Can I hatch chicks and duckling together?

[AmeraucanaHank]

Hi,
I am getting 6 silkie showgirl and 6 khaki campbell hatching eggs at the same time and I only have 1 incubator! Would it be safe to hatch them at the same time?

Thanks for your time! Hank

 

[CrazyChicken360]

I think it could be okay to hatch ducks with chicks, but I'm not sure.

 

[nuthatched]

I think they require different humidities and length of incubation.

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

Hi,
I am getting 6 silkie showgirl and 6 khaki campbell hatching eggs at the same time and I only have 1 incubator! Would it be safe to hatch them at the same time?

Thanks for your time! Hank

I did it by putting the chicken eggs in a week after the duck eggs. Humidity was 50-55%. 2 out of 2 duck eggs and 10 out of 14 chicken eggs hatched. It's not ideal but you can do it if you have no other choice.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am getting 6 silkie showgirl and 6 khaki campbell hatching eggs at the same time and I only have 1 incubator! Would it be safe to hatch them at the same time?

Is there any way you could spread that delivery out by a week? The duck eggs should take 28 days to hatch, the chicken eggs 21 days. It would really help if you can start the duck eggs a week before you incubate the chicken eggs. That would make life so much easier and less stressful for you.

What incubator do you have? Do you have a link so I can see it?

There are some issues you could have. Lockdown is a week different for chicken eggs and duck eggs. You can probably stop turning the duck eggs and raise the humidity when you go into lockdown for the chicken eggs. It's not ideal but you probably won't cause much, if any, damage. Another issue is that the chicks will crawl all over the duck eggs when the chicks hatch, smearing them with goo and other nasty stuff that can harm the duck eggs and maybe cause them to get infected with bacteria. That would kill the ducklings. You might be able to build a cage to contain the chicks once they hatch so they don't crawl on the duck eggs. When they hatch the chicks will start pooping and have other nasty goop in there that will probably start stinking and risking infection of the duck eggs. When you take the chicks out you would need to do a thorough cleaning of the incubator before you continue on with the ducks.

None of this is ideal, you have risks that makes it less likely that you will have great success. If it is your only option you can try it, you might do OK, but I'd avoid it if I could.

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

What incubator do you have? Do you have a link so I can see it?

https://www.amazon.com/Jumbl-Incuba...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[Ridgerunner]

You should be able to build a fence between the two sides with the eggs split so the chicks cannot intermingle. That should keep the duck eggs clean.