Eggs are on day 30 and I have no idea what to do.

[k4zn4v3]

Right now my muscovy eggs are on day 30 and the duckling are going crazy squirming around.  They have not broken into the air cell yet but they are pushing against the membraine. Since these eggs are only on day 30 is it a possiblity that they are going to hatch a couple days early.  How long after internally pipping will they externally pip?  When do I stop turing the eggs and go into lock down.  Do i need to change the temperature or humidity at any point from now untill hatch.  This is my first time doing this so i have a lot of questions and I have no idea what im doing at this point.  Any help is greatly apreciated.  I have spent hours looking on google for this information with no succsess.

[Wulfandwyn]

I think I read on backyardchickenforum that they go into lockdown on day 32 but you have to consider if you let them rest before you put them in the first day.  I haven't actually hatched any ducklings yet but BYC forum has tons of info under the duck category (http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=42&p=8) and people are almost always available to answer questions.  They do refer back to this forum all the time too though.  They also say Storyes guide to raising ducks has a ton of info but I don't have it yet. 

[Cathy]

I know I am late, sorry. I don't really have much advice. No matter what I've done I have never had much luck successfully hatching muscovy eggs in an incubator. They are notoriously difficult to get a very successful hatch for most people. I believe most people stop turning the last day or two. Aside from that the process from internal pip to external pip can be around 24 hours as a general rule. This is where it gets tricky. My experience has been ducklings can pip externally but then they stop. You want to try to help them, but if you do and they start to bleed, they can bleed out very quickly. If you do help and you get even a drop of blood stop. If the blood isn't bright red and is kind of watered down then you can proceed. I have also found that if you wait too long to get the ducklings out after they've pipped externally then they will never straighten out correctly.

 The best luck I have had has been with eggs that were started under a hen and then transferred to an incubator after a few weeks for whatever reason.

[deano1907]

how did you do with your hatch did any hatch at all ?

[markp1313]

Hi  k4zn4v3.

I am on day 24,  I will soon have the same problem.
I have been looking into this and I understand that
to small an air cell at this point is the reason for most
late hatch problems. From reading on the internet over
the last 20 some days I have found that everyone that
has success hatching Muscovy's in an incubator
ignores the common advice of having high humidity
during the first 30 days of incubation. And makes sure
the eggs have a good air flow during the last two weeks.

I have a cheep Walmart scale and a mag light for candling.
I have kept track of weight and size of air cell on paper
since I started incubating. That gave me a 20 to 25% humidity.
With no water in the incubator the eggs are still a little heavy.



The advice for air cell size seems to be based on what the largest for a
good hatch can be, not what is optimal or with any reference to what
it minimal. I have read of good hatches with 20% weight loss at 15%
humidity.

As far as I have read 31 to 33 days is when to lock down the
eggs and raise the humidity to prevent the chicks from sticking to the
membrane. A lot of people lower the temp from 1/2 to 5 degrees
depending on where you read. Also the eggs need a lot of air there
Oxygen demand goes way up as they start to move. Make sure the
vents are open even at the expense of humidity. The chicks can survive
a little dehydration but suffocation will get them for sure.
Spraying the eggs twice a day with cold water is a common suggestion.
The chick has to move itself around to be able to brake the
air cell and start piping. If the eggs move around this will be harder to do.
Also if the air cell is to small (the chick did not loose enough weight) it
will not be able to move around because there is not enough space in
the egg.

Why do Muscovy eggs act different than other duck eggs?

I have't been able to prove this yet, but I have a hunch.

1.
Muscovy's come from south America and can live in dry climates.
Might be why the eggs have more water in them than Mallard
based ducks.

2. The eggs have more fat in them increase in heat might
increase oxygen demand.

3. Incubation is longer, again more need for water and higher oxygen demand.

Good luck!
Would love to know how they are doing....