Help! Incubating Duck Eggs

[CircusMama]

I have no experience with Duck eggs and I am just getting back into hatching chicken eggs after a 12 year break, so I am a bit overwhelmed. My friends Male ducks were attacked and killed by something and she wants me to incubate the eggs she has collected in hopes to get some from one of her boys. I have a Hovabator with a turner, and have it going but not sure where the difference between chicks and ducklings, an not quite sure where to start!

 

[MGG]

Welcome to BYC! Feel free to ask any questions you have. I'll tag @WVduckchick @Jpat and @CluckNDoodle

 

[CircusMama]

From my understanding you keep the temp at 100 for at least the first 10 days (what I have been focusing on learning this far) but I have read several things about humidity, anywhere between 40 to 70 percent. So what would you guys recommend I start the humidity at? Also can I used my turner or do I have to hand turn them?

 

[MGG]

Is it a forced air incubator? I'm not familiar with the kind you have. I have had great success with 45-50% humidity. It really depends on your location, elevation, the placement if the incubator, etc. Use your turner.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I always incubate waterfowl on their sides because someone told me that was the best approach when I started, I've never tried to incubate them upright so I can't say how much of a difference it has actually made.

Shockingly, with all of the species I've hatched, I've never actually hatched ducks! I have hatched goslings though and they get the same general treatment. Most of the time in a styrofoam incubator it's better to incubate a little on the dryer side. When I had incubators lined up side by side in my chicken room I had the best results when running my styrofoam incubators approximately 10% lower humidity than my plastic incubators at all times. A lot of people run them completely dry for the first portion of incubation until lockdown. You can weigh the eggs before setting them and monitor the weight loss to determine if you need to reduce or increase humidity or you can monitor the air cell, whatever works best for you.

I find the biggest difference when incubating waterfowl is that it's recommended to spray and cool the eggs once a day, usually starting around day 9-10 until day 17 or as long far as lockdown. This is suggested because it actually helps the egg to LOSE weight, so again it's based on weight or air cell development. I open my incubator spray the eggs, leave it open for a bit while they dry and they close the incubator again.

 

[MGG]

I have hatched lots of duck eggs, I didnt realize that turner had them upright. Don't hatch them upright, a friend tried it once and it didn't go well. I would definitely do laying on their sides. I cool for 15 minutes every other day, I think every day is just too much personally. I only mist with very warm water. Can you use purified water too? Tap water has some weird things in it sometimes. I just always feel safer doing it with clean water. Mist them only when you open the incubator, maybe 2 times a day.

 

[Jpat]

I have never used a still air incubator so i have no good info on that way of hatching

 

[CluckNDoodle]

From my understanding you keep the temp at 100 for at least the first 10 days (what I have been focusing on learning this far) but I have read several things about humidity, anywhere between 40 to 70 percent. So what would you guys recommend I start the humidity at? Also can I used my turner or do I have to hand turn them?

I've always set my temps at 99.5°F in my forced air incubators and I don't adjust it. If you have a still air incubator the temps are higher.
I think somewhere between 30-55% humidity in a styrofoam incubator depending on weight loss of the eggs for the first portion of incubation and then increasing to about 60-65% for hatch. Humidity is all over the place based on a lot of different factors so it's good to monitor your own hatch and adjust accordingly.

Good luck on your hatch!

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

I've used an upright turner, and a lay down turner. The pekin and muscovy did well with the upright turner but the indian runners did not. 45% humidity works well for me and I live in a climate that has zero humidity. I mist from day 10. I don't do the cooling period on advice from a breeder that hatches over 100 ducklings a week. She does however hand turn but she works from home so is on the ball with it.

 

[Jpat]

I like hand turning, it increases your time monitoring the incubator