Looky what i just did!*Update pics post #55!*Ducks have Hatched!!*

[critter crazy]

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/mjones77/Chickens/100_6972.jpg
I have 10 various duck eggs, and 30 Various chicken eggs in My incubaor! He he he he he! If they all hatch I will have 40 more birds!:eek:


http://tickers.tickerfactory.com/ezt/d/4;10718;121/st/20070403/e/Ducks%60Chickens+Hatch%21%21%21%21%21/k/6609/event.png
(http://www.tickerfactory.com/)

[Taz_Zoee]

Oh, we hatched chicken eggs when I was growing up. It's so neat. :D

[Kalei]

Oh that is so cool! I can't wait to see them hatch:D so exciting!

[BCollie_Kelly]

How cool! I can't wait to see some babies! :)

[Flatcoatluver]

You lucky duck! I really wanted to do this when I first got my baby ducklings. It turned out they were all male. Good Luck, please take videos if you catch them hatching.

[critter crazy]

You lucky duck! I really wanted to do this when I first got my baby ducklings. It turned out they were all male. Good Luck, please take videos if you catch them hatching.
Believe me, since this is my first hatch ever, I will watch this like a hawk, with camera ready! They still have a ways to yet before they hatch, but I atill stare at the darn thing all day long!:D

[animal_rescue]

Awww good luck! I wish I could do that same.

[tikeyas_mom]

oh wow that is soo cool!!!! I cant wait to see the process!!! I hope they all hatch!!

[critter crazy]

Gosh! I am getting nothing done, I keep staring at that darn incubator! I dont know how I am gonna last the next couple of weeks!:eek:

[Genny]

NEAT! We had a duck lay 12 eggs last year and they all hatched! She was a great mom! They are so much fun to play with! I love baby ducks I don't think there is anything cuter than a little tiny baby duck!

[Genny]

oh and what kind of ducks are they gonna be?

[critter crazy]

oh and what kind of ducks are they gonna be?
all I know for sure is two Mallards, other than that not sure, just a mixed lot.

[Taz_Zoee]

It really is a neat thing to see. You have children, right?? I hope they are there when it happens to witness it as well. I was pretty young when we use to do this, and I still remember it vividly. :D :D :D

[critter crazy]

It really is a neat thing to see. You have children, right?? I hope they are there when it happens to witness it as well. I was pretty young when we use to do this, and I still remember it vividly. :D :D :D
Oh yes the kids are overly excited as well! I hope that they are here to see, otherwise I will have two very dissapointed boys!:eek:

[Taz_Zoee]

I guess the next best thing would be if you have a video camera to record it for them....and us! LOL Yeah, they'll still be disappointed, but at least they'd get to see it happen.
And the waiting is the hardest part....so good luck with that. hee hee :D

[critter crazy]

I guess the next best thing would be if you have a video camera to record it for them....and us! LOL Yeah, they'll still be disappointed, but at least they'd get to see it happen.
And the waiting is the hardest part....so good luck with that. hee hee :D
I already have the camera on the ready, which takes Videos too. But I know darn well these guys are gonna hatch while i am sleeping or something! Just to make me mad! he he he! always works that way!:D

[Kalei]

So how do you know around what time they hatch? Do they have a certain time it takes to hatch? Or is it just a thing where you just can never know until they just do? lol, sorry for all the questions. I find this soooo interesting! I can't wait to see the little babies!!:D

[Taz_Zoee]

It's too bad you can't get like a security camera that would be on all the time. As for while you are sleeping, I might even go to the extreme of having a baby monitor so I could hear if there is any movement. But I'm silly like that. :p
You've got a lot of eggs there, I would hope they wouldn't ALL hatch during the night. That would be a bummer!! We had an incubator that only held 10 - 12 eggs.

