Staggering Hatches? Ducks & Chickens

[NoSpringChick]

Okay, I have two questions.....my eggs arrived one day apartl...I couldn't help myself and placed the first batch (barred rocks) in the bator last evening....
My second batch, Buff Orps, & Silkie/Crested Mix arrived today....I won't be able to place them in the bator til tonight.....Will that make a huge difference come hatchin time...one day apart?

The second question is can you place duck eggs with chicken eggs?

 

[babyboy1_mom]

I have never done a staggered hatch, but I don't see why one day would hurt. You will just not turn the later eggs for the last day. As for putting duck eggs with chicken eggs, I would say no. Duck eggs required more humidity than chicken eggs do and I say that it is a bad idea. Also, duck eggs take longer to hatch, so you will not be able to oen the incubator to turn the duck eggs. If you do open the incubator to turn them, then you will be losing humidity for the chicken eggs and that is not good.

Dorothy

 

[NoSpringChick]

Would say it's possible to hatch them both at the same time?

 

[babyboy1_mom]

I don't think that it would hurt for a one day difference for tge chicken eggs. I would stop turning both sets of eggs on day 18 of the first set eggs. I would not put any duck eggs in with the chicken eggs.

Dorothy

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I do staggered hatches, but I have two 'bators. One is for my waterfowl eggs, the other, my chickens. When it comes time for hatching, I move the chicken eggs into the duck incubator (the higher humidity). That way, I can still turn my other chicken eggs and it doesn't seem to hurt the duck eggs to miss a day of turning....

 

[Haviris]

A day won't hurt anything. In my last hatch I had chicken and duck eggs, I didn't do anything different for them, but I also had two incubators and just moved everyone over as they were due. A few years ago when I first started hatching I hatched both duck and chicken eggs, put in at the same time with only one bator and didn't have any problems at all. If you want to hatch both, go for it!