Breeding and fertile eggs

[DannyB84]

So quick back ground, had a huge flock of K, C. Ducks all pure breed , threw selling and giving away got down 6 f and 2 m then came out one day and had only one left, it was the day i was going to clip thier wings, but nope to late. So i gave my friend the last KC duck. And went and got a new flock going, clipped wing right away this time.
I now have 5 female "layer" mix breeds and have had them 5 weeks, then this weekend i picked up 2 male mix breeds. So my question is ( because i cant minitor their every move )
1. Since i just added the two drakes how long should i expect to wait before colecting eggs for them to be fertile?
As this will be my first attempt at hatching my own baby ducks
2. What incubator do you all suggest ? , im only going to do 20 eggs per run.
Also any info on incubator setting (temp and humidity would help)

 

[Isaac 0]

2-5 ratio doesn't sound like the best ratio, but you might be able to get away with it. I would think a week until the eggs would be fertilized, Before hatching you could crack open an egg and look to see if it's fertile or not. I cant help you with choosing an incubator but you can sure look at reviews for tops incubator on BYC. Happy Hatching!

 

[DannyB84]

2-5 ratio doesn't sound like the best ratio, but you might be able to get away with it. I would think a week until the eggs would be fertilized, Before hatching you could crack open an egg and look to see if it's fertile or not. I cant help you with choosing an incubator but you can sure look at reviews for tops incubator on BYC. Happy Hatching!

It was supose to be 2-8 but when i got to the seller they changed the price of the females. My neighbor says in a week he would like a pair so it will drop to 1-4. But any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Isaac 0]

pose to be 2-8 but when i got to the seller they changed the price of the females. My neighbor says in a week he would like a pair so it will drop to 1-4. But any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

That sounds better!

What your reasoning for breeding ducks? Are you planning on selling?

 

[DannyB84]

That sounds better!

What your reasoning for breeding ducks? Are you planning on selling?

I have people that want a few , i want raise a bunch for meat production (sell a few as meat to some people i know) and to keep my flock up , the ducks i have now are a bit older , i figure having a few young females in the bunch wont hurt , my place can handle about 10 birds easily.
Not for open market sales.

 

[cmom]

I have never done duck eggs but have hatched hundreds of chicken eggs. Incubators are another story. I started out with a styrofoam incubator and hatched out barnyard mixes. Now I have pure breeds (heritage breeds). I also have a cabinet incubator I use to incubate in but I still use my styrofoam incubators as hatchers. With chickens if the females have been in a grow-out coop and pen which are usually mixed, I wait a month before I collect eggs for hatching after I put them with the male I want them to breed with but if they are in a pen with a male of the same breed then usually around two weeks. This is for chickens. I'm looking forward to see what others have to say. Good luck and have fun...