Ozark Bantams: Our Blog

This page was created to chronicle the incubation and egg development process. For this particular hatch, I’ll be using 7 call duck eggs which will be artificially incubated in a Brinsea Mini Advance incubator. Prior to setting the eggs, the temperature in the incubator was programmed to 99.5 degrees and relative humidity was established at 50%. Two or three days before the hatch, the automatic egg turning feature will stop and the humidity will be increased to roughly 65%. Throughout the incubation period, I will occasionally candle the eggs to monitor their development, take photos of the growing embryos, and then post those images to this page. In other words, I’m creating a photo journal of the eggs as they develop, chronicling their growth up to and during hatch. To do this, I’ll be using a basic digital camera and the new Brinsea OvaScope – an easy to use, yet high-intensity egg candler. If you’re interested in learning more about Brinsea’s quality incubators and other avian products, visit the Brinsea web site today!

.

.

Day 1: March 8, 2010

I began incubating 7 call duck eggs today. The eggs were gathered from our small flock of white call ducks during the preceding week. The photo below was taken of one of those eggs right before they were set in my new Brinsea Mini Advance incubator. If all goes well, the eggs should hatch within 26 to 27 days (i.e. the incubation period for call ducks).

.

.

Day 4: March 12, 2010

As of today, all 7 call duck eggs are developing. The photo below shows the embryo’s early development. As you can see, the Brinsea OvaScope does an excellent job of candling the egg even at this early stage. The dark area near the upper right side of the egg is the beginning of the circulatory system and blood vessels radiate out from this area.

.

.

Day 7: March 15, 2010

As you can see in the photo below, the blood vessels continue to expand throughout the egg. The dark area seen in the center of the egg is the actual developing embryo. When viewed with the Brinsea OvaScope, the embryo can actually be seen moving. As of today, all 7 call duck eggs are developing as expected.

.

.

Day 13: March 21, 2010

Today marks the halfway point of the incubation period. Fortunately, all 7 call duck eggs continue to develop. As you can see from the photo below, the egg has become much darker as the embryo continues to develop. At this stage in the incubation, the air cell has expanded as the egg looses moisture and the duckling can be seen moving a great deal.

.

.

Day 27: April 5, 2010

The call ducklings began pipping about 36 hours ago. By this morning, all 7 call ducklings had hatched. In other words, I got a 100% hatch rate with the Brinsea Mini Advance. I attribute the success of this hatch to two factors. Firstly, the Brinsea Mini Advance maintained the correct temperature and humidity throughout the duration of the hatch. Secondly, the incubator’s automatic egg turner rotated the call duck eggs on their side which is essential for successful incubation of waterfowl eggs. You can see the call ducklings during hatch in the photo below.