HELP!! I'm at a loss. I ended up with 3 mostly developed duck eggs...

mick&cori

Chirping
8 Years
Jul 26, 2011
149
0
89
Central Indiana
Hi.

I've never had ducks, incubated ducks, etc.

My neighbor was bush-hogging a field and saw a female mallord fly out of the middle of the field. He was curious and got out to see what was going on. He found a nest with about a dozen eggs - only 3 of them had survived being ran over by the bush hog. The other ones that were broke showed the ducks were almost fully formed.

We are currently hatching some turkeys, guineas, and chickens in our 1502 sportsman. Our neighbor immediately brought the eggs to us to put in the incubator to at least give them a shot. Our hatch is coming this Saturday.

Do ducks need the same tempurature and humidity? Should I set the eggs at the same time I set the others? Do they need a pond or baby pool right away to swim in? Do mallards stay in the same area all year (I live in Indiana and it gets COLD in the winter.) I'm totally at a loss of what I should do, what feed they need, if they can be in the brooder with the other birds?

HELP!
 
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They will need the humidity to come up slowly the last couple days to be 70-75%.[/FONT]

And they need to be on their sides for hatch.


They don't need a pool right away. In fact, I don't let mine swim for a couple weeks. And even then it's in the bathtub.

Did you candle them by chance?
 
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They will need the humidity to come up slowly the last couple days to be 70-75%.[/FONT]

And they need to be on their sides for hatch.


They don't need a pool right away. In fact, I don't let mine swim for a couple weeks. And even then it's in the bathtub.

Did you candle them by chance?
I did candle them. They are developing.
 
Awesome! Run them at the same humidity as the other eggs, but then up it at lockdown. Can you tell how far along they are? (roughly)

How big an area does the dark blob cover.
 
So, when my neighbor looked at the other eggs that had been broken by his bush hog, he said they looked almost entirely developed. He said you could see the black "fluff" and their beaks and feet. He thinks they should hatch within the next week or so.
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The "black blob" fills the whole egg (except the air sac).

The eggs I have currently in the incubator are to hatch on May 19th (this Saturday). I was just going to set the duck eggs when I set the others and hope for the best. I've been watching them very closely, but I don't even know if they would try to pip if they are still being turned.
idunno.gif


If they do hatch, what am I supposed to feed them? When do they get water to swim in? Can they be in the brooder with my turkeys, guineas, and chickens that are all hatching at the same time?
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Do Mallords fly south for the winter? What am I supposed to do with them in the winter?

I'm so excited! I really hope they hatch, but I'm also very nervous because I have NO IDEA how to raise ducks.
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Thank you for all your help! I really appreciate it.
hugs.gif
 

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