Setting DUCK eggs in a incubator -- need some help.

[honeydoll]

I am getting ready to set some Call duck eggs in my incubator. I have never used my incubator before. For that matter, I have never even hatched any eggs yet. I know, I picked a doozy to start with; I got a really good deal on 18 call duck eggs from a 4H winner. Anyway, the man I bought them from said I need to clean the eggs before putting them in the bator. My question is: How should I clean the poo off of them? I know I can't wash them, so what should I do? Is it necessary to clean them first? I would like to set them today so any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I always give my eggs a wipe when I collect them in the morning- they are often still a little damp at the moment as it it winter here. I can get most muck off the eggs that way. Otherwise I use a slightly dampened face washer- I wrap the egg in it for a few minutes to moisten any bits- then gently give it a wipe. There are sometimes some stains left on the egg- but anything loose is removed. I will also use my fingernail to scratch or flick off any bits I can.

Since your were long since collected it may be a little harder to remove anything - but trying a damp- but not wet cloth may help.

Best of luck with your eggs

 

[honeydoll]

Would this destory the bloom on the egg, or am I not understanding something correctly? I thought I'd wash off that natural protection.

 

[honeydoll]

Can I just set them in without washing off poo? Or is this a very bad thing to do? I heard messing with them too much can kill them.

 

[Kedreeva]

If there's any large chunks, I would crumble or wash those off. If they just have smeared mud/poo on the outside that doesn't bump out, you're ok to put them into the incubator. Personally, I don't scrub any of the eggs I put into my incubator because I don't want to damage or remove the bloom, but I would also not put an absolutely filthy egg into my incubator.

If you ARE putting in eggs with some amount of poo or dirt, I would recommend putting 3% peroxide in the wells instead of water for humidity. There was a thread here (https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=359601) where this was discussed.

EDIT: Make sure you read up some on hatching duck eggs before you set them. They were a lot more work for me than the chicken eggs- higher humidity through the hatch, spraying them with water once a day, giving them a few minutes of 'cool off' time once a day.... My hatch went great, but there was a lot more I had to do than other hatches.