Incubating chicken eggs and Harlequin welsh duck eggs at same time

[Gypsi]

Are the temperature and humidity requirements compatible? Seemed to me chickens hatched at about 21 days. HW seem to require 25 days. Have a plastic coleman cooler incubator, working on the thermostat arrangement now. (cooked some eggs in the old styrofoam bator last december, not taking chances.) will be still air, no fan.

 

[Gypsi]

8 people have looked and no replies, starting to think maybe this is impossible?

 

[Chickies2020]

Ive got campbells and opringtons in the incubator together. Campbells take 28 days and the chickens 21, so I ordered with perfect timing and the chicken eggs had their "day 1" on the eggs "day 7". I dont see why not!

 

[Gypsi]

These are all going to have to have their day 1 tomorrow morning. the duck eggs were a surprise in a trade I made for the chicken eggs. They are a neat idea if I can pull this off. No temperature differences?

 

[Chickies2020]

I have a brinsea Eco mini, it doesn't say to adjust anything for ducks vs chickens so o haven't. so far (knock on wood) I've got 4 chickens and 2 ducks growing well in their eggs.

 

[Pyxis]

Starting them at the same time isn't the best idea. Welsh Harlequins take the same amount of time as any other mallard derived duck - 28 days. They lock down on day 25. The problem with staggered hatches in the same incubator is at some point you'll have to jack up the humidity and stop turning the eggs, which isn't good for the eggs that still need lower humidity and to be turned.

I do incubate duck and chicken eggs at the same time all the time, but that's because I have a separate incubator to move the eggs into as they go into lockdown. The best way to do this in one incubator is to set the ducks eggs, wait a week, and then set the chicken eggs.

I'm not saying you can't do it the way you're planning, but it will make a lot of extra work for you and your hatch rate may suffer.

 

[Chickies2020]

Agreed- if they both have the same day 1 your lockdown for chickens and humid hike means you won't be turning the ducks. Sorry missed that part where day 1 was going to be the same. I staggered mine for this reason.

 

[Gypsi]

well it is my great hope to move the chicken eggs out and under a couple of black australorps that are good brooders before lockdown. That is my hope. and I'm working on it. if it were a real emergency I could pick up a styrofoam cooler and another thermostat and move the duck eggs over before lockdown if the chicken situation isn't looking good. All I have to do is leave 2 eggs in a nest for 4 hours and I'm prying one of these ladies off the nest. When I candle the eggs I will take any that are not making, mark them, and start miss broody on the sitting. I think.

 

[Gypsi]

Hallelujah the thermostat, the one recommended on another thread, this is the Inkbird ITC 1000F it works beautifully. i can sleep tonight without fretting about incubator temp. Only took me a couple of hours to put together while watching tv and one run through with the little book. (the wrong thermostats are both sitting on my table waiting to be returned)

turning eggs, humidity fairly low, temp fairly constant. I was so alarmed to find my nice temp of 99 had jumped to 104 last night when apparently my ac kicked off for the night. Hopefully I woke in time and I turned off the 11 watt bulb. I cannot imagine using a 40 watt for incubating in a cooler.