Hatching Duck and Goose Eggs Start to Finish | Video Diary

My incubator is full of duck and goose eggs and it's hatching season on our farm. Watch as I take you on the complete journey from a bunch of eggs to a whole bunch of fluffy ducklings and goslings.

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Gold Shaw Farm
PO Box 225
Peacham, VT 05862

About Gold Shaw Farm: Gold Shaw Farm is more of a farm-in-progress than an honest-to-goodness farm. Our dream is that someday we are able to transform our 150+ acre parcel of land into a regenerative and productive homestead and farm.

[magsv]

After hatching many many ducklings i can say YOU NEED TO REFRAIN yourself from opening the incubator, Duckling need more humidity then chooks so its imperative to not open the incubator from day 26 till the end of day 29 and if you still have some that are pipping dont open the incubator till day 30. some can be late bloomers, the ducklings will last for up to 48 hours from the yolk they absorb, if you have an early bird you could possibly open up incubator very fast retrieve that duckling and close the lid fast, never leave that lid open regardless. you can also add a wet sponge away from any contact of eggs on day 26 this will help rise the humidity. we all make mistakes when we start incubating, i have lost many eggs due to my mistakes when i first started but now being a breeder of ducks and chickens and Quail i have learned to just not open the incubator so the baby's dont get shrink wrapped, Dont be put off just remember what happens and take it as a learning curve, hope this reads friendly as it is friendly advice as i love to see others breeding and incubating their own stock. Margie from Australia

[michaelconnolly]

My wife who was the science teacher. Retired now, was talking back to you on screen. She has hatched eggs every spring in her classroom. She was telling you that first group was still ok.

[charlottebyers-nichols]

I know it's hard to leave them alone while they're hatching but you need to. You also need to stop helping if you see blood coming, it means it still has a few hours if not a day to go, just moisten it every few hours to make sure it doesn't dry up. I say all this from experience, it's heartbreaking cuz you wish you could help them all but have to learn somehow.

[Nirrrina]

That is going to be one confused little duckling. First he thinks he's a duckling, then a human, then whatever that fuzzy monstrosity that my cats would probably love was & now he thinks he's a gosling.
Oh well the gosling's probably think he's their mommy now too.

[procrasy]

If the bird isn’t hatching on his own after a long while, don’t remove the shell. There are still blood vessels between him and it you will rip. You can however press gently the shell, like the mother would by sitting on the eggs. That does help often when the bird is too weak to finish hatching on his own.

[sixstar]

That little duck was kind of a butthole to the goslings. Super cute though, all of them. Poor Allison trying to save that one Gosling with the developmental defects. This channel always makes me smile, even though sometimes sad stuff happens in the farm there is always so much to bring joy, thank you guys so much for sharing so much of your lives with the world. Best wishes from Seattle, WA.

[bassemb]

Your wife has a motherly heart and I love watching her dote on all the animals. Congrats on the new hatchlings!

[afeminame]

You're adorable, like the real-life, adult version of Charlie Brown. I admire the fact that you're transparent about your failures/mishaps and you don't give up.

[shellfisheh]

Definitely cried along with Alison over losing that poor baby gosling. Farming can be hard on your heart sometimes, but you had lots of other successful hatches on the bright side! Looking forward to watching these guys and gals grow :)

[amyb]

Good morning Morgan! I am by no means an expert. I too, felt the pangs of restriction and needed to create!I have hatched quail once and have a second set in the "better" incubator. I was told that it was a mortal sin to open the incubator during lockdown because the rapid influx of cool dry air shrink wraps them in the shell with the inner membrane and they can't hatch. Maybe geese are more stalwart. So happy Allison was in the video. Sub mama duck was perfect and hysterical all at once. Thank you for being a unifying personality in the homesteading community.

[ilsehomburg]

I was watching this outside where my duck and her two babies are, and when your chick started to squeak she became very alarmed 😅

[rachelm]

My husband convinced me to get ducks because of you! We now have 33 birds altogether. 10 ducks, 21 chickens, and 2 geese! We love them all! Thank you for the videos, it has definitely helped us get our homestead started.

[ui]

When you're assisting hatching don't peel/break the shell as there are still crucial blood vessels running along the membrane. If you absolutely need to, shallowly drill a small hole where you think the chick is hatching so that it can breathe but don't do anymore than that. When the chick is absolutely ready to hatch, it'll manage on its own 99% of the time.

[sebbes]

Imagine the "parental shock" the adult birds will get when suddenly like 10+ little birds joins their flock out of nowhere :D

[kaje]

Awwww I always feel so bad for Allison when animals get sick or die. She loves them so much. Also the little duckling seems like it wants to be our new mischief queen!

[rosepomarico]

I remember when I first started hatching with one of those foam incubators! It doesn't take long b4 you want to move up, watch out! Now I have a cabinet incubator with three sets of chicken eggs, a set of turkey eggs and set off duck eggs all going. I let our goose sit on her own eggs this year so we'll see how she does.
If you give those goslings to your goose she'll take care of them and you won't have to brood them at all. They're incredibly good Mothers and will adopt babies all of sorts.

[morganthedeereman]

The video is so nice learning about how Ron Swanson started out

[IISheireenII]

I just went to my grandmothers funeral this morning. Sad doesn't even come close to how I felt.
Thank you for cheering me up with cute little baby birds <3

[seananderson]

You tripped the Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlet. It's like a 2nd much faster responding circuit breaker. You have a chance of surviving dropping a hair dryer into the bathtub with one.

[AmyJayOnTheWay]

I love your wife. That she cares so deeply is beautiful. You said in an older video she was becoming a nurse practitioner and I can totally see that. Her patients are lucky to have her. ❤️