80 duck eggs due to hatch WE HAVE DUCKLINGS

[elevan]

I have yet to incubate ANY eggs...but I have a friend who does.

She's lucky if she gets 1 in 20 duck eggs to hatch...doesn't seem to be very good odds.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I thought Muscovies went longer than most, is it 39 days? Sorry, I forget, and I did get them to hatch out once, but not a great hatch rate.

 

[Royd Wood]

I thought Muscovies went longer than most, is it 39 days? Sorry, I forget, and I did get them to hatch out once, but not a great hatch rate.

It says everywhere I've checked 35 days but its now day 37 so it looks like a massive failiure on my part. Serves me right as I didnt do any reserch and from what I'm reading they are tricky to hatch in a incubator. Looks like I will just buy in day olds and stick to hatching chicks and pheasants.

 

[Mo's palominos]

I've always and fairly good luck with the duck eggs and not so good luck with the goose eggs!
I was always told to give them 3 days after the hatch date , because if the temp was just a little low it takes longer and if it's a little too high they will hatch early.
Also if you try another hatch , give them a spritz of water once a day when you roll them ( after day 7 and stop 7 days before they hatch). I guess in nature the mama duck get off the nest once a day takes a swim eats and drinks and goes back to the nest. Spritzing them is suppose to help mimic this. It has worked well for me. FWIW I hatch pekins and maybe they are easier to hatch than muscovies?

 

[PattySh]

A late hatch can be too low temps or not enough moisture to hatch. I pretty much failed my first hatch this year with turkeys/chicks. Only have 4 living turkeys and one chick. Had a full incubator. Almost all of the birds grew full size and died in the eggs. Also had no way to measure humidity. Ordered a digital thermometor/hygrometor on ebay and have another bator due to hatch early May. Maybe I'll have better luck. Hang in there they may be late, Stick some wet sponges in the incubator to get the moisture up.

 

[PattySh]

LOL reverse of what is happening to you. I put little white eggs in the incubator thinking they were guinea eggs. Well come to find out the guinea is now laying itty bitty cream eggs and it is the one oddball brown leghorn chicken's eggs that I put into the bator. I just opened the bator to turn the eggs and heard a peep, sure enough one egg is pipped and it's a brown leghorn/buff orpington mutt chicken lol. Of course the accidental mutt chickens will survive. Too funny. I stuck milk filters under the eggs to catch the yuck as the rest of the eggs are not supposed to hatch for a week! Now where to put them I haven't taken the first hatch out of the brooder yet and taken them to the barn. Guess I'll get on that.

edited for spelling error

 

[Mo's palominos]

I put little white eggs in the incubator thinking they were guinea eggs. Well come to find out the guinea is now laying itty bitty cream eggs and it is the one oddball brown leghorn chicken's eggs that I put into the bator. I just opened the bator to turn the eggs and heard a peep, sure enough one egg is pipped and it's a brown leghorn/buff orpington mutt chicken lol.

.
That is too funny!! I did the EXACT same thing. I found a perfectly round egg and assumed it was a guinea egg. To my surprise, white leghorn mutt. I have 3 "real" guinea eggs in there now that I figured out what they look like !
The sponge thing is a great idea ! I'll have to try it next hatch.

 

[Royd Wood]

I put little white eggs in the incubator thinking they were guinea eggs. Well come to find out the guinea is now laying itty bitty cream eggs and it is the one oddball brown leghorn chicken's eggs that I put into the bator. I just opened the bator to turn the eggs and heard a peep, sure enough one egg is pipped and it's a brown leghorn/buff orpington mutt chicken lol.

.
That is too funny!! I did the EXACT same thing. I found a perfectly round egg and assumed it was a guinea egg. To my surprise, white leghorn mutt. I have 3 "real" guinea eggs in there now that I figured out what they look like !
The sponge thing is a great idea ! I'll have to try it next hatch.

There was 81 duck eggs in the incubator or so I thought and on 21 days could hear a loud Tweet Tweet - turns out our old Minorca hen was laying in the duck nests.
Shes down to 2 large white eggs a week

So the final score is no ducks and one lonely chick who doesent know its father

 

[Royd Wood]

Well I'll be damned

We have ducklings hatching out as I write this

 

[helmstead]