incubators?

[CelticOaksFarm]

Never wash hatching eggs here, doesn't matter chicken, duck, quail. I would not leave eggs with her if she is not sitting on them. you collect the eggs putting them on the counter pointy end down in an egg carton. Prop one end of the carton up in the morning and switch to other end at night. This is turning the eggs prior to setting in the incubator. Collect how ever many you wish to try and incubate from a 4-7 day period. Just remember that how ever many you set, usually not all will hatch. Have plans for what you will do with the ducklings when they hatch. They will need a brooder, heat lamp, food and shallow water container. Ducklings are messy with their food and water, and need to be kept warm, so no just putting them outside once they hatch. You will need to, and want to change the brooder bedding a couple of times a day so they aren't on wet bedding and to help keep the smell down.

 

[stillmecle]

I went out this morning and there were 2 eggs in 1 nest
I have brought them both of them And put them in a carton and propped them up. I might see how much the egg turner is today because I can't be home all the time to turn the eggs. I have to travel in the morning to feed my horse and the goats, then I have to come home to study for my class, go to the boys and girls club to volunteer for 4 hours, get home at 630 and then go to school until 1030. come home relax go to bed get up do it all over again. so I really think I need the egg turner. I will wait till I have about 7 eggs before putting them in the incubator. how long do I wait before I can do my first candling?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Day 5-7 to candle will normally show some growth. By day 10 the eggs that will develop will be easily seen if candled.

 

[Chinchilla2]

Don't wash them and take them away as soon as you find them. The egg carton with pointy end down process mentioned by FLChickens is the way to go.

You may not be able to use the turner on duck eggs. They sit up considerably higher than chicken eggs (what the turner is designed for) and will wind up too close to the element. From your schedule, you should be able to hand turn with no problems though. Put an X on one side and an O on the other. Before you head out to feed, turn them so the opposite symbol appears (O if X is up, X if O is up). Depending on how long feeding takes (over 1 hour), turn when you get back or wait until after you study if that puts you a little closer to 4 or 8 hours. Turn them again after getting back from the boys and girls club and right before you head to bed. That'll give you 3-4 turns in a day, which should be fine.

I would get a week's worth gathered before incubating so 7 sounds about right.

 

[stillmecle]

Thank you everybody you all have been so helpful and I'll keep you posted

 

[stillmecle]

Cindy, do I turn the eggs over when I turn the carton over? You mentioned to put an x on one side and o on the other. That sounds like I should actually turn the eggs also. Am I understanding that right?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Don't turn the art on over per say. You always want them pointy end down in the carton. Place a book under one end, then later under the opposite end. Giving them a roughly 45 degree angle.

 

[Chinchilla2]

Quote:
Yes, you do turn the eggs but you always keep the pointy end down. In an egg carton, you can put them in there pointy end down and place a book or something under one end of the carton making it sit at an angle. Time to turn, you just pull it out and shift it to the other side of the carton. This way you never touch the eggs and don't have to fret on the rolling.

In the incubator, you still do the pointy end down thing but with duck eggs, you might wind up with them on a side instead of sitting on point. This is where X and O comes in to help keep track. The X is on one side of the egg while the O is on the other. Sounds weird since it is a round egg but if you picture a coin, one side has the face and the other doesn't. The face side would be X while the other side is the O. Keeping the pointy end lowest AT ALL TIMES, you roll 'em from one side to the next just as if they were a coin and you flip it. When they are laying on their side, I usually grab the big end with my thumb and forefinger. Using the pointy end as a pivot point, I stand them up and lay them over to the opposite side. Some people will place a hand flat on the egg and literally roll it like one would a hotdog on a slice of bread to smear mustard. Each technique works but it is a good idea if you use the hand roll to do it one way one time and the other way the next time. Sorta like when you have another person in bed with you. One time you roll to your left and the next time you roll to the right but you never roll completely over taking up the whole bed in the roll.

I hope that made sense. Just remember POINTY END DOWN. Even when an egg is on its side, you can always get one to tip a little bit so it stays lower than the fat end.

 

[GrannyCarol]

If I read that right, your male hasn't been with the females? If not, give them several days be ensure fertility. It takes 24 hours from start to finish to make an egg, so the first ones won't be fertile. If they have been with a male that you don't want babies from, you'll have to wait 2 - 3 weeks for the old sperm to die out. Ducks can hold sperm that long! You might get some from the current drake, but you might also get some from any other drake she's been mated with.

You can take the eggs and keep them in an egg carton in a cool room for up to a week or so as you gather the number you want to incubate. Put one end of the egg carton up on something to tilt it a little and switch the end every day so they do get some movement. Be sure to store them big (air cell) end up. The number of eggs doesn't matter, don't leave them with the duck, but bring them in. Do not refrigerate them though, that is too cool. Some might hatch, but it could keep them all from hatching.

Use 2 -3 days to be sure that you have stable temperatures and appropriate humidity. The eggs are better off waiting than being heated too hot or going hot/cool and back. Humidity is important for duck eggs. I live where the average humidity is about 22%, so I have a heck of a time keeping mine damp enough! Sometimes I even have to run a humidifier as well as using water trays with wet sponges in them. Most people don't have as much trouble.

I almost cooked one batch by using an older, cheaper thermometer. When I tested with a new digital halfway through, I'd had the center at 103! Needless to say, I opened the incubator and let them cool a bit and re-set it. The four eggs in the corners (I was using a turner) hatched, but I lost the rest.

Have fun!

 

[stillmecle]

What temperature should I set my incubator at? I have 7 eggs now so I'm ready to get incubator going. Please help me I wanna get this going