[critter crazy]

So how do you know around what time they hatch? Do they have a certain time it takes to hatch? Or is it just a thing where you just can never know until they just do? lol, sorry for all the questions. I find this soooo interesting! I can't wait to see the little babies!!:D
Duck eggs take approximately 28 days to hatch, some duck breeds take up to 38 days. Chicken eggs take approximately 21 days to hatch. I will be candling the eggs next week to see if any are viable. At day 7 if you candle eggs, you should be able to tell if the eggs are fertile, and should have a spidery vein starting to appear. Some eggs are hard to do this with, the darker the egg, the harder to tell. Candling, is a simple task of shinning a bright light into the eggs.

here is a site, so you can see what i am talking about
Candling (http://www.homestead.com/shilala/candling.html)

[Kalei]

Duck eggs take approximately 28 days to hatch, some duck breeds take up to 38 days. Chicken eggs take approximately 21 days to hatch. I will be candling the eggs next week to see if any are viable. At day 7 if you candle eggs, you should be able to tell if the eggs are fertile, and should have a spidery vein starting to appear. Some eggs are hard to do this with, the darker the egg, the harder to tell. Candling, is a simple task of shinning a bright light into the eggs.

here is a site, so you can see what i am talking about
Candling (http://www.homestead.com/shilala/candling.html)

Hey! Thank you so much for showing me that site. I read it all on Candling and it is very neat and so interesting. So i'm guessing you will be candling them soon? Do eggs usually become bad if the are moved too much?

lol as you can tell I know nothing about eggs. :o

[king2005]

How exciting!

A kids father brought in chicken eggs for the week they were due when I was in grade 4. I remember them starting to hatch shortly after school was out (a bunch of us always stayed late to talk to our teacher & help her clean up & get ready for the next day)... All the chicks hatched at the same time.. it was soooo neat... We all called our parents to let them know we were gonna be extra extra late as the chicks were hatching & we wanted to watch!

I'll never forget it, just like I'll never forget working with Ducks Unlimited & getting to hold a duck & setting it free (they were being tagged & sexed)...

[chocolatepuppy]

How exciting! I hope you are there when they hatch! I'd be a nervous wreck waiting! :D

[Taz_Zoee]

How are the eggs doing?

[BC_MoM]

Haha, wow! :eek:
Can't wait to see all the pictures you'll have to take for us after they hatch! ;)

[critter crazy]

Welll, we have about 16 days left. The other day I candled about 1/3 of the eggs(couldnt do them all, as Incubator would loose too much heat and humididty)out of the 1/3 I candled, all were Alive!! woohoo!!! That is awsome news! So there is a great chance that I could have all 40 eggs hatch!:D I am getting way too excited!! This week I am going to be getting my Large brooder box all set up.

[Taz_Zoee]

Awww, they'll be born right after my bday. LOL Those will be special little ducks and chicks. :D

[critter crazy]

Chickens are making some noise!!! They should hatch either today or tomarrow!! I am so excited!! I can hear little peeps!! woohoo!!!:D

[Argranade]

YAY!

I love seeing baby chicks, as does EVERYONE LOL,

At my auction you can buy boxes and boxes of them in the summer,

This year I plan on buying a small baby call duck, probably 2 of them. :D

[koxka]

Chickens are making some noise!!! They should hatch either today or tomarrow!! I am so excited!! I can hear little peeps!! woohoo!!!

I hope you catch them while hatching!!! :D

[king2005]

keep those camera batteries charged & the camera near by!!
YAY babies!!

[critter crazy]

The camera is sitting right next to the incubator, fully charged. I have no plans of going anywhere! I even have a bed in my living room set up, next to the incubator. Me and rocky have been laying there off and on all day long, hoping for something to happen!:D

[Kalei]

Yay! I"m so excited:D I can't wait to see the wittle babies!:D:D:D

[Flatcoatluver]

How exciting! Good luck!

[critter crazy]

Ooooo.....One of the eggs has Pipped!! Which means the Chick is starting to break through the shell!! Yay!! I am so excited!! Still could be a few hours, before it comes out tho. All this darn waiting is driving me batty!!:D

[king2005]

oooo I'm so excited!!!

