Help! Is this normal?

quackkquack_ said:

Hello again!
I've currently got two concerns about my Call duck eggs.

My first concern is about my egg, Newt, who will be hatching soon.
It's currently day 26 of incubation for Newt and hes moving a LOT in his egg, especially when I talk to him, but no internal pip yet. I know some Call ducks like to hatch on day 28 or so but Newt seems pretty ready so dunno why he hasn't absorbed the yolk and tried hatching yet.
I know it's probably normal for him not to hatch yet but that's not my only concern. My real concern is when I candled him earlier, he seemed to start shaking really fast, at least that's what it seemed like. Could that be a seizure or him just moving around?
One more thing about Newt. One side of his egg is blank and the other side has an O. He moves and wiggles around in the egg when I talk to him but he seems more active/moves more when hes on the O side rather than the blank side. I'm continuing to turn him until he internally pips. Would it be better if I just keep him on the O side or keep turning til he internally pips?
(Blank side = blank side up, O side = O side up)


Now about my other two eggs.
I've done everything the same with these two eggs as I've done with Newt.
I named both of them two, Tansy and Dapple. They are both currently on day 14.
Dapple's veins seem more grey than red and shes not very big. Although she is moving, she doesn't seem very active.
With Tansy, it looks like two things are forming in the egg. On the left side of the egg, you can see something moving around, the same thing on the right side of the egg. There is a long vein between the two moving things, I dunno if it's connecting the two moving figures, I couldn't tell.
Tansy's veins do seem more red than Dapple's veins though.

I do think they are both developing more slowly due to where they are in the incubator, I don't think they are getting as much warmth as Newt so I did move them closer to Newt although I don't understand why there are two moving figures in Tansy's egg.
I don't have any pictures but if needed I will provide them by tomorrow.

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BelovedBirds said:

So with Newt. Being on day 26 he should be in lockdown so that he can get into position for hatch. Some calls hatch around day 26, some perhaps a little later. But being on day 26 you definitely need to stop turning him. The shaking, sounds like he could be flinching? At this stage they tend to move in flutters, not having enough space to move around or rock. At this stage he should have filled the egg up, so I'm not sure why he is on one side and then the other?
The side he rests on only matters for the air cell- The air cell grows and dips down one side (draw down) before hatch, the side it dips down, which has more air cell, should be the side facing up. So the air cell is largest on the top side. Does that make sense? I can draw a diagram if I'm confusing you.

For Tansy and Dapple, can you take photos of both eggs being candled? Do you have a calibrated thermometer in your incubator? I expect what you're seeing in Tansy's egg, is her head and body. Sometimes it is hard to see the neck joining them, and you can see two blobs moving in a rocking motion. This sounds normal, but a photo of both eggs candled will help to confirm.

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SmiYa0126 said:

So, this helped me get my chicks to hatch, I found a you tube video of chicks peeping and looped it. I think it helped, the chicks were popping out like pop corn. I did have to help the first one, he was shrink wrapped and couldn't move in the egg.

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quackkquack_ said:

I think Newt may be on the correct side you are talking about, the side where you can see the air sac the most? I am slightly confused so maybe a diagram will help!
I also think Newt has moved into position already since he seems to be moving a lot. The egg was facing with the O completely up and he was moving a lot and now the O is kind of the side that's how much he had been rocking back and forth.

For Tansy and Dapple, here are pictures:
You can't really see much, it also got darker in the eggs the last time I candled them but there is movement still in both eggs. I tried to boost the brightness, tried to put filters on to make it brighter so you can see them but it didn't really work.
Tansy,
View attachment 3187313 View attachment 3187314

Dapple,
View attachment 3187311 View attachment 3187312

And no we don't have a calibrated thermometer but the reading is at 37.5°C.

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BelovedBirds said:

Okay, so basically, lots of incubators are inaccurate with temperature, yours seem quite on track, but if the temp is a little cooler, it can cause a longer incuabtion thus a later hatch-a calibrated thermometer is pretty important to make sure the temperature reading is correct- its the same mistake I made and my ducklings hatched a little bit late due to it.

With Dapple it is hard to see veins, but if you can see them in person, as well as movement, I wouldn't worry too much. Tansy seems to have a saddled air cell- which can sometimes cause issues but often times they can still hatch okay. @WVduckchick is great with hatching, and also hatches calls I believe. Not sure if she has dealt with saddled air cells before, but I'm unsure who else I could call in to advise.

For a diagram:
Hopefully this makes sense!!

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quackkquack_ said:

Thank yo

Thank you so much! The diagram made sense and helped! Newt actually has just started to make the internal pip ^^

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