Incubating eggs for the first time - incubator questions

[Pyxis]

Well, I know the basics, like temperature, humidity, etc. But I have a few other questions. Firstly, if I want the eggs to hatch on a weekend day, what is the best day to begin incubation? And, will a styrofoam incubator work for duck eggs? If not, how does one make a homemade incubator? I have an extra cooler laying around that would work, as well as a few other options. Finally, I want the ducklings to imprint on me so that they will be friendly. Yes, I am prepared to carry it with me everywhere, and have already placed an order for duckling diapers. What's the trick to getting this to happen? Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Habibs Hens]

there are many tuts and info in the learning centre for you

start there

 

[Comeonbroodyhen]

yes a styrofoam cooler will work for incubating duck eggs as long as the temperature is right and you turn the eggs just like the duck would it should work out pretty good. and if you want the duckling to imprint on you. you will have to teach it how to eat and drink by hand,you will also have to give it plenty attention every day. but most Important make sure that your the one it sees first when it hatches out of the egg. hopefully this helps you in your attempt to hatch some cute little fuzz balls.

 

[Pyxis]

Thank you both. I'm going to pop over to the learning center and see what I can dig up. Now, I found a tutorial on how to make a nice little incubator out of a Styrofoam cooler, but they put the light bulb in the lid. Is this a good idea, or should I put it closer to the eggs? I feel like having it in the lid would create temperature fluctuations when turning the eggs.

 

[Jmpeters]

I'm thinking bout making one like that too. And was wondering if putting the light in at the bottom and building a shelf for the eggs to lay on would be ok. And was also curious as to if the distance of the water from the light would effect the humidity.

 

[Pyxis]

Hopefully someone will know. I think I'm gonna buy two coolers, try the light lower in one, and see if it works. If not, I'll just do it like the tutorial says. They're only like $2, after all. But now I have a quick imprinting question - I read that if a duckling only sees humans, it will imprint strongly and never mate with another duck or live with them happily, but if it sees a human and sees ducklings, it will think it is a duck but may not stay friendly. What if I let one of the babies see me first, and only me, for a day or two, and then maybe introduce it to its siblings on day two or three, and then separate again? Will it be able to recognize itself as a duck in the future, so she can live outside with my other birds, but also stay very friendly? Has anyone ever tried this? If not, I may give it a shot.

 

[Comeonbroodyhen]

ya i tried it with a golden sebright chick not a duckling all i did was play with her feed her and give her lots of attention every day, and she followed me around. And when winter came and i had to put her in with the rest of the flock i made an effort to get out to the coop everyday to give her lots of attention. And that spring after that winter, when she was all grown up i didn't even have to play with her every day even know she was with the rest of the flock

she still liked to follow me around to get some attention. And the part that amazed me most was that she went broody and raised 3 little chicks by herself. And after she finished raising that brood she would still follow me around the yard. that goes to show that even if you hatch and raise it by yourself and it imprints on you it will still think it is a duck or drake and be with the rest of the flock. this might not work because it is a duckling not a chick, the scycology is different in a chick than it is in a duck.

and if you want a really good tutorial on how to make a home made incubator go to www.rushlanepoultry.com

 

[Pyxis]

Hey guys, look what I did today!

So I'm letting it run in preparation. You may notice the fan in there. I've been watching it and it seems to get hotter on the side closer to the bulb than it does on the side farther away. As it let it run, will the fan equalize the two sides? Also, even though I have a water trough, humidity seems to be an issue. When I first had it running, it read 61% and climbing. Then the bulb I had in blew, even though it was brand new, and I had to fiddle around with it a bit. Now it's stuck at 49%, same humidity setup. Any suggestions for that?

 

[Pyxis]

Okay, scratch the first question. I ended up just moving the light fixture higher and centering it. We'll see how that goes. Still, the humidity thing baffles me. Perhaps I'll just get a bigger water tray and see what happens with that tomorrow.

 

[Pyxis]

In case anyone is reading this, or it'll help anyone in the future making a duck egg incubator, I added a bigger water pan today, put in some river rocks to hold the heat, and upgraded my bulb to a 60 watt, and it seems to be going well. Now all I need are the eggs!