned - all seems normal so far aside from the early-ness of it.
I have a couple of questions I am hoping someone maybe able to help me with...
1: the egg is at approx 45deg angle as I read that is optimal, however, should the duckling be on the side closest to the ground or furtherest from it?
2: are there any particular problems a duckling hatching this early is more likely to encounter? If it makes no progress how long would u wait before assisting, given it isn't due till sat or Sun, but has been let get cold twice in the last few days, may have been incubated at too low a humidity etc.
