Duck Eggs in Lockdown - Any Tips for Hatching and Brooding?

[Cerise1924]

Good morning! I usually hatch chicks in the spring, either in incubators or with a broody, but this year I am trying to hatch duck eggs for the first time. We had ducks when I was a child, so I have some memories of caring for them, but have never hatched any before.

I received 15 Mallard eggs by post. I was unable to get any of my chickens to go broody, so I am going to have to be Mama Duck. I have two small Janoel incubators, which have worked very well in the past. On Day 7, I candled and found two duck eggs with blood rings, so I tossed those. On Day 14, all remaining 13 eggs showed movement. Even candling at Day 25, just before lockdown, I could see movement in just about all the eggs.

My concerns are that two of the eggs have abnormally large air cells. What's odd is that they share an incubator with eggs that have appropriately-sized air cells, so I did not feel that adjusting the humidity was a good move. Thoughts?

It's Day 26. Last night, I stopped turning eggs, raised the humidity to around 75 percent, and dropped the temp to about 98.5. One incubator has only 4 eggs; the other has 9. With chicks, I remove them as they hatch, using warm wet paper towels or sponges to keep the humidity from dropping when I open the incubator. Is it best to leave the ducklings in the incubator as they hatch? Even if there are nine in a very small incubator?

With chicks, I can hear them peeping in the shell once they pip. Do ducklings make sounds from inside the shell that I might hear?

I have a very small brooder in the house, because I wasn't expecting a large hatch. They breeder sent extra eggs, and so far it looks like it may be a surprisingly high hatch rate. How much space do I need for ducklings in the first week? I am working on building a larger brooder, in case most of the eggs hatch. Are ducklings really as messy as I hear? Am I going to be sorry that they are in the house? There is no electricity in our coops or barn, only in the house.

Thanks for any advice you can give to a novice duck-hatcher! I'm sure I'll have more questions as the days go by.

Take care, all
-Cerise

 

[SamuelMcF]

You can also hear ducklings inside the egg. This is a good sign!

The biggest tip I have for someone moving from hatching chicks to ducklings is to be patient! Because ducks take a lot longer, at least mine always have. And I was always used to chicks that hatch relatively fast so I always thought something was wrong but it isn't. It is not unheard of for ducklings to pip and still not hatch for 48 hours or more. So keep that in mind. I do not take them out of the incubator until all have hatched. Their yolk keeps them full for 2-3 days without any problem.

Some eggs are more porous than others and will lose moisture quicker especially if laid by older ducks. That is probably the case on the ones that have larger air cells. You did the right thing in not adjusting for them and focusing on the majority. They will probably still be ok. I see more problems in eggs that did not have enough moisture loss.

Ducklings are super messy because they waste a lot of food and play so much in the water. If they have a larger space it helps to keep them clean and not as messy in general. But they don't get too messy until a few days old. If you need them in a smaller brooder for the first couple of days it won't be a problem.

Good luck and happy hatching!!

 

[Cerise1924]

You can also hear ducklings inside the egg. This is a good sign!

The biggest tip I have for someone moving from hatching chicks to ducklings is to be patient! Because ducks take a lot longer, at least mine always have. And I was always used to chicks that hatch relatively fast so I always thought something was wrong but it isn't. It is not unheard of for ducklings to pip and still not hatch for 48 hours or more. So keep that in mind. I do not take them out of the incubator until all have hatched. Their yolk keeps them full for 2-3 days without any problem.

Some eggs are more porous than others and will lose moisture quicker especially if laid by older ducks. That is probably the case on the ones that have larger air cells. You did the right thing in not adjusting for them and focusing on the majority. They will probably still be ok. I see more problems in eggs that did not have enough moisture loss.

Ducklings are super messy because they waste a lot of food and play so much in the water. If they have a larger space it helps to keep them clean and not as messy in general. But they don't get too messy until a few days old. If you need them in a smaller brooder for the first couple of days it won't be a problem.

Good luck and happy hatching!!

Thank you so much, SamuelMcF! I really appreciate your well-informed and detailed reply. It's very reassuring. I'm glad to know in advance to just be extra patient with duck eggs, and to just let them be in the incubator for a good long while.

Also good to know that I have a little time to get a larger brooder sorted out.

Thanks again!! I'll be listening for duckling noises from those eggs.

 

[DuckyDonna]

It sounds like you're doing a good job so just be patient like @SamuelMcF said.

