Our duck embryos develop in the incubator for 4 weeks. They will hatch around May 2-3. The incubator keeps the eggs at 99.2 degrees F
and 55% humidity. In the wild, the mother duck will rotate the eggs several times per day. Our incubator rocks the eggs back and forth
so that they do not sit on one side during their entire development.

All pictures and videos are of our ducks.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Swimming and Visiting




Duck Names


11 Ducks Hatched:
Sunny, Zue Zue, Daisy, Atom,
George, Sleepy, Lexie, Squirtle, Delilah, Sugar, and Nemo

11 Ducks Hatched















It take hours and sometimes more than a day for each duck to hatch out of the shell. They use the egg tooth on their beak to break through the shell. They break through the shell in a full circle so that they can push out of the shell by popping the top off.
After hatching, the ducks spend several hours in the incubator drying off, fluffing their feathers, and warming up.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Eggs Day 27

Saturday and Sunday - no change since Friday
No eggs have hatched yet. The ducks are pushing on the air pocket, but there are no cracks in the egg shells yet.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Incubation Day 11








Embryo Movement Day 11

At 11 days (out of 27), the duck embryo can move on its own! In this video, the embryo starts out facing the right. This first video is darker because the egg has a blue/green shell.



In the second video, the embryo moves in and out of focus as it moves closer and farther away from the shell. This second video is brighter because the egg has a white shell.


Incubation Day 8

As of April 11, the duck embryos are about 1cm long. You can see the eye spot, backbone, and tail. The yolk has attached to one side of the shell and is covered with blood vessels. The blood is bringing the duck nutrients from the yolk and oxygen that has diffused through the egg shell. These blood vessels work similarly to the umbilical cord and placenta of humans.