Can You Incubate Chicken and Duck Eggs Together??

[Chickie Mamma]

Hello, I have some silkie eggs in the bator and I just recieved some duck eggs. I was wondering if they can be incubating together. I don't know if humidity will be a factor. I do have a separate smaller incubator that I can use for the duck eggs, but all this takes up sooo much room!

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have heard that you can, but the duck eggs should probably have higher humidity. I have duck eggs in my bator right now and I keep them around 65%-70%. But there are people that do incubate them together with no problems. What kind of ducks did you get? I have some pekins and cayugas, and I think there's a rouen egg as well.

 

[cayuga mommy]

I really wouldn't risk it.
Ducks need more humidity. And a different temperature ( 99'F insead of 101'F ). They also incubate for a lot longer. And if you accidently mix up the eggs then you could end up with one big problem.
I tried once to incubate duck and chickens. Lets just leave it at it really didn't work out.

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Hello, I have 4 white crested eggs. As you see my avatar, I have a beauty thet I am thinking of mating. So hopefully we get a boy. I always get more roos then hens so hopefully that will carry

Maybe I will incubate separately, need to find another thermometer fast. What eggs do you have incubating?? (Shellyd) When are you due?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I have 3 pekins and possibly 4 chinese/pilgrim geese due on Christmas Eve!! I'm not sure if the goose eggs are still going, I think not. But the duckies definitely are!! Plus I just put 7 more pekin eggs, and one more goose egg, in there yesterday. I have 15 eggs that I just got today from BackSwampGirl. Those will go in before I go to bed, and those are the cayugas and possible rouen. So we have 12-24, 1-11 and 1-13!!

 

[jvls1942]

I guess if you never have done it, it is impossible..

I hatch all kinds of eggs together with successful results..

I do not know how you can confuse a duck egg with a chicken egg.

this past summer I hatched chicken,duck,guinea and turkey eggs together.. I even threw a few quail eggs into the batch for kicks.

I sold about 300 birds this summer.
this week we will be butchering about 80 chickens.. all hatched by me in an old sportsman bator.. and a few in a hovabator..

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I have incubated chicken eggs and duck eggs together successfully.
I didn't do anything differently 'humidity-wise' during incubation or hatching --- moved Day 18 and Day 25 duck eggs from the incubator into the hatcher.
Mostly, I've let my bantam Frizzle hens hatch duck eggs and they do a fine job.
You could use the separate incubator for hatching the ducklings if they need to 'come out' at a different time.

Lisa

 

[randerson846]

Hi i kno his post is old but dipsy doodle doo what did you do when the chicks were hatching, and did u start them on the same day?

 

[mwash]

Hi i kno his post is old but dipsy doodle doo what did you do when the chicks were hatching, and did u start them on the same day?

My plan is to use another bator to actually do the hatching. One day 18, I'll take the chicken eggs out and move them to my backup bator and leave the duck eggs. If I only had one bator, I'd probably just leave them all together, but maybe put a barrier between the eggs, go about my business as though the duck eggs were not there, then take all the chicks out when they're hatched since ducks need higher humidity anyway, that shouldn't matter. Then I'd just let the incubating continue since lockdown doesnt happen til day 25 for ducks and all the chicks should be hatched by then.
That's just what I'd do.

 

[randerson846]

Ok thanks well it work out any way i put the ducks in a week earlier and they hatched i got 2 ducklings out of three and 11 chicks