Status Update - Almost Incubation Time

revans2003

Chirping
Sep 24, 2015
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Hello, long time no post
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I have finished the duck pond and added a little waterfall for waterfowl enjoyment and to prevent water stagnation

Here is the final product (Minus flowers and such, but that's a whole nother project)





Now onto incubator status.

I purchased a farm innovations forced air incubator (And egg turner) at TFS about a week ago. I spent this last week playing with the temp, putting two additional thermometers in and a hygrometer and as of last night I think its all dialed in!!!
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I have a thermometer at egg level on each side of the unit and the *almost* accurate one that came with the bator. After much experimenting and trial and error, I can consistently keep it between 99.0 and 100.1.
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I will post my plans for inbubation and questions later on, but wanted to update everyone on duck progress.
 
Thanks!

So slight change of plans..........we will be adopting two golden layer/khaki hens on Tuesday and me and my youngest daughter are over the moon excited!!

What type of food should I feed them? I'm all set up for ducklings but I wasn't ready to feed adults yet. As they are about to lay I know I need something with oyster in it. Can you please provide some suggestions?

The fertilized eggs are coming next week, so it will be an October of duck planning. Good thing I got the pond done......sheesh
 
Thanks!

So slight change of plans..........we will be adopting two golden layer/khaki hens on Tuesday and me and my youngest daughter are over the moon excited!!

What type of food should I feed them? I'm all set up for ducklings but I wasn't ready to feed adults yet. As they are about to lay I know I need something with oyster in it. Can you please provide some suggestions?

The fertilized eggs are coming next week, so it will be an October of duck planning. Good thing I got the pond done......sheesh
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A good layer feed, some free choice oyster shell on the side (a little dish - I always have to find something they won't tip over or poop in), fresh water are the basics. Something fresh is nice - I sprout wheat seeds, or offer bits of lettuce or other greens (except spinach - too much of it, I have read, can cause problems with calcium absorption, so I don't give that), in winter I give just a little bit of dry cat kibble, and thawed frozen peas are our big treat and the way I can get the ducks to follow me anywhere. I actually use it if I must get the ducks in quickly if a big storm pops up.
 
Awesome, thanks Amiga! I'll have pictures of the new girls tomorrow. The tentative names are nibbler and bubbles.
 
Hello Everyone!!

What a fun week it has been.

Bubbles and Nibbler have been adjusting to there new home. They were pretty upset when they got here and just huddled in a corner.
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Today is day 5 and they have really begun to relax, they are swimming in the pond now and eating the leafy treats we have been putting out for them. They are also much more mobile and have begun exploring.





Oh! I am so glad I spent so much time putting in and stressing about the sod growing...........I......uh did not realize that golden hybrids foraged..........ALOT...oh well.
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Also in interesting news, a hive of bees that lived nearby began using the pond as a water source and the flowers in the tree above as a pollination source. That problem.....resolved itself.....without human intervention.
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But enough about my layers, my eggs from Metzer farms came in and we are really REALLY excited about starting incubation.
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The bator is coming up to temp now and me and my daughters have candled the eggs to see what's happening. It looks like 3 of the eggs of detached air pockets and probably wont hatch, but we are going to try. 6 of the eggs have loose pockets so we will be trying a method of hatching them and the remaining 3 are fine (1 Jumbo Pekin and 2 Mallards
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OH! Final thought.....................Poultry Water Nipples ROCK!!!!


I will keep everyone updated!
 
They are finally calming down so I can get some close up shots

Bubbles on the left and nibbler on the right

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Got some work done in the pond. I have been doing ALOT of research and have been working with some local pond companies. I believe it is possible to build a filtration system for a duck pond that will require minimal/easy maintenance or more specifically will not require 100% water changes. I have two goldens and 12 eggs in the incubator and plans for two geese so I will need to find a way to filter my ponds.

I am working on the design but in the meantime I have the pump installed and recirculating the water for the moment.

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The pump is a dirty water sump pump that produces about 2000 GPH. It can handle solid material up to 1/2" and has been pumping duck poop soup up to the waterfall all day without issue. It's a bit gross but circulating the water does reduce the amount of times I have to completely drain and fill.

Here is a shot of all of the plumbing and the ball valve to control the water flow. When I first turned it on without the ball valve the pump blasted a geyser of duck poop soup 15 feet high. Of course this is ridiculous overkill for the small pond but once the other filter components are in it will be just right.

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In other news, the incubator is doing awesome! It is consistently maintaining a temp of 99.0 - 99.5 and the eggs all fit on the turners in the different positions I have them in.

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WOW! I have not hatched eggs yet, but look forward to it sometime in the future. Have you looked into building a filter for your pond? Lots of info out there.. I'm thinking about trying to locate the pump in the filter box, after the filter media so the pump is basically pumping clean(er) water and pulling water from the pond through the filter... I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work... yet anyway!
 

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