Duck Incubation Humidity?

I feel your confusion! I am on day four of my first incubation and I'm still learning, but this is what I got from Holderread's book + information I got from Toadbriar (I bought my eggs from her):

Days 1-25 - Humidity of 55%. If your eggs were washed, more like 60%. Toadbriar doesn't really watch humidity so much as pay attention to the size of the air cell when she candles her eggs. If the air cells are too large for the day of incubation, you increase the humidity. If they are too small, you decrease humidity.

Days 26-28 - Humidity up to 80% or as high as you can get it without fogging up the window on the incubator.

I think I have this right, but hopefully more experienced people will chime in. So far my eggs seem to developing nicely. :)

when you read 86% and so on it usually is where the original source was using WET BULB TEMPERATURE .. so it would read 86 ºF on a wet bulb thermometer.. however when others quoted it they would leave off the  "ºF" and it later got skewed to being "%" since it was a humidity reading

I have had success over the years with dry incubating ducks and geese (only raising the humidity once the first eggs internally pip)

using the air cell will be your best gauge of the humidity.. if the air cell is getting too big too fast .. raise the humidity

if you go ahead and use something like 86% humidity for incubation you will end up with eggs that have tiny air cells and drowned ducklings

I do mist and cool duck eggs as incubation progresses.. but the misting and cooling is not to raise the humidity.. it's for cooling the eggs and embryos

my latest hatchlings.. 10 giant pekins.. along with a few little chicks (all eggs were misted and cooled during incubation.. even those couple of chicks.. didn't harm them any .. though I usually do not mist chicken eggs!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by yinepu 

my latest hatchlings.. 10 giant pekins.. along with a few little chicks (all eggs were misted and cooled during incubation.. even those couple of chicks.. didn't harm them any .. though I usually do not mist chicken eggs!)

 

Sweet pic Congratulations!! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jessellebond 

Oh my!!!  How darling =)  My other question, is it okay if my temps fluctuate minimally between 98-100?  sometimes i'll catch it dipped down, and crank it a tad... will stay at 99 for a bit, then creep to 100, crank it down 99.. and so forth.  I finally got my humidity down to a good range that i'm happy with =)  if the slight fluctuations are okay, then maybe we can start some eggs soon!!!! =D

So long as the internal egg temp stays about the same you will be fine.. they can handle small air temp fluctuations.. what harms them is long periods of temp spikes which alter the temp of the embryo to dangerous levels

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Lydia 

Sweet pic Congratulations!! 

thanks.. we have been hatching out a lot of ducklings this year