?? hatching duck eggs questions..??

[thedoors5to1]

so i have three questions, first off im using a hovabator incubator (w.o. fan) i've successfully hatched out ducklings from the incubator years ago, but am a little rusty and would like to hear some of ya'lls opinions.
first off, i have the thermometer in the incubator that it came with, it looks like this:

i borrowed a digital thermometer from a friend to match it up with the one i had:

both were reading diff. temps and i was told not to trust the digi. I dont know why exactly. so i went out and bought this 20$ thermometer which reads humidity also:

i gave back the digi. since she needed it for her pet. and now the 20$ one i bought is still off from the one that came with the incubator.

so question #1. is it ok to use the reptile thermometer i bought (third picture, it measures humidity also)

and if not, what should i use?

I have 8 eggs in my incubator and thier all spaced out so they werent crammed in the middle, is it really neccessary to have the hovabator thermometer ON TOP of the eggs? i didnt really have a spot to put it on top since the eggs are spaced accordingly.. should i move them closer so i can read the temp on top of eggs??

and third question is, im hatching indian runner mallards, i've heard many people mist thier duck eggs, whats your opinon? im unsure to do this, ive never tried, but my humidity reading on the therm. says its around 55% humid. and i have a few water droplets on the windows of the incubator..

thanks for any input, its much appreciated!

 

[Lach Cnoc Farm]

i have about 20 duck eggs in my incubator right now, mines an LG but i also have used our Hovabator in the past.

i keep my temp at 102, they seem to like it better for some reason. my humidity is at 55-60% constantly but i still mist the eggs every time i open the bator.

i've had a lot of ducklings hatch just fine so far.

as for thermometers i use 2 digital ones that read temp and humidity. i got them at wal-mart for $6/ea...so far they work pretty well.

i set mine on top of the eggs but you gotta remember its a little cooler at egg level since the therm. is closer to the heating unit.

humidity needs to go up at hatch time though so they don't get stuck.

 

[thedoors5to1]

thankyou for the input Lách Cnoc Farm , it helps alot. but can anyone else tell me if its wrong to use the zoo med reptile temperature/humidity thermometer? its the third picture in my first post.

and anyone else have any opinions on my first three questions it would be deeply appreciated.
thanks