Incubating and Hatching Duck Eggs Resources

[Tahai]

Metzer's just posted the link below on facebook, and I thought I'd attach it somewhere here on the duck forum. This thread looks like a good home for it They turn the camera on every friday. In addition to the camera, there's some good beginner's info on the hatching process, when to help and when to not help.


http://www.metzerfarms.com/LiveHatchingVideo.cfm

 

[LaGeniaLoca]

I am so happy to find this!!! The candling photos on Metzer Farms were helpful, but I found the Mink Hollow link to be more helpful. My eggs should be on day 23, but they look more like day 18 or 19. My humidity has been a little low, from 40-50%. I'm wondering if that has caused slower development. I sure hope so, because I'm starting to get worried about them.

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Well, first off. Ducks take 28 days to hatch rather then 21 like chicks (unless you are incubating muscovy duck eggs, in that case it will take 35). Ducks also need a lot more humidity than chickens, so make sure you have plenty of that. Keep the temperature at 99.5 degrees F (like chicks). Candle the eggs everyday. By day 5-8, you should start to see veins. If you do not see the veins by the 8th day, then it is either not fertile, or the embryo has already died. Discard any died or unfertile eggs. Also, make sure not to mistake veins for a blood ring.

This is a picture of how the duck embryo should look at 8 days.
http://poulingail.edublogs.org/archives/3445

These are how the egg should look at different stages of it development
http://www.happychicks.co.uk/mall/infopageviewer.cfm/Happychicksshop/HatchingTips
(It is showing the ducks even though the link may not look like it)

Here's another one
http://www.metzerfarms.com/Candling.cfm

Also keep in mind that duck eggs are harder to hatch that chicken eggs

 

[Duckegg44]

I found a duck egg and candled it can anyone tell me how it looks to them and how old they think it is?