incubating duck eggs

[allquackedup]

just starting out looking for best incubator for duck eggs

 

[Sweetfolly]

I haven't tried it myself yet, but I've read some really good things about incubating duck eggs in the Brinsea Octagon 20 ECO.

I bought one and plan to have my first hatch (from my own stock!) next spring!

The Octagon 20 is supposed to hold temperature and humidity really well, and it's durable and easy to clean. My favorite thing about it is it's shape (hence the name "Octagon") - you could purchase an auto-turner for it, or you could just manually turn the whole incubator 3 - 7 times a day - no need to open it and turn the eggs individually!

If you're really serious about incubating duck eggs, I think you should check out the Octagon 20 ECO.

http://www.brinsea.com/prod-Octagon_20_ECO_egg_incubator-224.aspx

(For some reason, the picture of the ECO doesn't work on the Brinsea website, but it's nearly identical to the Ocatgon 20 Advance, minus a few fancy features)

Here's a link to the Octagon 20 Advance:
http://www.brinsea.com/prod-Octagon_20_ADVANCE_digital_egg_incubator-210.aspx

 

[tia]

I recently hatched my first batch of ducks with my new R-com King Suro 20. It worked great. It is on sale at this site too.

http://www.jmtdistributors.com/rcom-suro-20-n20.html

Tia

 

[allquackedup]

Thank you all for the information! I appreciate the links to check out those incubators.... Am waiting for our ducks to lay eggs to give it a try.... Let the fun begin !

 

[froggie71]

Well on our 1st try of incubating duck eggs, well any eggs really, we just used the cheapest LG no turner, no fan incubator not expecting much. We put in 16 eggs hoping to get at least 4. Well all 16 hatched. I do suggest getting a digital thermometer/hygrometer which we got for $6 at Walmart. Good luck. Hatching is sooooo fun. So much so we have eggs in the bator right now.

 

[FenDruadin]

I've been happy with my Hovabator with circulating fan & automatic egg turner. I've also added the digital hygrometer, but I keep the mercury thermometer in there with it to make sure the temp is calibrated right (and so far it has been). I had humidity issues with my first hatch, but I didn't have the hygrometer AND I kept opening the lid during the hatch (big, big mistake--don't do it!!). Now I've just got the central reservoir filled and my humidity is staying nicely around 60%. The hygrometer lets me know easily how I'm doing without opening the lid to check the water level in the reservoir. And I'm pleased with the fact that following the incubator's instructions gives good results on humidity.

Anyway, there are more expensive incubators out there, and cheaper ones, and I certainly someday wouldn't mind having one with a digital proportional thermostat (the cheap wafer thermostats in the lower-end incubators tend to fluctuate a bit, and they have to be adjusted as the incubation nears the end and hatching begins), but for now this one works just fine and it wasn't horribly expensive.

In the end, as long as it's basically functional, your first incubator is just your first incubator. Like any hobby, you won't know what you TRULY love until you've had some experience. So go with what makes sense (and isn't too costly) for now, give it a whirl, and later if you want another incubator (and who doesn't want another incubator??), you can buy whatever makes sense to you based on your experience.

How's that for a definitive answer? lol

 

[geosheets]

I bought a hovabator this year that I didn't have much luck with. I had better luck with my homemade incubator. The homemade one is a 12 volt thermoelectric cooler powered by a DC transformer and a digital temp controller.