How Do You Prepare Duck Eggs For Incubation?

stano40

Songster
10 Years
Apr 16, 2009
258
1
131
Southern Maine
So how do you prepare eggs for incubation. Can they be washed prior to incubation or just sanded to get the dirt or poop of of them?

I bought a genesis incubator (GQF) for the incubation and was insured that this machine will do the job.

This is my first time incubating eggs and I'm looking for hints and/or advise on how others incubated duck eggs. My ducks are Ancona ducks which I have grown quite fond of.

bob/Maine
 
Eggs can be washed, but it is better not to. I'm not sure about the sanding. They say it may be better, but quite honest you also removed part of the shell. So in that regard it is the same as washing to me. You can dry rub with a sponge instead. Remember you are moving the duck egg with either method, which can be bad for them. If you don't clean them they may have an oder when they get close to hatching. I recently received some eggs that were not washed. Some had more dirt and others were almost clean. I took a paper towel and wet it with warm water (no soap), wrapped the egg in it to soak a minute, and gently wiped the dirt off. I feel this is the most gentle way, and I do not worry about getting them clean 100%. Just the stuck on grime.

I'm using a Genesis 1588 incubator and love it. The temp and humidity is very steady. I fill the center impression with warm water, and refill with warm water as needed. You will need to rotate the eggs at least 3 times per day or use an auto turner. I also mist the eggs once per day, and later fill all cavities with water for lock down. I also leave the duck in the incubator for about 12 hours after hatching to dry off. From there they go into a home build brooder with a 100 watt light bulb hinging about 2 feet of the floor. No need to red heat lamps with ducks.

Katharina
 
Thanks Katharinad for the reply. I am a little concerned if the incubator will work incubating the duck eggs with the turner. I bought the one with the chicken egg turner which they say can be used for duck eggs as well.

I had thought duck eggs should be incubated on their sides instead of on their ends like chicken eggs.

bob
 
The chicken cup turner may be to small. Plus it is better to have duck eggs lay on their sides. You can use the chicken cups and add some hardware cloth and mount it with screws and nuts to it. It has the holes. After that you can use 4 rails in the turner for your eggs. More rails will interfere with each other. Take a look at the GQF websites pictures. It's really easy and you don't have to buy extra rails.
Katharina
 
I've read somewhere about that for geese eggs. It didn't have any photo's or instructions on how to do it properly though.

Would like to see how its done.

bob
 

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