Humidity too low in first 25 days?

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Hanlills777

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Hello,

I'm now on day 26 of incubation with my duck eggs, which when they were candled yesterday showed signs of movement in 13 of them. I've been whistling at them today and a few are wiggling in response and also wiggling on their own if I don't whistle.

I've been looking around at advice about humidity in the last few days as I'm terrified of getting anything wrong and I stumbled across another forum where a couple of people said their ducks died in the hatching stage or a little before and other people say it may have been to do with the humidity being too low in the first 25 days. They said it should be between 50-55% for ducks but mines been constant at 45% until yesterday when I came into school to find that someone had meddled and therefore had knocked the tube out of the glass and over the weekend (I don't know when) the humidity had lowered to 42%, hence why I candled yesterday.

I'm now in a right old panic that I've run the humidity too low for the whole incubation so far and that they're now not going to make it. I know I only have tomorrow and Thursday to wait until I know for sure but is anyone able to put my mind at ease? Sorry but I'm terrified of them dying this late on the poor little things :(
 
I don't know much about duck eggs I will admit, but I think that worrying about what has happened and what you did or did not do, is not going to make any difference to the end result. Sorry if that is a bit blunt, but you really do need to relax a bit - hatching chicks/ducks is supposed to be fun.

The internet has it's place, but when you start researching you find that nothing you've done is right. As has been said before, different set-ups require different settings on incubators. They say chicks should be incubated at 50 - 60%, which in my set up is far, far to high! Different horses for different courses. Stick with what you've done and relax. I think a steady humidity rate is far better than bouncing around from one to another because this person or that said such and such! :)

Going by chicks - I would have thought that the lack of movement is because there is not much room for them to move at the moment being so close to hatch. They need to conserve all their strength. A dip in humidity this late in the hatch (and it can't have been out that long to only have dropped 3%) I would not have thought would be detrimental.

Good luck with them and I look forward to hearing all about your new babies in a couple of days!
 
I agree with Philcott. You need to relax about it. In nature the mother can only raise the humidity by going into the water and coming back wet. Of course she is colder as well so the temperature and humidity is up and down throughout the hatch. If anything machines should be better, even if the settings are a bit out.

In my opinion absolutely the most important thing is the condition of the parents who produced the hatching eggs. If they lacked anything the eggs will lack the same. This is the responsibility of the breeder and is beyond your control. So enjoy the hatch.
 
The important thing now is to leave them alone, and not to candle. Any opening of the incubator will lower the humidity and it will take a while irrespective of incubator readings to recover, specially in the smaller incubators. If they are moving a lot this would suggest to me that they have lost a fair amount of weight in the egg and it's possible they may hatch early. Keep a close eye for any external pipping.
 
Hello all,

Thank you all for your advice, I'm sorry, I know I've probably been a right old pain over the last few weeks but it's my first time and I knew nothing before I started. Also I have 29 three year olds asking me all day every day, "when are they coming out?" lol. foxy, I've been very good, I've left them well alone. I came in this morning to find three pipping (two only slightly but one hole was a decent size) over the course of the day 'Peter' (as the children and I have named him) has made quite a big hole and you can see his little beak moving inside, the children have loved it! Hoping to find him out fully in the morning :)
 
Great, hannah, we're all waiting for news!
But do be careful to keep that incubator SHUT ALL DAY tomorrow, however tempting it is to have a little fiddle with the eggs or ducklings. If you open it, the humidity and temperature will drop abruptly and this may dry the membranes of the unhatched ducklings or chill the ones that are out.
Good luck! I shall be on similar tenterhooks on Sunday when my second lot of quail babies are due to hatch.
 
Came in this morning and Peter had died in his shell :( he'd made a bigger hole but just gave up, his little beak was popping out of it but the rest of him was still inside. Very upsetting and had to show the children but over the morning we've had four hatch, one was straight from
Pipping to fully out in 1hr15!!! Am gutted now though as I was sick at work and so have been sent home, I'm missing everything else! :( hopefully find some more in there tomorrow
 
RIP Peter, so sorry about the poor little mite. but great about the next four, what a shame you had to go home. Still, at least it removes the temptation to fiddle! I hope you're better tomorrow and find lots more babies to cheer you up.
 
I have 6 :) 4 from yesterday morning doing well. One was very lethargic this morn and has perked up a little. The 6th one got his head out last night and it was very very dry and stuck this morning. The lady that gave us the eggs lives on a farm and hatches ducks so helped him a little by softening the membrane that dried around him and he managed to get out over the course of the day. He's very very weak and just sleeps A LOT! I've tried getting him to drink as he's now in the brooder with the others and has been doing better since he's been in there. He's drunk a little but generally just flops back to sleep. Is it just a case of monitoring him and hoping for the best?
 
Not that experienced with waterfowl hatching artificially but most newly hatched are best under observation but left alone.
 
Just checked on him, (4:30am is a rare viewing time for me lol) he seems more perky, his eyes are open at least and when the other 5 started going potty, he joined in a bit and walked around :) will keep a close eye on him.

Also, have 5 eggs still in the incubator, a couple are still wobbling but no pipping seems apparent, hatch due date was Thursday, do I start to loose hope now?
 
Chances lessen at this stage but don't give up quite yet.
 
One pipped this morning and made it's way out slowly today. When it was almost out I noticed a yellow bubble on it's tummy that was then attached to the shell still, I assume this was the yolk sac? It continued to struggle and I was afraid it would pull completely out too early and tear the yellow bubble but after some hours the bubble has now gone and the duckling is now free of the egg. I removed the egg shell quickly, it was quite mucky inside with a little yellow snotty substance at the bottom. The duckling is resting a lot as I know it should but one of it's legs it keeps pulling up so that is up next to it's belly and not down like the other one. I'm hoping it's from the angle it was at when it was hatching as it came out very very slowly and from what I can remember I thought I saw it's leg stuck at that angle on the membrane once but I've had a quick look and tried to move it back and she just keeps pulling it back. Her toes seem curled under also. Is it something that is a big worry or will it correct itself as she gets stronger and starts walking. She is moving around the incubator but not by walking, almost by shuffling awkardly. Any suggestions?
 
Give it 24 hours at least Hanlills. The sac wasn't fully absorbed when hatched. Possible that the chick is suffering from the result of a vitamin B deficiency in the parents which causes curled toes.
 
Hi Hanhills,

I'm sorry I don't have any words of wisdom for you as I am also a first time hatcher. I to am hatching eggs in my classroom! We have 18 chicken eggs which are due to hatch on Thursday. I was just wondering what you have been doing for the hatch over the weekend? I am thinking I will leave my incubator in class with any unhatched eggs inside but taken any chicks which hatch on Thursday out on Friday and put in the brooder to take home with me. This means they will have had 24 hours inside the incubator following hatching. I will then go back into school twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday to check on progress of any of the other eggs. Does this sound ok?

Great to find someone in the same position as me
 
I brought everything home with me this weekend, brooder and incubator. My one that came out yesterday is now in the brooder and another pipped this morning and has head out but is just lying there, making no effort. I'm keeping a close eye on it. Good luck with yours, and ask any questions you have, people are very good on here with helping :)
 
Fingers crossed your little one keeps going and is just resting at the moment.

So it was safe to unplug and move your incubator during the hatching stage? I live about 20 mins from school so am a little worried the move would cause too much of a change in humidity for any that are still to hatch
 
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