Obviously, you'll get as many answers as there are people who have incubated duck eggs, plus some extras thrown in for good measure.
You've gotten many good responses, and I'll just throw my two cents in:
I have incubated roughly 150 duck eggs. Of the eight hatches I've had so far, I have never had a hatch percentage below 65%, and most of them are 80-90%. That doesn't make me an expert, but it does mean that what I do works at least in my situation (how's that for a firm statement! lol).
Humidity: I run it super low--teens and twenties. Higher humidity doesn't allow the air cells to grow, and I get lower hatches. However, humidity rarely ruins an entire hatch so I recommend you run at whatever humidity you're comfortable with and see if you're happy with the hatch. If so, keep your humidity setting. If not, and if you end up with a lot of birds that pip internally but don't hatch, I suggest you consider lowering the humidity for the next hatch.
Temp: Same as chickens. Some variation is acceptable--slightly lower temps will result in a late hatch, slightly higher an early hatch. Steadier is better, average of 99.5-100 is important. Occasional small spikes (3 degrees or so) will not harm your eggs, but of course you'll want to minimize them!
Turning: I use an auto-turner. Perhaps I'd get higher rates if I didn't. But I'm pretty happy with my rates--80-90% is generally considered quite good. I have an idea (totally untested, but it makes sense to me) that hatching eggs on their sides is important if you are running the humidity too high (which I believe many people do). Why? Because if your humidity is too high, your air cells won't develop well. If you have small air cells, the ducklings have to work harder to poke their noses into it. If they are upright, then they have to fight gravity to keep their little nostrils above the "soup" inside the membrane. If they are on their sides, they don't have to work as hard to keep their bill in the small air sac. On the other hand, if your air cells are nicely developed, then the bird will be just the right size that it will press naturally against the air cell no matter its orientation, and they can rest and take breaks and not worry about drowning in their own juices.
By that same idea, if your humidity is low enough then you can successfully hatch eggs upright. I even hatch in egg cartons during lockdown, and my hatch rates went *up* when I started this method, because the ducks don't shove each other around after hatching and also, the birds have to work harder to get out of the shell and seem to be stronger when they finally do.
Resting: I've never hatched shipped eggs, but make sure you're following all the special instructions for that situation. I think you're supposed to let them rest for a day before setting and some other things. But I am not only not an expert but also have no experience on this score, so someone else will have to answer any questions you might have about that.
Finally: Good luck!!! Hatching is fun and exciting. I am sending you good hatching vibes and hope it works out great for you.
I have incubated roughly 150 duck eggs. Of the eight hatches I've had so far, I have never had a hatch percentage below 65%, and most of them are 80-90%. That doesn't make me an expert, but it does mean that what I do works at least in my situation (how's that for a firm statement! lol).
Humidity: I run it super low--teens and twenties. Higher humidity doesn't allow the air cells to grow, and I get lower hatches. However, humidity rarely ruins an entire hatch so I recommend you run at whatever humidity you're comfortable with and see if you're happy with the hatch. If so, keep your humidity setting. If not, and if you end up with a lot of birds that pip internally but don't hatch, I suggest you consider lowering the humidity for the next hatch.
Temp: Same as chickens. Some variation is acceptable--slightly lower temps will result in a late hatch, slightly higher an early hatch. Steadier is better, average of 99.5-100 is important. Occasional small spikes (3 degrees or so) will not harm your eggs, but of course you'll want to minimize them!
Turning: I use an auto-turner. Perhaps I'd get higher rates if I didn't. But I'm pretty happy with my rates--80-90% is generally considered quite good. I have an idea (totally untested, but it makes sense to me) that hatching eggs on their sides is important if you are running the humidity too high (which I believe many people do). Why? Because if your humidity is too high, your air cells won't develop well. If you have small air cells, the ducklings have to work harder to poke their noses into it. If they are upright, then they have to fight gravity to keep their little nostrils above the "soup" inside the membrane. If they are on their sides, they don't have to work as hard to keep their bill in the small air sac. On the other hand, if your air cells are nicely developed, then the bird will be just the right size that it will press naturally against the air cell no matter its orientation, and they can rest and take breaks and not worry about drowning in their own juices.
By that same idea, if your humidity is low enough then you can successfully hatch eggs upright. I even hatch in egg cartons during lockdown, and my hatch rates went *up* when I started this method, because the ducks don't shove each other around after hatching and also, the birds have to work harder to get out of the shell and seem to be stronger when they finally do.
Resting: I've never hatched shipped eggs, but make sure you're following all the special instructions for that situation. I think you're supposed to let them rest for a day before setting and some other things. But I am not only not an expert but also have no experience on this score, so someone else will have to answer any questions you might have about that.
Finally: Good luck!!! Hatching is fun and exciting. I am sending you good hatching vibes and hope it works out great for you.
