Incubating Cayuga Ducks - need help

[manxminx]

Hi,
I put 3 eggs in an incubator on the 1st July. I read sites that said the for duck eggs it sould be 99.5 temp and 55% humidity. I candled them last night and can see veins and what not.
Problem - I have just been looking up Cayuga ducks incubation times to get ready for the next couple of weeks and found this on Wikipedia

"When using an incubator the temperature should be 99.5 °F at 86% humidity for days 1-25, and 98.5 °F at 94% humidity for days 26-28."

On another site I found this - "Heat the egg incubator to 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. You should check the level of moisture in the incubator first before placing the eggs. At the least, it should have 55 per cent moisture or humidity for the ducks to properly develop and hatch."

Like I said before I have the humidity at 55% not 86%...what do i do????

This is the first time I've incubated eggs so very need some advise
Thank you

 

[Blooming chicks]

The only advise I can offer is...when I was researching humidity levels I found some people used relative humidity versus specific humidity which is based on different scales. The 86% you are reading about for the first 25 days, sounds like relative humidity. There are multiple posts regarding humidity reading and gauges. Additionally, on the Cornell University website, they have pages dedicated to incubation with "how to" methods. Good Luck with your ducks--this is my first time hatching too.

 

[manxminx]

so do you think 55% is ok?

 

[Blooming chicks]

It is what is recommended according to everything I have read. It is what I am going with, but like I said this is my very first hatching experience, so hopefully others will chime in for you. Good luck.

 

[adrian]

Here, let me explain. People have this old wives' tale, as it were, that waterfowl eggs require more humidity, when the structure of the egg -- rather than the habitat of the bird -- is key to what it requires. Larger eggs with smaller pores or thicker shells require lower humidity because a) being large they possess more moisture to begin with, and b) having small pores and/or thick shells means that this humidity is not evaporated as quickly. Smaller eggs with larger pores, like chicken eggs, actually can handle higher humidity. Don't listen to what people say about extremely high humidity, watch and see how your eggs' air cells are growing and play it by ear based on your experiences alone.

 

[Blooming chicks]

Adrian--what would you recommend as a starting point then for a first timer?

Manxminx--there is a good post on this forum regarding the size of air cell compared to the days of incubation--I think it might be in one of the stickys.

 

[manxminx]

Adrian - So it's ok to change the humidity on day 10 if needed then, just so i know for the future? I've looked at the pics that Kelly was talking about and all seems to be normal. It's amazing what a difference a day can make, I can see my little duckie starting to form (kind of!). Also, is there a maximum ammount of times you should candle an egg?



Kelly - Thank god for this site to help us first timers huh! I'd forgotten about that page with the pics on - so thank you. What have you got in the incubator at the moment, and what day are you on?

Kate

 

[Blooming chicks]

Hi Kate,

I love this site--I use it all the time as a reference. I also like the fact there is an entire site filled with people just like me--lol. I have 5 Welsh Harlequin eggs and 2 Rouen X Mallard eggs. I am on day 24--lock down is tomorrow, and the eggs are rocking all over the incubator. Hoping for a good hatch!