Incubating Eggs!

[RogueRubbDuck22]

Hi guys, I might need some help here! This is my first time incubating my own duck eggs and o was really excited about it. I saw lots of progress with the eggs for a while but then as they get up to their hatching day now if I candle them I can only see into the air sac. I think on has died because I can see into the egg more and I see no movement whatsoever but I will leave it in for now. I just hit lockdown yesterday so I have taken out my turner and I haven’t opened it since but I didn’t see any beaks popping down into the air sac and I put them up to my ear and I couldn’t hear any peeping. They should hatch around tomorrow or Friday so is this normal stuff going on? (Dark egg except for air sac and no peeps yet)

 

[DemeterAD9]

Yes it is normal, in eggs so close to hatch there will be only be the air cell and the dark area. If you are lucky you may be able to see some veins at the edge of the air cell and some movement. Leave them be for the next couple days. Right now I would expect to see the eggs wobbling as they get into position for hatching, look for that but do so through the viewing window of the incubator.

 

[RogueRubbDuck22]

Ok thank you so much. I have been really nervous about hatching this group because it is the first batch of eggs I got from my own ducks, and I was really worried that I might have done something wrong in the incubating process. I was also a bit worried because my own duck's eggs seemed to have a thicker membrane when I cracked her eggs open (to cook for dogs) before and that worried that maybe the baby ducks might have had difficulties getting through it so they can get into the air cell and they died. I will continue to monitor them and see how they do for now. Thanks!

 

[Slothinc]

Yes the reason it is all dark now besides the air cell is just because the duckling is taking up all the available space! Soon if everything goes well they will pip into the air cell, and then a day or so later they will pip externally and start zipping out. I try not to disturb my eggs in lockdown, but sometimes I will do a quick candle without moving the eggs - just putting a flashlight up to them to see if they have internally pipped. That gives me a timeframe for when they should start zipping.

Just be very quick if you do that because humidity will drop when the incubator is opened and that isn’t good for the eggs at this late stage.

 

[RogueRubbDuck22]

So I got home and I checked them, I think one embryo has died because I can still see into it and it hasn’t grown and there’s no movement but I think I’ll just wait to see how the others do before removing it. I checked the other three very quickly and it looked like one was trying to poke through the membrane maybe to get into the air sac but I couldn’t really tell if that’s what was going on. I’ve heard of people creating a safety hole but I’m nervous to do that. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[gimmie birdies]

If you are a new-bee I would not eliminate any eggs, but you can put an egg away from the others if you don't trust it, you can also sniff the egg.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I also would not do safety holes. If you are new.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Just wanted to say, ducks inside egg can also darken the shell outside the egg, it doesn't mean the egg is bad.

 

[Slothinc]

Yes, don’t do a safety hole right now. If they haven’t internally pipped, then putting in a safety hole will dry out the membrane and make it harder for them to break through it. Just sit tight and let them do their thing. What day are they on?

 

[RogueRubbDuck22]

They are on day 27 right now.

These are a few pictures of the egg that I have a feeling is bad. I just moved it off towards the side.