Please HELP! Pre-incubation for ducks

[LittleLakesFarm]

Hello everyone. I bought some Indian Runner duck eggs which arrived yesterday. I was told they were fresh and once I got them to keep them out of the incubator narrow side down for 24 hours. I am planning to order 6 more which are crested Indian runners and would like to put them in the incubator at the same time. I am not sure when the second batch of eggs will arrive but it should be this week. Will the first batch of eggs be okay outside of the incubator until the second batch gets here? Do they really need to be kept narrow side down for 24 hours before incubation and if so, why? The first batch of eggs is at around 75°F (room temp.) at the moment, narrow side down. At 5pm tonight it will have been 24 hours and they will be ready to go into the incubator. Will they be okay out of the incubator for a few days until the second batch of eggs come? Or should I just go ahead and put them in the incubator now and add the others when they arrive? I am just worried about the "lockdown" phase so it would be nice to have them all on the same schedule. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or can help in any way. Thank you!!!

 

[sumi]

Shipped eggs should be allowed to "settle" for 24 hours before setting them and storing them pointy and end down allows the air cell (which often gets damaged or detached during shipping) a change to settle back in the fat end of the egg and hopefully reattach. When storing eggs for longer than 24 hours pre-incubation you should tilt the eggs at a 90* angle at least once a day. This helps keeping the yolks centred in the egg. Also keep them in a fairly humid environment to help prevent too much moisture loss from the egg before you incubate them. It would make things much easier for you if you wait for the second batch of eggs to arrive and then setting them at the same time. Then you don't have to worry about lockdown on the first batch before the second batch is ready and they will all hatch more or less at the same time. Good luck with your hatch!

 

[LittleLakesFarm]

 

[LittleLakesFarm]

Shipped eggs should be allowed to "settle" for 24 hours before setting them and storing them pointy and end down allows the air cell (which often gets damaged or detached during shipping) a change to settle back in the fat end of the egg and hopefully reattach. When storing eggs for longer than 24 hours pre-incubation you should tilt the eggs at a 90* angle at least once a day. This helps keeping the yolks centred in the egg. Also keep them in a fairly humid environment to help prevent too much moisture loss from the egg before you incubate them. It would make things much easier for you if you wait for the second batch of eggs to arrive and then setting them at the same time. Then you don't have to worry about lockdown on the first batch before the second batch is ready and they will all hatch more or less at the same time. Good luck with your hatch!

Thank you for that!

So they will be okay for a few days or possibly a week? The woman that is sending the second batch said she is shipping them on Monday so they probably won't arrive until next Wednesday, Is there a deadline on how long I can keep them before I put them into the incubator? Are these guys going to be okay to wait that long? Also, when tilting the eggs to 90°, do I leave it that way for awhile and then back to narrow side down/vertical? Or do I just turn it and immediately back to narrow side down? Also, do I turn them the same way every time or one day to the right, next day to the left? Sorry, I am new at this. Thank you for helping me! <3

 

[sumi]

If the eggs you bought first are fresh they will be fine for another week. You can store eggs for up to 10 days without problems, but after that the hatchibility of the eggs starts dropping significantly and by day 18-20 you may run some problems. Have you got an egg tray that you can fit those eggs into? If you do, find a thick book, or something similar and slip it under one side of the tray, tilting the whole tray will all the eggs in, then when you need to tilt them the other way, remove the book and slip it under the opposite side of the tray.

 

[LittleLakesFarm]

If the eggs you bought first are fresh they will be fine for another week. You can store eggs for up to 10 days without problems, but after that the hatchibility of the eggs starts dropping significantly and by day 18-20 you may run some problems. Have you got an egg tray that you can fit those eggs into? If you do, find a thick book, or something similar and slip it under one side of the tray, tilting the whole tray will all the eggs in, then when you need to tilt them the other way, remove the book and slip it under the opposite side of the tray.

Ok, yes I do have a styrofoam egg tray. When I turn them at an angle with a book, How long should they be left that way until I turn them again? Do I need to have them upright in between turning and if so for how long? So basically, how long do I leave them after each turning?

 

[sumi]

Turning (tilting) them at least once a day is recommended, but you can turn them every 8-12 hours. Just tilt them from side to side each each time, without leaving them upright in-between.