Fisherlmiranda
Songster
So its kinda a long story. I had a hen duck get taken by a raccoon. And I was really upset, so we decided to incubate the last 3 eggs we collected from her. I dont wash them and they sit on my counter on a egg skitter. Not having the extra cash to buy one. We YouTubed a DIY incubator and using a foam cooler, a light bulb socket, a dimmer switch, and a piece of glass we threw one together for free! Bought a little temp and humidity gauge. Put in a bowl of water and a light bulb. Ran it and fittled with the setup till it was reading 99.5° and 60% humidity. Then put the 3 eggs in. Day 6 candling, revealed one was a dud and the other 2 had the spider veins. So all went well till day 18, we had our first warm day in ohio. I opened all the windows, and the next time I went to turn the eggs...103°. I candled them that night and no movement. They were dead. So then i gathered 10 hatching eggs.Following instructions for gathering hatching eggs. Put them in the incubator after warming it up for 24hr. On day 6 i candled them. 1 was a dud. So down to 9 eggs. Next candling on day 12, two more were not moving. Now here we are on day 19, two more are dead and not moving. I'm turning the eggs after washing my hands 3 times a day. At this rate I'm afraid none will hatch, I've only got 5 of 10 left. What am I doing wrong? I'd really like to hatch out some ducklings because I'm down to 1 hen and 1 drake after losing the one to a coon. I have a cayuga and a runner duckling. But my adult ducks are Welsh harlequin, they are my favorite and I'm trying to make a comeback after losing that one. She was a silver Welsh and so beautiful. My one I have left is a gold welsh and shes pretty, but man I miss seeing those blue green feathers of the silver. We also lost a welsh drake to a hawk. It's been a learning curve last few months! Here are the hatching instructions I'm following.
