The Duck Thread

[Miss Lydia]

Weeee! A duckling is starting to hatch! I'm naming this little guy/gal Zeus!

Oh my gosh it yawned..

 

[Zombified]

I cannot stop watching it! I also heard some tapping just now, from another egg, though I'm not sure which one. I'm really excited! I will definitely be posting pictures when the ducklings hatch!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I cannot stop watching it! I also heard some tapping just now, from another egg, though I'm not sure which one. I'm really excited! I will definitely be posting pictures when the ducklings hatch!

What are they in?

 

[Zombified]

I have them in a makeshift incubator. I'm using a styrofoam box with holes poked in the lid to help with air flow. I'm using a heat lamp, and the lid isn't completely covering the box. Just enough to keep the temps stable. My thermometer is about 5 degrees, give or take, off, so I haven't been able to find the exact temp, but for the most part, I've kept the temperature at about 99-100*F. Inside the makeshift bator, I put dirt, leaves, feathers, and shredded paper. When the ducklings hatch, I'm going to replace the dirt/leaves/feathers/shredded paper with a towel.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have them in a makeshift incubator. I'm using a styrofoam box with holes poked in the lid to help with air flow. I'm using a heat lamp, and the lid isn't completely covering the box. Just enough to keep the temps stable. My thermometer is about 5 degrees, give or take, off, so I haven't been able to find the exact temp, but for the most part, I've kept the temperature at about 99-100*F. Inside the makeshift bator, I put dirt, leaves, feathers, and shredded paper. When the ducklings hatch, I'm going to replace the dirt/leaves/feathers/shredded paper with a towel.

so this is a dry hatch no humidity besides whats already there.

 

[Zombified]

Well, I honestly don't know. I have three bowls of water in there, but it says that the humidity is only 22%. So either it's wrong, or it is a dry hatch.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well, I honestly don't know. I have three bowls of water in there, but it says that the humidity is only 22%. So either it's wrong, or it is a dry hatch.

Sounds like a dry hatch to me, is this what BeeKissed was doing? how did hers come out?

 

[Zombified]

Beekissed didn't look at humidity, but she did add water to the nest regularly. She was also hatching chickens, not ducks.

Her first two nests weren't successful, but her third nest was. I don't know the exact percentage, though. She's now working on a fourth nest. I tried to emulate her third nest as best as I could, since that one was the one she had the most success with so far.

I honestly have no idea why my Mallard/WH mix ducklings are doing as well as they have. I've lost a few, one or two to my own stupidity, and two more that just stopped developing, but overall, they seem to be much healthier than the pure WH eggs did. The mixed ones moved around A LOT more than the WH ones did. But I already knew my WHs weren't very hardy. Leg issues have been very common with my WHs. I got them from a breeder, but her stock was from a hatchery here in Texas that's already been known for less-than-ideal birds. But I also turned them a lot more often, plus I didn't have holes in the top until recently, so who knows? At any rate, I have at least one healthy duckling working to get out, and that makes me happy.

 

[subhanalah]

Beekissed didn't look at humidity, but she did add water to the nest regularly. She was also hatching chickens, not ducks.


Her first two nests weren't successful, but her third nest was. I don't know the exact percentage, though. She's now working on a fourth nest. I tried to emulate her third nest as best as I could, since that one was the one she had the most success with so far.


I honestly have no idea why my Mallard/WH mix ducklings are doing as well as they have. I've lost a few, one or two to my own stupidity, and two more that just stopped developing, but overall, they seem to be much healthier than the pure WH eggs did. The mixed ones moved around A LOT more than the WH ones did. But I already knew my WHs weren't very hardy. Leg issues have been very common with my WHs. I got them from a breeder, but her stock was from a hatchery here in Texas that's already been known for less-than-ideal birds. But I also turned them a lot more often, plus I didn't have holes in the top until recently, so who knows? At any rate, I have at least one healthy duckling working to get out, and that makes me happy.

I wouldn't fashion a home made incubator after Bee's experiment. There are several different ways to make a very good home made incubator on this site as well as youtube. I wouldn't call what's happened over there "success" But I guess that depends on what the perceived goal is.

 

[Zombified]

I don't think it's perfect, no, and I would much rather use an incubator(or pay someone else to, lol) or a broody duck, but I have no money for the first one, and my broody ducks stopped being broody before their eggs hatched.

At any rate, I have one hatched duckling! Say hello to Zeus!