Do you have a projector? I heard that helps, the beam is very strong.

Humidity consistency is very important. I've always mist the eggs after turning them starting about the 8Th day. According to my notes the humidity was 85% & Temp 99.5F from day 1 to day 25 there after increase humidity to 95% and drop temp to 98.5F for the last 3 days. Turn the eggs 3 x day first week, then 5 x day second week, then 7 x day to day 25-finish the last 3 days without turning. when you candle the eggs at 28 days, you should be able to see 3/5Th dark 2/5 should appear light. The dark side should have an irregular shape and the bill should be pointing up into the lighter side. You should be able to see movement and hear peeping. All birds can lay eggs with or without a male; so the answer is no. There are a lot of things you'll need to know before the next batch is set. How to store the eggs before setting them-What temp to store at-Turning the stored eggs-to clean or not to clean (how to do it correctly)-how long they can be stored? How to prepare the incubator-cleaning/disinfecting it? Washing your hands before and after handling the eggs. As you see the questions can go on and on. Google "hatching Duck Eggs". Check out the sites that are sponsored by an University or State. Many of the hatcheries have good info also. Hope this helps-Good Luck-Virgil

Indigo, it is always a 50/50 thing on removing a failed nest. Some say they will not rebuild where a nest has failed. Do you have another box up? You could try to move it a little if you don't I lost one clutch to Wrens, I took the nest out, they re nested in another box within a week. The one thing we say we can always be sure of with our Blues is that you can never be sure of anything! It's not really a sad day, they have plenty of time for babies. Look at it this way...pop is going to get lucky an extra time this year! It has been said birds do not have the ability to mourn??? I believe I lost my male mid nesting last season as I did not see him for several days then "he" showed up again but did not feed the babies, this was probably a new male and Mom didn't miss a beat.

Lisa, I wondered if Mama's recent pattern of being out of the box a lot was her attempt to slow down the hatching during cold, damp weather. But don't the eggs have to be kept at a constant temp? I dusted off my 'Handbook of Bird Biology' (got the book & the course; haven't started the course yet)... It says "...long periods of inclement weather can prolong incubation by a day or two.." and "If all the eggs in a nest fail to hatch, the stimulus of moving nestlings is not present to change the adult's behavior from 'incubation' to 'care of the young,' and a bird may may continue to incubate the eggs for two or even three times its normal period before finally deserting them." YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!! I wonder if the fact that Mama laid 2 infertile eggs out of 4 last time (and 1 egg where the chick was stuck to the shell) could indicate that there is something wrong this time. She only had one brood here last year and then the pair went elsewhere. However, later in the season, Daddy Blue brought 4 or 5 fledglings to our mealworm feeder and Mama was with them so I assume they are hers. And if I wasn't concered enough, the weather forecast for the nest 4 days (starting tomorrow) shows heavy rains and thunderstorms. ::sigh:: This is an example of the price we pay for loving these blue beauties. Bluebird blessings, Linda...