[critter crazy]

Oooo....another egg has pipped!! No chicks yet, but they are conversing with eachother!:D

[chocolatepuppy]

Yay! Chicks on their way! :cool:

[critter crazy]

we now have 4 egs that have pipped, still no chicks yet, but quite the onversations have been going on! he he he he! Cheep Cheep Cheep!:D

[critter crazy]

First chick is out!!! Woohoo! we have a baby!!! I was able to catch it on video!! Yeah!! will post more later, once more hatch!:cool:

[critter crazy]

The pics arent that great, as the viewing window of the incubator is plastic, but I was able to take pics of our first baby hatching!

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/mjones77/Chickens/100_7879.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/mjones77/Chickens/100_7884.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/mjones77/Chickens/100_7886.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/mjones77/Chickens/100_7888.jpg

More to come as they hatch!:D

[Argranade]

OMG AwwwWWWwww!

That's way to darn cute lol, do you think you'll have them following you around the house? LMAO!

I'll be waiting for more picks, also please do show this chick again with dry feathers. :D

[critter crazy]

We now have two more chicks out!! Woohoo!! Boy are they making some noise, hopefully they can convince the others to come out now!:D

[Kalei]

Yay this is so exciting! I can't wait to see more:D

[Lori Jordan]

Oh wow how exciting!!!!Any more babies yet?Are the babies eating on there own yet(the ones that have been born)Keep the pictures coming this is exciting even for me lol!

[critter crazy]

We have one more out, and one more well on its way!

The first 24 hours, they are exhausted from breaking out if their shell, so they mostly sleep. i wont expect to see them even try to eat or drink till sometime tomarrow.

[Lori Jordan]

We have one more out, and one more well on its way!

The first 24 hours, they are exhausted from breaking out if their shell, so they mostly sleep. i wont expect to see them even try to eat or drink till sometime tomarrow.

What do they eat?I grew up on a farm lol but only had hens we never had any babies,just had them for the eggs.I remember we had Ganders but i was always affraid of them they used to chase us kids around,I remember looking out the door before i stepped outside lol,I was petrified lol.

My husband used to drive transport until he had his back injury,He used to take me to this nice little park where there was all kinds of Geese,Ganders(lol)Swans even little rabbits running around.

I was feeding the geese,This gander came along i was trying to feed it but when it went to grab the bread i would pull my hanf away i did not want to get bit,Well it started to flap its wings i dropped the rest of the bred and walked away lol.

[Flatcoatluver]

How awsome, I can feel your excitement from over here! I can't wait to see more pictures and a video!

[Chilli]

Aww, Congratulations!! :D:D
I can tell this is so incredibly exciting for you.. and its even exciting for me! PT's very own babies. ^_^

[critter crazy]

What do they eat?I grew up on a farm lol but only had hens we never had any babies,just had them for the eggs.I remember we had Ganders but i was always affraid of them they used to chase us kids around,I remember looking out the door before i stepped outside lol,I was petrified lol.

My husband used to drive transport until he had his back injury,He used to take me to this nice little park where there was all kinds of Geese,Ganders(lol)Swans even little rabbits running around.

I was feeding the geese,This gander came along i was trying to feed it but when it went to grab the bread i would pull my hanf away i did not want to get bit,Well it started to flap its wings i dropped the rest of the bred and walked away lol.

The Chicks eat a special Chick feed.

We have a total of 6 chicks hatched now, with two more on the way.

[king2005]

What do they eat?I grew up on a farm lol but only had hens we never had any babies,just had them for the eggs.I remember we had Ganders but i was always affraid of them they used to chase us kids around,I remember looking out the door before i stepped outside lol,I was petrified lol.

My husband used to drive transport until he had his back injury,He used to take me to this nice little park where there was all kinds of Geese,Ganders(lol)Swans even little rabbits running around.

I was feeding the geese,This gander came along i was trying to feed it but when it went to grab the bread i would pull my hanf away i did not want to get bit,Well it started to flap its wings i dropped the rest of the bred and walked away lol.

