Please help! New to hatching! Day 27 and no pips!

[bluekii]

Hello!

Would really appreciate some feedback and advice as I'm really nervous and worried about my first incubation. I have double and triple checked advice and information online to make sure everything goes smoothly, but I'm still worried. Anxiety is nasty!

I am hatching six Call Duck eggs and they have all grown wonderfully, candled them throughout their growth and saw no problems. I have been turning them three times a day, and they are now currently in lockdown since the 16th April. I am on day 27, and I am aware I may have put them on lock-down a day early (I got dates mixed up).
The eggs have been shaking and moving slightly, but no huge movement, no noises and no pips yet. Sometimes they go ages without moving, too. I have not removed the lid at all since lock-down.

The temperature throughout the incubation has been at 37.4°C, and I have lowered it to 36.4°C for lock-down.

I am using a Brinesea Mini II Eco Incubator. It's my first incubator and the cheapest (but most decent quality wise for the price) I could get. It doesn't have any way to read the humidity, but according to the manual, both water pots in the middle should be full at lock-down. The water pots are filled via a little pot you fill outside the incubator, and there is a tube which sucks the water into the internal pots in the middle of the incubator. I've been putting room temperature water into the incubator.
Now this is where I am worried - I have no idea how to measure the humidity and I have no idea if the chicks are struggling to break through the membranes internally or not. I am too frightened to take them out to candle them to check because I have heard it does more damage than good. The key is to stay patient but I don't want to stand idle when they could be potentially drowning because I put too much water into the incubator.

What should I do?

Many thanks in advance.​

 

[BYCforlife]

I haven't incubated much, but I can tell you that it would be hard to drown the eggs. Your temperature was the tiniest amount on the low side, so they eggs could take a little longer to hatch. Good luck!

 

[bluekii]

I haven't incubated much, but I can tell you that it would be hard to drown the eggs. Your temperature was the tiniest amount on the low side, so they eggs could take a little longer to hatch. Good luck!

Thanks for your reply, I've upped the temperature to 36.5°C.

There are still no pips and no noise coming from the eggs either.
Eggs are shaking and rocking slightly, but this isn't often.​

 

[bluekii]

I'd really appreciate multiple thoughts and opinions on the matter, it's day 28 today and there's still no clear signs of any pips and no sounds either.​

 

[Absolutely Quackers]

I'd really appreciate multiple thoughts and opinions on the matter, it's day 28 today and there's still no clear signs of any pips and no sounds either.​

HI - I have hatched call duck eggs for the last 2 years and they are tricky! They often go a day or two over hatch date so don't worry. Absolutely DO NOT OPEN the incubator now. The temp is about right and you won't get the humidity too high. Call ducklings have little bills - part of their charm - but this doesn't help them much during hatching so they take loads of time. It's a lot of effort to break through the membranes and the ducklings rest a lot whilst they are doing this. That's why they don't move for a while - they are sleeping! You could go another 2 full days before anything will happen. Stick with this - it will be okay. Keep us posted how you get on - and good luck!

 

[bluekii]

HI - I have hatched call duck eggs for the last 2 years and they are tricky! They often go a day or two over hatch date so don't worry. Absolutely DO NOT OPEN the incubator now. The temp is about right and you won't get the humidity too high. Call ducklings have little bills - part of their charm - but this doesn't help them much during hatching so they take loads of time. It's a lot of effort to break through the membranes and the ducklings rest a lot whilst they are doing this. That's why they don't move for a while - they are sleeping! You could go another 2 full days before anything will happen. Stick with this - it will be okay. Keep us posted how you get on - and good luck!

Thank you so much, that has slightly put my mind at ease, I'll keep this thread updated.​

 

[chickens really]

Hello..I hatch Calls and lots of them. Keep waiting. All ducks are lazy hatchers and rest a lot between each process. If the eggs are moving they are getting into position to hatch. The only way they drown is if the air cell wasn't big enough while they pip the shell.

 

[bluekii]

Day 29 & still no external pips or noise coming from the eggs.

All five eggs have been wobbling on and off.

 

[bluekii]

Hello,

There's still no signs of pips.

The incubator is forced air & humidity is unknown (I don't have a humidity monitor with this incubator). Both pots are full of water inside the incubator.
Temperature is at 36.5°C for lockdown.

Eggs are moving and wobbling frequently but there's no pips or peeping coming from the shells.

Should I candle them and see if they have internally pipped or should I hold out? One of them died and I candled it and the air cell was pretty small...

 

[bluekii]

It is day 30 & there's still no sign of internal pipping. I candled them yesterday and none had got through the air cell yet. I have tried to lower the humidity to help grow the air cells.

No sound from the eggs still, but still some movement.

Please, advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm so worried.