Duck eggs arrived in mail with POO all over them!

[UGAchick]

Should I wash them before incubating?

Also (and more importantly) I have chicken eggs in the incubator on day 7. Should I add my duck eggs now, or wait until the chicks hatch?

 

[newnanchic]

I do not EVER WASH EGGS beforing incubating !!! They have aprotective coating that only mother nature can put on them and if you wash it off it will more than likely keep them form hatching causing problems. And if you chicken eggs are only on day 7 then you have 14 days to go and your duck eggs would have lost alot of their viability and the duck eggs incubate for 28 days where chickens only go for 21 days You will have to do a staggard hatch. GOOD LUCK !!!!!

 

[UGAchick]

Can the ducks survive the humidity levels needed for the chicks now and during lockdown?

 

[4-H chicken mom]

If your chicken eggs are on day 7, and you wait till they hatch, those duck eggs won't be any good. I would not wash them because you will then need to incubate at 65% instead of 55%. Just try to scrap off what you can and maybe use a warm damp cloth. Good luck.

 

[newnanchic]

THink of it like a Mama duck ... she gets off the nest every day and gets in the water she is wet when she gets back onto the nest so the humidity should be a little higher I mist my duck eggs every day they are in the bator trying to "mock" what the Mama duck would do wet them when she gets back on the nest after her break .

 

[JordanFamily]

I'm not an expert but maybe you could put the duck eggs in and keep the hunidity at 40 and then up the humidity later for the chickens to hatch out and then check the aircells on the duck eggs and either up or lower the humidity as needed???

 

[oberhaslikid]

I use a clean scracher pad to rub off any large spots of poo before setting.
a luffa works too.

 

[MagsC]

Very lightly sand papering helps as well.