I do not leave my ducklings in the incubator once they rest and really start trying to move around and have totally separated from their shells. It's never ended badly for me or the ducklings. I also take out the empty yucky shells so the others have more room and it's not so gross.

Since you're going to have quite a few you might want to get a kiddie swimming pool for a brooder. If you stand up cardboard around it they won't be able to climb out. Also, this picture shows you some watering ideas. They will need to dunk their whole heads in the water to clean their eyes and nares but not be able to get in it. They will drown if that happens.

The pan under the water dish is just a rectangular thing with hardware cloth on the top and then shelf liner from the Dollar Tree to make it softer on their little webbies. I put puppy pads over pine shavings which makes clean up a snap. When they get bigger I just use pine shavings.

 

[Cerise1924]

Thank you so much, @DuckyDonna ! The pictures are wonderful. Your ducklings are adorable I was exactly planning on a kiddie pool brooder with cardboard siding! That worked for me pretty well when I had a larger number of chicks to brood in the house.

The feeder you show looks like what I've used for chicks, but your water system is entirely different to what I've used before, and it's ingenious! I do have a plastic butter tub that I can cut holes in for a duck waterer. Having more than one seems like a good idea. I also love the pan and wire and shelf liner set up! I'll need to look around and see what I've got so I can rig something like that.

Thanks again!!

I am sure I'll be back needing more advice. But this gives me some great tips and confidence to move ahead with the brooder building.

 

[SamuelMcF]

It sounds like you're doing a good job so just be patient like @SamuelMcF said.

I do not leave my ducklings in the incubator once they rest and really start trying to move around and have totally separated from their shells. It's never ended badly for me or the ducklings. I also take out the empty yucky shells so the others have more room and it's not so gross.

Since you're going to have quite a few you might want to get a kiddie swimming pool for a brooder. If you stand up cardboard around it they won't be able to climb out. Also, this picture shows you some watering ideas. They will need to dunk their whole heads in the water to clean their eyes and nares but not be able to get in it. They will drown if that happens.

The pan under the water dish is just a rectangular thing with hardware cloth on the top and then shelf liner from the Dollar Tree to make it softer on their little webbies. I put puppy pads over pine shavings which makes clean up a snap. When they get bigger I just use pine shavings.
View attachment 2124046
View attachment 2124079

Those waterers are fantastic! I saw some commercial ones with a design like that but they wanted 35 bucks for them! I am definitely going to make me some like this.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Thank you so much, @DuckyDonna ! The pictures are wonderful. Your ducklings are adorable I was exactly planning on a kiddie pool brooder with cardboard siding! That worked for me pretty well when I had a larger number of chicks to brood in the house.

The feeder you show looks like what I've used for chicks, but your water system is entirely different to what I've used before, and it's ingenious! I do have a plastic butter tub that I can cut holes in for a duck waterer. Having more than one seems like a good idea. I also love the pan and wire and shelf liner set up! I'll need to look around and see what I've got so I can rig something like that.

Thanks again!!

I am sure I'll be back needing more advice. But this gives me some great tips and confidence to move ahead with the brooder building.

Glad you liked the ideas, I have a progression of waterers because they go through them quickly because they grow so darn fast! Here are some more ideas for later on. I've got feeder progressions too and all are homemade except the first one.

After the cool whip containers I go to the milk jug and then the jug within the basin.

My adult waters are laundry soap buckets

 

[Cerise1924]

This is fabulous, @DuckyDonna ! It's good to have ideas for the ducks' needs, as they grow.

It's Day 27, and I can hear peeping!!!

 

[DuckyDonna]

This is fabulous, @DuckyDonna ! It's good to have ideas for the ducks' needs, as they grow.

It's Day 27, and I can hear peeping!!!

Yay! I'm excited. Don't' forget to post pictures when they hatch!

 

[Cerise1924]

Three little ducklings are out! The two noisy, chattering ones are light, and the quiet (but still healthy) one is so much heavier! Does this mean the noisy ones are girls?

I have the big kiddie pool brooder mostly set up. I found a wire basket to turn upside down for a water table, but still need to find a pan or tray to go under it. In the meanwhile, the three ducklings are in the little brooder with a heating plate, a plastic-bottle-turned-waterer, and some unmedicated starter-grower feed in a chick feeder. They don't seem interested in the feed. Do I need to make a mash out of it with warm water?