Hatching Ducklings

[thequackery]

Hey all! Looking for any tips and tricks for beginners using an incubator for duck eggs! Thank you in advance!
- can refrigerated eggs be incubated?
- how long do refrigerated eggs need to sit at room temperature before being moved to the incubator
- how old can eggs be
- temperature/humidity for incubating duck eggs
- timeline for changes in temp/humidity and candling
- when should you spray down the eggs?
- when is lockdown

 

[Miss Lydia]

@MasterOfClucker

 

[Knighstar679]

Hey all! Looking for any tips and tricks for beginners using an incubator for duck eggs! Thank you in advance!
- can refrigerated eggs be incubated?
- how long do refrigerated eggs need to sit at room temperature before being moved to the incubator
- how old can eggs be
- temperature/humidity for incubating duck eggs
- timeline for changes in temp/humidity and candling
- when should you spray down the eggs?
- when is lockdown

- can refrigerated eggs be incubated?

Yes they can i have a set of refrigerated eggs about to go into lock down in two days from a set of birds that I lost to a fox.

- how long do refrigerated eggs need to sit at room temperature before being moved to the incubator

I did it for 12 hours in the same room as the incubator.

- how old can eggs be

You can go up to any age but the older the eggs are the more the fertility on the eggs will drop. The ones i mentioned above had been in the fridge for almost 3 weeks before I ended up setting them.

- temperature/humidity for incubating duck eggs

depends on your incubator. Make sure you have a calibrated temp guage to test both in yours.
still airs (no fan) 102, and forced air (has a fan) 99.5, Humidity usually varies by location but I found with fridge eggs a little higher around the 40% mark was best for them. I usually run mine around 30-35% for incubations, but some eggs do need higher humidities to do well. Locations plays a factor into that.

- timeline for changes in temp/humidity and candling

You should likely not change temp until pipping occurs then you drop it by a single degree if you do. I don't change the temp during hatching. Humidity during lockdown and hatching is 65% for most. Candling again depends on who you talk to. But most do it at 7, 10, 14, 25 (i think) i am a candle junky so i candle regularly. (nearly every day)
- when should you spray down the eggs?

I do the spray and cool down of the eggs for 10-15 min starting on day 10. when i say spray i really mean light misting.

- when is lockdown
If your doing a bantam breed it is earlier day 23, for full size breeds it is day 25, for mascovy i am not sure.

 

[Isaac 0]

Yes, you can use refrigerated eggs, I'd wait around 5-10 hours before you put them in the incubator. After 7 days viability starts to decrease fast, I collect mine for a 7-10 day period before I set, but the sooner you set the better. Humdity depends on several factors such as the eggshell size and quality and the humidity in your house, that said, for my eggs, I go 35%-40% humidity until lockdown then I up the humidity to 60-65%. I choose not to spray my eggs. Lockdown is the last three days of incubation, Calls are around 26 days, Runners/Rouens, etc are 28 days and Muscovies are 35 days, total incubation time. Candle on 7,12,19 and 24 days of incubation.

 

[thequackery]

- can refrigerated eggs be incubated?

Yes they can i have a set of refrigerated eggs about to go into lock down in two days from a set of birds that I lost to a fox.

- how long do refrigerated eggs need to sit at room temperature before being moved to the incubator

I did it for 12 hours in the same room as the incubator.

- how old can eggs be

You can go up to any age but the older the eggs are the more the fertility on the eggs will drop. The ones i mentioned above had been in the fridge for almost 3 weeks before I ended up setting them.

- temperature/humidity for incubating duck eggs

depends on your incubator. Make sure you have a calibrated temp guage to test both in yours.
still airs (no fan) 102, and forced air (has a fan) 99.5, Humidity usually varies by location but I found with fridge eggs a little higher around the 40% mark was best for them. I usually run mine around 30-35% for incubations, but some eggs do need higher humidities to do well. Locations plays a factor into that.

- timeline for changes in temp/humidity and candling

You should likely not change temp until pipping occurs then you drop it by a single degree if you do. I don't change the temp during hatching. Humidity during lockdown and hatching is 65% for most. Candling again depends on who you talk to. But most do it at 7, 10, 14, 25 (i think) i am a candle junky so i candle regularly. (nearly every day)
- when should you spray down the eggs?

I do the spray and cool down of the eggs for 10-15 min starting on day 10. when i say spray i really mean light misting.

- when is lockdown
If your doing a bantam breed it is earlier day 23, for full size breeds it is day 25, for mascovy i am not sure.

Thank you so much! I am going to follow all of this closely and I’ll post once my eggs are progressing!