Is it at all possible to hatch chicks and ducks together?

[Smartie_Pants]

This spring I want to do an experiment. I want to hatch both some chicks in my LG bator. I have had very poor hatches before due to many factors and want to do it right and sucessful. However, the main reason for this "experiment" is to see the difference in temperment and friendliness between chicks gotten as week olds and chicks I hatch myself.

I want to stick two or three of my blue swed eggs in there and try the same experiment with ducklings, but I have read you shouldn't hatch the two together. I'm not sure why though. Would staggering the hatch dates, putting the chicken eggs in and then 3-4 days later putting in the duck eggs, solve the problem? In my manuel both have the same temp. suggestions and both incubate app. 21 days.

Is there any way to do both together? I don't want to run the bator a second time after hatching the chicks, because then the ducks and chicks can't be in the same brooder and it will be hard to deal with.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Ducks take a full week longer, but there are a lot of people here that hatch them together. I am not one of them, simply because I am not hatching chickens right now, and I am incubating my first duck eggs right now. But there are many people that have told me they do incubate them together. Just make sure to set the chicken eggs 7 days after the ducks. I'm not sure if you can hatch them together.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

I didn't know they take a week longer. I may just put them in at the same time anyway. A one week old chick is roughly the size of a newborn duck, so that would even things out.

I want to put them in all at the same time because the eggs will be shipped and I won't know when they will come, so how will I put the eggs in before hand?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Sorry! I don't understand what you are asking!

I'm a bit slow tonight! You should know about when the eggs will get there, whether they are shipped or not.

 

[greyfields]

I do ducks/geese simultaneous to chicks in my sportsman. I set the humidity for the waterfowl, though, as they are far more valuable than chicks. So if I were to lose a whole clutch, I'd rather it be chicks than the ducks/geese.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Quote:
About what humidity do you use? What if you set the humidity between the two?

For example, if chicks were supposed to be 43 and ducks 49, could you set the humidity at 46-47 and still have both hatch?

(BTW, I know those numbers aren't right. It's late, and I can't think. If my questions seem a little crazy, that's why

)

Time for me to go to bed!