The ducklings are exhausted. Hatching is hard work!
Duckling number 3 begins to hatch!
Duckling number 3 has hatched and number 4 is on its way.
Ducklings 1 and 2 are drying under the heat lamp.
Duckling number 3 joins the group. Usually you would leave the ducklings in the incubator until fully dry. However, in our case the incubator was equipped with an automatic egg turner and the ducklings were getting themselves into trouble by crawling up on top of the other eggs, getting stuck in the moving egg turner and moving too close to the hot heating element and motor.
Reading about it after the fact, you are supposed to stop turning the eggs about 3 days before they are due to hatch or at any signs of hatching to allow the ducklings to get situated. This would mean we should have turned off the automatic turner. Lucky in our case all turned out well.
A ducklings first drink—marbles are placed in the poultry water feeder so the newly hatched ducklings do not drown.
