Duck eggs& still air incubator!

[BantammChick]

For a still air incubator, the temp is best at 101-102 F. Turn them at least three times a day. You can do more than three, just try to turn an odd number of times so that the eggs don't stay on the same side every night. Be sure to keep at least one or two accurate thermometers in there.

Spraying is not necessary. I know some people do it, but I've never done it so don't have much to say there.

Humidity is best at about 35% until lockdown. It won't kill them to get higher or lower than that as long as the air cells are looking good. At lockdown, get it up to at least 50%. I like 65%.

Also, what breed of duck is this?

Hope it goes well! Be sure to post pictures when they hatch.

Thank you for your help! Today I sprayed them when I turned them, do I need to turn them during the night? I have a thermometer in the incubator that says it is 97, I will turn the temperature up a little bit. What does a good air cell look like?

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Thank you for your help! Today I sprayed them when I turned them, do I need to turn them during the night? I have a thermometer in the incubator that says it is 97, I will turn the temperature up a little bit. What does a good air cell look like?

No, you don't need to turn them at night. When I began incubating I used to wake up during the night to turn them, but that got old really quick. I use an auto turner now.

Just make sure they're on different sides every night and they should be fine.

A normal air cell is attached to the thick end of the egg and doesn't move around. A common duck egg should lose around 14% of its weight by day 25, at which time the air cell should take up about a third of the egg. The lower the humidity is, the more weight the egg loses and faster the air cell grows. The higher the humidity, the slower the air cell grows since it isn't losing the weight it should. If the humidity is too high, especially during lockdown, the chick will drown, and if it is too low, it will get shrink wrapped.

I usually just run my incubator dry (no added water) until lockdown when it gets bumped up. It's not as hard as it sounds. Most of the time if the humidity reaches 40% I remove a vent plug. If it gets in the twenties I add a little water so it gets to 32-35%.

There's a chart of what the air cell should look like. If your eggs don't look exactly like that, don't worry. Just change the humidity.

Glad to help.

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

*pats himself on the back for calling in an expert*

 

[campingshaws]

What was the result?