incubating duck eggs

[CASEYPIETRO]

Hi everyone so i have 3 ducks i started with 6 but 1got taken by a hawk....i dont know how either because theyre almost a year old and rather large but thats beside the point. My question is my male duck has mated with the 2 females almost everyday for awhile. When i go to candle the eggs to see if they are fertile.nothing is in there so i just put them in the fridge. My question is lets say my ducks mate and there is an egg in the coop the next morning can you tell if it is fertile right then? If not when can you? Thanks alot

 

[ChicagoDucks]

Hi everyone so i have 3 ducks i started with 6 but 1got taken by a hawk....i dont know how either because theyre almost a year old and rather large but thats beside the point. My question is my male duck has mated with the 2 females almost everyday for awhile. When i go to candle the eggs to see if they are fertile.nothing is in there so i just put them in the fridge. My question is lets say my ducks mate and there is an egg in the coop the next morning can you tell if it is fertile right then? If not when can you? Thanks alot

Welcome to the duck forum!!

You have to incubate an egg for a week or so to know if it is fertile. Unfortunately you can't tell if they are fertile without incubating them.

 

[shicks0211]

yikes..you are probably putting fertile eggs in the fridge by mistake. you must incubate an egg. Duck eggs can be out of the incubatoer for several days, even a week or more and if you candled them you'd see nothing more than a yolk. Then after about 5 to 7 days in the incubator at a constant 99.6 degrees..you'll candle them and see veins have formed...there isn't really a way to tell if they're fertile by candling before you incubate them.

 

[CASEYPIETRO]

So i just got another this morning should i put it in the incubator???

 

[ChicagoDucks]

So i just got another this morning should i put it in the incubator???

It is generally better to not stagger your hatch in your incubator, but instead to have your eggs all hatch at the same time.

To make that happen, you'll want to store your eggs in a cool (50° to 65°F) & humid place, like your basement or garage. I put mine in an egg carton (big end/air cell facing up) wrapped in a plastic bag in the basement. Once I get enough eggs, they all go into the incubator. After 8 days, I'll candle them and toss the yolkers (unfertilized) and quitters.

This website has some nice photos of candling eggs so that you know what to look for:
http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/embryology/

This is a great thread about hatching waterfowl:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed

 

[CASEYPIETRO]

Thank you so much id love to hatch more ducks they're the best pets i could sit and watch them for hours and just laugh

 

[ChicagoDucks]

Thank you so much id love to hatch more ducks they're the best pets i could sit and watch them for hours and just laugh

Absolutely! They are wonderful creatures, aren't they?

 

[CASEYPIETRO]

My babies <3

 

[SouthernPride]

I'm being driven crazy here! It was Friday that was the 28th day for my duck eggs. They started to pip Saturday. Yesterday we saw a lot of progress, more pipping. I actually sat there like a dummy expecting to see some actual hatching, but nothing happened. Now this morning, the 31st day, still no hatching. Lots of rocking and chirping but really no more progress. Should it really be taking this long?

 

[Amiga]

Have you seen this on hatching from the Stickies?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed

There is a hatching section that explains quite a bit. I am not a hatcher, but sometimes I look in on the Thread Formerly Known as Hatch Day is Today. That is a long-running conversation on hatching.