incubating while out of town?

[Dwen]

I have a dilemma on my hands. My call duck has been laying for almost three weeks, (an egg every two or three days) and I have been collecting them to try and hatch. I don't have an incubator, so I have been trying to borrow one through our local extension office, but I haven't been able to get ahold of them. ( I've spent over a week making calls, sending emails, and even stopping to try talking with them in person)
Well, the problem is, I no longer have a month to hatch them. In about 25 days we are going up to Pennsylvania to visit my grandparents, and as far as I know, you can't exactly take an incubator with you.
That said, my question is how much maintenance is required during lockdown? We will be gone roughly 5 days, (leaving Thursday and coming back Monday) and I was under the impression that the last five or so days of incubation is lockdown. If I'm wrong about lockdown, under what conditions could I bring the incubator with me? I know hatching calls is tricky enough already, but I'm really trying to make this work. If I can't, the next chance I'll have won't be until the end of May, and my duck might be finished laying by then.
Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[country_girl011]

I have a dilemma on my hands. My call duck has been laying for almost three weeks, (an egg every two or three days) and I have been collecting them to try and hatch. I don't have an incubator, so I have been trying to borrow one through our local extension office, but I haven't been able to get ahold of them. ( I've spent over a week making calls, sending emails, and even stopping to try talking with them in person)
Well, the problem is, I no longer have a month to hatch them. In about 25 days we are going up to Pennsylvania to visit my grandparents, and as far as I know, you can't exactly take an incubator with you.
That said, my question is how much maintenance is required during lockdown? We will be gone roughly 5 days, (leaving Thursday and coming back Monday) and I was under the impression that the last five or so days of incubation is lockdown. If I'm wrong about lockdown, under what conditions could I bring the incubator with me? I know hatching calls is tricky enough already, but I'm really trying to make this work. If I can't, the next chance I'll have won't be until the end of May, and my duck might be finished laying by then.
Thanks for any help you can give.

lockdown is the last 3 days of incubation.
and ducklings cant just be left in there alone.
since you are hatching calls, problems are very common.
and theres a good chance the babies will not be able to hatch on their own.
and once hatched and dried off the babies need to be removed and given water.
why dont you just give your eggs back to your hen and see if she will go broody and you dont have to worry about leaving?

 

[Dwen]

I would do that, but I'm worried that 1, she'll give up half way through, and 2, that she won't lay anymore after that. She is a show quality white call, and I've read where several people's calls have given up within a week of the hatch date.

 

[country_girl011]

i havent let my hens try to set yet so im not sure on that one.
do you have any chickens that are good broodys?
or have a friend that could incubate them for you?
with them being show quality i really wouldnt leave the eggs alone durring lockdown they will probably need help hatching.

my first call hatch didnt go so well.
i had 15 eggs make it to lockdown .
all but 3 died before internally pipping .
i had to help the 3 the entire hatch.

 

[Ilovemyduckies]

Lockdown is the last three days of incubation. I really don't think there is a way you can bring the incubator with you. You may have to plan it so that you will be back to put them into lockdown, that way you don't have to wait as long and don't have to risk bringing them with you. Last year, I was incubating some eggs, and figured out that I would be going out of town and would not be able to put them into lockdown on time. it didn't go too bad, I only had five eggs in it. I put them into lockdown one day late and still got one healthy duckling (I was just happy that it didn't mess it up so bad that I got none)

 

[Dwen]

our chickens are all RIRs and i don't know anyone around here who raises or incubates ducks.