[quackers11]

hi this is my first time incubating eggs. they are due to hatch the problem is i have not heard any pipping. i have maintained 37.5 degrees humidity has been increased from 50 to 60% stopped turning eggs on day 25. i have candled the eggs and can see 3/4s dark area and an air sack. why is it taking so long? please advise very worried as i dont want to lose any of the  18 eggs

[Spana]

Hi quackers, its a long time since i incubated duck eggs but i'm sure someone will be along to help you.

Lets get a few facts down,

What day are they on now, not all breeds take the same no. of days

Are they all the same breed or mixed

can you see whether they have broken into the air sac or not.

I used to have a lot of trouble hatching call ducks but breeds like silver appleyards managed easily

[quackers11]

they are indian runner ducks were placed in incubator on 5th feb so think day 27 now air sack is in tact. dont want to keep lifting lid.

[kegs]

I have NOT incubated ducklings.  Just checked Katie Thear's book on hatching and it says,
"For most ducks it (hatching) is 28 days." 

It goes on to say, "For hatching, the optimum temperature is 37.0C in the centre of the egg, with an increased humidity of 75%."   

Wait for a bit though and see if someone who has hatched ducklings can give some more advice before adjusting the humidity.

Try not to panic though.

[quackers11]

people are saying keep temp as it is and increase humidity to 60% why is all the info so conflicting

[tstainesmoore]

Hey, you still have atleast 1 day until they should start to hatch so i woudn't worry yet, yeah best not to keep checking as the temperature will change. i have had ducklings hatch early and late in the same hatch so just becuase they havn't started or don't hatch on the 28th day dosn't mean that they won't. if it comes to day 30 and nothing at all has happened then there is something wrong. But if they all look well developed just give it time. i personally when hatching ducks dont add any water to my incubators, this is because i found the ducklings getting stuck. However this method varies depending on time of year for me and location of incubator. My best advice is to wait and see if anything happens and if nothing does happen then try it again without water in the incubator. hope this helps but just give them a couple more days atleast.

[quackers11]

what shall i do about humidity? can khaki campbells hatch earlier than their due date? they have three days left but am seeing cracks and movement from two of the eggs.

[joyfull]

all eggs can hatch earlier and later than the estimated dates just like with human babies can be classed as full term at 38 - 42 weeks but we normally say 40 weeks 

[quackers11]

i have movement and two tiny cracks does this mean they are ready to hatch?

[joyfull]

yes but hatching can take over 24 hours, please don't be tempted to keep opening the incubator as this will alter the humidity and temperature.

[quackers11]

do i leave humidity at 60% and temp 37.5?

[redspookycooky]

Hi i`d leave everything well alone at the minute if they are starting to hatch.
 I`ve just hatched my first lot of ducklings, 3 weeks ago, we had a lot of problems with ducklings getting stuck and was advised to run humidity at 50% for first 25 days then up it to 70/75% for the last few days, as i was told i was running my humidity too low for the first 25 days so the ducklings were getting stuck. Just thought i`d share advice i was given may not help you with this hatch but maybe in your next one. Good luck and hope you get some lovely ducklings soon, i have a hatch due in 7-10 days (mine tend to hatch at day 25) fingers crossed.

[Spana]

I think a lot of ducklings are lost at hatching because humidity has been too high, the membrane goes rubbery rather than crispy.

As i said before, its a long time since i hatched duck eggs in the incubator  but thinking back i used to run it dry until hatching time.

I'm glad i dont have to do it anymore, its the most nerve racking time, i know how you are feeling

Let us know how it goes

[redspookycooky]

Hi spana so do you think my ducks getting stuck was more to do with too high humidity than too low humidity? I was told that because mother ducks will get up and go in the water they will be wet when they go back to the eggs so higher humidity mimicks the mother more, but now i can see your point cos our membranes seemed to shrink wrap the ducklings inside and we had to help 2 hatch. Think i may have to investigate this a bit more, thanks for the info.

[kegs]

There's some good info on this web site about incubating which might come in handy for your next batch.  From what I've read though, it's far trickier to hatch duck eggs so you're doing really really well. 

http://www.domestic-waterfowl.co.uk/incubation.htm