How Long can we wait to incubate duck eggs? How do we start???

[Count Von Chickula]

Okay, here are my quesitons for you ducksperts...

We have a duck pair (the famale is a Runner, male's a Rohen) and she's a great egg layer. The kids want to try hatching her eggs now. I don't trust her for a minute to actually take to nesting (not the brightest duck in the world). I know chickens (we have some), but ducks are a little new to us for trying to hatch. We don't have an incubator yet (may try to build one).

Questions:

How long can we wait before we need to start incubating eggs? a week? two?

How warm must they be kept BEFORE we start incubating (we have several in the frig., will they still take or are they too cold now to try?)

How warm and what humidity must they be held at for best success (I read others seem to have problems with this too)?

Any Suggestions to get this project off the ground is appreicated.

 

[Wifezilla]

How long can we wait before we need to start incubating eggs? a week? two?

Up to 2

How warm must they be kept BEFORE we start incubating (we have several in the frig., will they still take or are they too cold now to try?)

55º-65ºF Your refrigerated ducks MAY still hatch but the fertility is reduced by the lower temp.

How warm and what humidity must they be held at for best success (I read others seem to have problems with this too)?

99.5ºF for temp. As for humidity...arggg. I am in Colorado. I fought humidity issues the 2 times I tried to hatch out duck eggs. I have a homemade incubator and my hygrometer was horrible.​

 

[FenDruadin]

You can hold them for about two weeks before hatching. One week is even better, as they begin to lose viability gradually after about 10 days. Ideal storage temp is 50 degrees F, but I always keep them at 70 or above (but never 80 or up), just room temp, because I don't have a way to keep them cooler. Anything about 80 is a problem, though. Refrigerator eggs are often still viable--certainly worth a try. Just warm them to room temp gradually before placing in the incubator--otherwise the temp differential can cause excessive condensation that somehow (not sure exactly) can damage the egg (I've heard).

Good luck. Keep reading everything you can get ahold of, then relax and go with it. Although some people have trouble, most have good luck even under less than ideal circumstances. Have fun!

 

[Count Von Chickula]

Okay, I got my eggs in an old Sear & Roebuck incubator (old metal thing about 2' in dia.) someone loaned me. It has a dish for water which I partly filled. I put a digital thermometer / humidity gauge in it so I can see it through the window... I have no instructions and no certainty about its operation except to plug it in and try to set the switch so the indicator light goes off at my target temp. So far it's hard to control the temp. (climbed to 108 this morning briefly).

Anyone know an good humidity level to keep them at for the beginning time? It reads right now at 32% which seems kind of dry to me. I'm not sure if adding more water to the evaporation dish will raise it or not.