Duck and Chicken egg question

[Grindlefamily]

okay - I was looking on ebay for duck eggs (my mom has a pond and is considering adding ducks

which means I might get to incubate more babies!!!!) and I found a few that listed duck and chicken eggs together. I only have 1 incubator and was wondering if you could put both in at once. I know duck eggs are 28 days and chicken are just 21. So, it would seem logical to start the duck eggs first, but then the chicken eggs would be "too" old right?


LOL I don't need any baby chickens but they are just so darn cute!

Louella

 

[Mrs MIA]

The biggest difference, besides the timing, is the humidity. My understanding (I've never actually hatched ducks...yet...

) is that duck eggs have to be misted, or kept at a higher humidity than chicken eggs.

 

[MandyH]

Duck eggs DO have to be kept at a higher humidity level than the chickens.

 

[SueNH]

I tried it with my own eggs last year. Starting with the duck and putting chicken in a week later. It didn't work real well for the duck eggs. A few hatched. Most died in their shell. I'm assuming the lower humidity.

I've been tempted by those mixed auctions but the chicken eggs would be a week or more old and you either drown the chicks or dessicate the ducks. Wasted money, wasted eggs.

I'm coming to the end of pretty decent hatch for shipped duck eggs now. I didn't do anything different with the humidity until the final few days. When I stopped turning I increased the humidity. It's been fluxing between 75% and 80% as the eggs hatch. Light rain fell most of the day yesterday so the air was juicy and it wasn't hard keeping things moist.

Also remember that baby ducks are really messy. Plan accordingly.

 

[BirdBoy88]

My first time hatching eggs i Incubated duck and chicken eggs at the same time. and i got a 50% hatch with the chicken eggs and 90% hatch with the duck eggs.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I would think that a mixed auction would be a good reason to get a second incubator... but that's just me.

 

[Grindlefamily]

and then I would need a new husband!

okay - so no mixed auctions here LOL I guess I'll go back and look around a little more.

Louella

 

[SueNH]

I think my husband would run away if I brought home a second incubator.
I've got 3 different boxes of peeps going in here now. Doubling the hatching capacity wouldn't be a good thing.

I do have an old dead round one out in the barn. I should get that running and use it as a hatcher. I don't think DH would cringe at a repair project.

I've got 12 ducks newly hatched and a bunch of chickens and turkeys, some older ducks that are heading outside today to free the bigger cage up for others. It's finally warming up here so hopefully I won't have the duckies inside when the slobber machine really turns on.

 

[SueNH]

I think my husband would run away if I brought home a second incubator.
I've got 3 different boxes of peeps going in here now. Doubling the hatching capacity wouldn't be a good thing.

I do have an old dead round one out in the barn. I should get that running and use it as a hatcher. I don't think DH would cringe at a repair project.

I've got 12 ducks newly hatched and a bunch of chickens and turkeys, some older ducks that are heading outside today to free the bigger cage up for others. It's finally warming up here so hopefully I won't have the duckies inside when the slobber machine really turns on.