Sorry thats kind of funny & the same thing happened to me with a HUGE goose. I have no idea what kind it was, but it was big & grey.. That thing chased me all over the place, bit me & finally chased me up a slide.. stupid thing couldn't get me up there... My little sister had to go get our dog to scare the goose off, so I could escape lol

Darn thing had to stand like 4' tall!! I swear!! ;) :D

[critter crazy]

Well we have 11 hatched now!! Hopefully more o the way.:)

[Lori Jordan]

Yay!!!

[critter crazy]

we had two late bloomer show up Sat morning!! he he he he he! beter late than never! So a total of 13 chicks! not too bad, just about a 50% hatch, which is the norm for incubator hatching.:)

And we have 3 duck eggs that have pipped, so hopefully tomarrow we will have baby ducks!;)

[chocolatepuppy]

This is so much fun, I bet you're really enjoying watching all of those babies hatch! Can't wait to see the ducks. :D

[critter crazy]

We have our First Duck!!! Yay!! we have a little yellow Quacker!!:D

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/mjones77/Chickens/100_8000.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/mjones77/Chickens/100_7999.jpg

[cassiesmom]

Critter Crazy, would there be any reason why they would not all hatch? (What would cause a chick or duck to not survive all the way to hatching?) You mentioned that they're exhausted from breaking out of their shells ... do you ever have to help one break out? I think I read somewhere that the chick needs to use all its muscles and strength to break itself out, and that it can be bad for the chick to be assisted too much.

When our office was in the old location, we had a pair of Canada geese. We called them Mother and Gander. They made a nest in our parking lot, on a little island under a tree. Stubborn Mother sat out there in the cold, wind, rain - we couldn't figure out why she wouldn't have put it in a more protected location. But there it was. Gander was such a meanie to people trying to walk from the parking lot to the office that we had to warn people not to park too close to them. We had 4 babies that year. They were little green fluff balls at first and it was so cute how they followed Mother around, and Gander followed them. The following year the nest was built in a new place, but the mother goose disappeared from it and the eggs didn't survive. We weren't sure if she got hit by a car or an animal got her. In our current location the 'geese police' keep them on the move so they can't start setting up nests. They sure are big.

[critter crazy]

Critter Crazy, would there be any reason why they would not all hatch? (What would cause a chick or duck to not survive all the way to hatching?) You mentioned that they're exhausted from breaking out of their shells ... do you ever have to help one break out? I think I read somewhere that the chick needs to use all its muscles and strength to break itself out, and that it can be bad for the chick to be assisted too much.

When our office was in the old location, we had a pair of Canada geese. We called them Mother and Gander. They made a nest in our parking lot, on a little island under a tree. Stubborn Mother sat out there in the cold, wind, rain - we couldn't figure out why she wouldn't have put it in a more protected location. But there it was. Gander was such a meanie to people trying to walk from the parking lot to the office that we had to warn people not to park too close to them. We had 4 babies that year. They were little green fluff balls at first and it was so cute how they followed Mother around, and Gander followed them. The following year the nest was built in a new place, but the mother goose disappeared from it and the eggs didn't survive. We weren't sure if she got hit by a car or an animal got her. In our current location the 'geese police' keep them on the move so they can't start setting up nests. They sure are big.
There are many reasons why Chicks dont hatch. One the chick might have health issues, making it too weak to break out of the shell. There could also be issues with wrong temperature and humidity. There are many reasons. And unfortunately nothing you can do about it. If they dont hatch, there is usually a good reason, it just wasnt meant to be. I feel bad about it, but I can only do so much

As far as helping chicks, it is discouraged. If you help a chick hatch, it could be too early, and the chick wasnt ready yet, there fore making the chick Vulnerable. If a chick dosent have enough power to hatch out of the shell on its own, it will likely be a weak chick, and wont survive! So best to leave them on their own.

I had one of my chicks, die during hatching, poor little guy only got his beak out, and just didnt make it any further. It was quite sad.

[chocolatepuppy]

Yay! A little duckie! Just in time for Easter! How adorable! :D

[Alysser]

They are so cute!! :D

[lute]

They are so adorable! I can't wait to see more pics!!! :D