How to- Incubating duck eggs

[MIster Ducker]

Im not shore if this is one of a FAQ, but ive always gotten day old ducklings from someone i know, but i am now thinking of incubating my own eggs. I would like everything i need to know and the process so i can start incubating. I hope someone can walk me through it!

 

[Joshua G]

Im not shore if this is one of a FAQ, but ive always gotten day old ducklings from someone i know, but i am now thinking of incubating my own eggs. I would like everything i need to know and the process so i can start incubating. I hope someone can walk me through it!

Hi, and welcome to BYC!
Do you know what kind of incubator you will use?
Here's some info,
Duck eggs take 28 days to incubate
The humidity should be kept at 45-55% while incubating and 55-65% when in lockdown.
(The last 3 days of incubation are reffered to as "lockdown")
The eggs should be turned 2-3 times per day except for the last 3 days of incubation when they should not be turned and, the incubator should not be opened if possible.

"Candling"
Candling is the process of using a bright light (that with a diameter smaller than the width of the eggs) and shining it into the egg to inspect the embryo for development.
(Candling shold be done at night or in a dark room for best results)
For duck eggs, normal candling periods are..on the 7th,14th, and the 21st day of incubation.

The candling process eliminates dead or infertile eggs that could possibly explode in the incubator.
When candling, here's what you could see....
#1 nothing-----the egg is infertile
#2 a red circle with free floating contents---the embryo has died
#3 a dark spot surrounded by veins-----the embryo is developing properly.

Hope this is helpful to you and good luck on your hatch!

 

[Joshua G]

I would also suggest that you join one of the current hatch-a-longs where you can ask more questions with others who are incubating at the same time.
Also, something I forgot to mention... the incubator should be at 102 degrees fahrenheit if it's a still-air incubator, and 100 degrees fahrenheit if it's a forced air incubator.

 

[MIster Ducker]

I would also suggest that you join one of the current hatch-a-longs where you can ask more questions with others who are incubating at the same time.
Also, something I forgot to mention... the incubator should be at 102 degrees fahrenheit if it's a still-air incubator, and 100 degrees fahrenheit if it's a forced air incubator.

Thanks for the help! i still have a couple questions-
Do all ducks require 28 days to hatch?
What percentage do you expect to hatch?
Ive heard Muscovy are harder to hatch- is this true?
Do you candle 3 days in a row or on the dates you suggested?
btw a very thorough explanation!

 

[Joshua G]

Quote: Muscovy ducks take 30-31 days to hatch.
A 70% hatch rate or better is expected.
Not sure if Muscovies are harder to hatch as I've not hatched them before, I do know that they are more aggresive than other ducks and tend to be bigger.
The dates I suggested are the average dates most people stick to when candling duck eggs.
However, you can candle as much as you want to, just don't do it before the 7th day because you may end up throwing away the wrong eggs.
Usually by the 7th day the embryo is big enough to see.

 

[MIster Ducker]

Okay thanks, im planning to hatch sometime this year