Incubation and imprinting

[MandoDuck]

Hi everyone!
Hatching season is finally here! After over a year of searching, I finally found someone in my area who breeds my fav bird species, the mandarin duck! If everything will be alright, I will get 2-3 ducklings that will hatch this season and raise them as "pond pets".
Now, I am very interested in the topic of imprinting because I would like to tame the lil ones and have them eating out of my hand. I read somewhere that this process starts a few days before the egg hatches, as soon as the lil nugget makes its first sounds. If the ducklings are brooded my a hen, that's when they learn their mother's "voice" and know who to follow when they come out of the shell.
This gave me the idea of getting the eggs a few days before they should hatch and put them in my incubator. I wouldn't risk buying the eggs before this timestamp as I've heard many of them fail to develop properly.
For the transportation part, I can connect the incubator to a powerstation I use at home during power cuts. The breeder is only 40 min away from my home, so I am not worried about the battery running out.
I am looking forward to your opinions

 

[MGG]

Hi everyone!
Hatching season is finally here! After over a year of searching, I finally found someone in my area who breeds my fav bird species, the mandarin duck! If everything will be alright, I will get 2-3 ducklings that will hatch this season and raise them as "pond pets".
Now, I am very interested in the topic of imprinting because I would like to tame the lil ones and have them eating out of my hand. I read somewhere that this process starts a few days before the egg hatches, as soon as the lil nugget makes its first sounds. If the ducklings are brooded my a hen, that's when they learn their mother's "voice" and know who to follow when they come out of the shell.
This gave me the idea of getting the eggs a few days before they should hatch and put them in my incubator. I wouldn't risk buying the eggs before this timestamp as I've heard many of them fail to develop properly.
For the transportation part, I can connect the incubator to a powerstation I use at home during power cuts. The breeder is only 40 min away from my home, so I am not worried about the battery running out.
I am looking forward to your opinions

Congrats! Well, I would recommend letting the breeder hatch them and then get them later that day. They'll still imprint just fine, and you won't run the risk of them dying from the stress.
Mandarin eggs are not hard to incubate, not any harder than other ducks. The raising is the tricky part.
When I got mine, they were two days old. They imprinted just fine and will eat out of my hand even now that they're a year old and about to enter breeding season. Can the breeder vent sex them? Does he know how? It's better to just get a pair. Trios can sometimes work, but one bird will always be shunned. Pairs are much better.
You'll also want to raise them on Mazuri Waterfowl starter and life mealworms. They can be tough to get eating, they have to actually be taught. Other ducks and chicks almost automatically know how it works, but Mandarins do not.

 

[MandoDuck]

Congrats! Well, I would recommend letting the breeder hatch them and then get them later that day. They'll still imprint just fine, and you won't run the risk of them dying from the stress.
Mandarin eggs are not hard to incubate, not any harder than other ducks. The raising is the tricky part.
When I got mine, they were two days old. They imprinted just fine and will eat out of my hand even now that they're a year old and about to enter breeding season. Can the breeder vent sex them? Does he know how? It's better to just get a pair. Trios can sometimes work, but one bird will always be shunned. Pairs are much better.
You'll also want to raise them on Mazuri Waterfowl starter and life mealworms. They can be tough to get eating, they have to actually be taught. Other ducks and chicks almost automatically know how it works, but Mandarins do not.

Thanks for the tips! I wanted to get three, because it's a higher chance to get a male and a female from that lot. The breeder agreed to take back the odd one out
As for the feed, I live in Romania and unfortunately Mazuri isn't available in my country. I will feed them the second best option (Versele Laga Duck 1&2) until they grow up and I can switch them to a whole raw diet (currently doing my research, as I've stated in my older posts).
Can you tell me how should I get them eating? Also, I want to buy a ceramic heat lamp for their brooder box, is the 150W option enough powerful? I think I will buy a thermostat too.