Exactly how hard are call duck eggs to hatch?

[Smartie_Pants]

I love the look of the little guys, but I'm not sure it would be easy to get some around here. I could more easily by hatching eggs, but I hear they are hard to hatch. How hard? Say you bought 6 eggs, what is an average/estimate of how many would hatch? Can they be incubated with regular duck eggs?

Also, if I either bought or hatched babies, would they be fine with regular ducks? I have some Blue Swedish and I really want to get a few silver appleyard.

 

[Katy]

I gave up trying to hatch them a long time ago. I let the hens set and the mamas have much better luck with it. I wouldn't want my calls in with normal size ducks. I think they'd be easily injured or klled by any large size male who decides to breed them.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Well, I certainly wouldn't want that to happen! Maybe I'll just stick to regular sized ducks and admire calls from afar.

 

[tonini3059]

I set about 40 eggs and got 2 ducks. It is very stressful too.

 

[feathersgalore]

In an incuabator I usually have 60%-70% hatch but under a mama duck - it is 90% hatch. I also turn by hand and mist and cool the eggs. It's a lot of work and then not all the eggs hatch! I've been lucky and had a very broody call who does most of the work.

 

[runamuck]

Extremely tough...... last yr I set 100 or so eggs and got 25 hatching. Now my ladies... did around 95% hatch. I now got a new incubatior and just hatched some shipped call eggs and got 50% hatch. this incubator is Awesome I put fertile eggs in I get chicks... Simple as that.

 

[tonini3059]

What kind of incubator did you get?