Hello, All!
I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the three newest members of my flock and I just had to say thank you to everyone out there. These forums have been an incredible help to me! Every question I have had ( and a few I didn't know I had) have been answered through this site. Thank you, thank you!
My birding adventures started a year ago when I was given a pair of 3 day-old pekin ducklings as a gift. This spring I added chickens to my flock, 2 Buff Orps, 2 EE's and a Barred Rock, all now 5.5 weeks old. And 25 days ago tomorrow I started incubating 3 eggs from my Pekins, Ruger and Winchester. Lockdown day!
I started out with an incubator I made out of a styrofoam cooler. Last weekend I upgraded a bit and built something a bit larger and more sturdy so there would be more room for the ducklings when it comes time to hatch. I have been hand turning them every 3-4 hours round the clock ( I don't work and tend to wake up alot at night lol). So far so good! All three ducklings seem to be right on track, moving around inside the eggs enough to make them rock slightly and I can feel the occasional tapping. Air pockets seem good, roughly 1/3 the size of the eggs. Temp at 100 - 100.5 (still air) and humidity at around 50-55%. It has been so much fun watching them develop, I never thought I would get this far successfully!
Tomorrow the real nail biting begins. I know I will be lowering the temp a bit and raising the humidity...and waiting, probably not too patiently lol.
I feel like I am pretty well prepared for my trio but since this is my first attempt at hatching, the nerves are setting in. So if anyone has any last minute tips or advice I will appreciate it!
Thanks again!!
I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the three newest members of my flock and I just had to say thank you to everyone out there. These forums have been an incredible help to me! Every question I have had ( and a few I didn't know I had) have been answered through this site. Thank you, thank you!
My birding adventures started a year ago when I was given a pair of 3 day-old pekin ducklings as a gift. This spring I added chickens to my flock, 2 Buff Orps, 2 EE's and a Barred Rock, all now 5.5 weeks old. And 25 days ago tomorrow I started incubating 3 eggs from my Pekins, Ruger and Winchester. Lockdown day!
I started out with an incubator I made out of a styrofoam cooler. Last weekend I upgraded a bit and built something a bit larger and more sturdy so there would be more room for the ducklings when it comes time to hatch. I have been hand turning them every 3-4 hours round the clock ( I don't work and tend to wake up alot at night lol). So far so good! All three ducklings seem to be right on track, moving around inside the eggs enough to make them rock slightly and I can feel the occasional tapping. Air pockets seem good, roughly 1/3 the size of the eggs. Temp at 100 - 100.5 (still air) and humidity at around 50-55%. It has been so much fun watching them develop, I never thought I would get this far successfully!
Tomorrow the real nail biting begins. I know I will be lowering the temp a bit and raising the humidity...and waiting, probably not too patiently lol.
I feel like I am pretty well prepared for my trio but since this is my first attempt at hatching, the nerves are setting in. So if anyone has any last minute tips or advice I will appreciate it!
Thanks again!!
