first time hatching indian runner ducks (and ducks in general)

[casportpony]

found it!

```
F. Bogenfurst, Pannon University of agriculture, Hungary. 1997. Experiment showed the increase in hatch rate of geese eggs with periodic cooling. Concluded ‘Incubation results improved with periodic cooling’.
```

I think peafowl some breeders found this to be true too.

 

[IceHax]

I do mist my eggs once a day. I shoot for 60-70% during lockdown for humidity. I don’t weight my eggs just judge by size of air cell as well. I go into lockdown tonight.

good luck with the hatch!

 

[IceHax]

i have a question for you guys: do you sanitize eggs before the incubation? if so how? i found inconsistent material online to decide whether to do it or not.

 

[Knighstar679]

I don’t.

 

[Loopeend]

Me neither.
I like to leave the natural protective layer on. Ducks are such a messy muddy/poopy egg-layers I rather just do as least as possible.
I guess in my head I rather have some dried up poop on it with the protective layer on it, then no protective layer and some spores of bacteria somewhere.

Momma isn't cleaning them; so I guess I just not do that too.

I guess maybe it also depends on how many eggs you have, and what kind of hatchingmachine. I have 4 eggs in it now while there is room for 40. My hatchingmachine is made out of wood and cloth and not easy to make sterile.
If you have a LOT of eggs, close together, and thus a LOT of eggs that can conteminate each other, in a hatching machine that is easy to make sterile, I would probably do it.

 

[IceHax]

Me neither.
I like to leave the natural protective layer on. Ducks are such a messy muddy/poopy egg-layers I rather just do as least as possible.
I guess in my head I rather have some dried up poop on it with the protective layer on it, then no protective layer and some spores of bacteria somewhere.

Momma isn't cleaning them; so I guess I just not do that too.

I guess maybe it also depends on how many eggs you have, and what kind of hatchingmachine. I have 4 eggs in it now while there is room for 40. My hatchingmachine is made out of wood and cloth and not easy to make sterile.
If you have a LOT of eggs, close together, and thus a LOT of eggs that can conteminate each other, in a hatching machine that is easy to make sterile, I would probably do it.

hi, thanks for the reply, my bator is extremely easy to sanitize (did it yesterday before turning it on with bleach) and it is also made from a material that kills bacteria (it has silver nitrate into the walls) it only holds 8 eggs

 

[IceHax]

ah yes forgot to mention it's obviously gonna be full ahah

 

[IceHax]

but yeah i think i'll leave their natural layer on and hope for the best!

 

[IceHax]

set the eggs in the bator earlier today, just turned on the humidity pump, set it to 45%RH. The farm had sent me 12 eggs instead of 8 so i gave 4 to my broody goose as an experiment

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hope the shells are hard rock.