What is the hardest part of incubating duck eggs?

[Sweetfolly]

I never mist ANY of my duck eggs - I tried it once with some of my own Indian Runner eggs I'd been having great hatch rates with, and I had very poor results.

I never "cool the eggs" down for 10 minutes a day (or whatever it is) either - besides when I have the whole tray out of the 'bator for candling.

Quote:
Misting the eggs does not increase the humidity - the process of water evaporating from the surface of the egg actually pulls moisture OUT of the egg. I dry-incubate to begin with (with great results), so my misting them caused them to lose too much water and shrink-wrap - they couldn't move around in the egg and they suffocated before externally pipping! So, misting the eggs is a good thing if you're incubating at a high humidity. Dry incubating, where I live, means that the humidity stays between 30-45%. I candle sometime late in week 2 and if the air cells look too big, I'll add some water to the 'bator, but I don't gauge the humidity when I do - the humidity doesn't matter, as long as the eggs lose the correct amount of moisture throughout the incubation process. Just compare the size of the air cells you're seeing with the ones on this website: http://www.minkhollow.ca/MHF/doku.php?id=farm:candling:day_7 (this link takes you to Day 7 of incubation, you can navigate to the day your eggs are on on the sidebar), and adjust the humidity based on that.

Air cell development:

You'll hear a LOT of conflicting information as far as misting vs. not misting, and "correct" humidity levels for duck eggs. But, depending on the porosity of your eggs and the region you live in, it all varies! You'll have to figure out what works best for you!

I incubate in a Brinsea Octagon 20 ECO with auto-turning cradle (and a second ECO without turner for hatching), and I have 14 of 14 of my own Call duck eggs developing in it right now. The first batch (I'm doing staggered hatches, so the 14 are split into groups of 2 to 6 with different due dates) just went into the hatcher - they're due Tuesday and they're pipping internally! This is my first time doing Call ducks in the Brinsea, but I've lost count of how many batches of Indian Runner, Dutch Hookbill, and Campbell ducklings I've hatched in it! I don't turn my incubators off at all from March to November!

And, in my personal experience, my Indian Runners DID tend to hatch about 2 days early. All my other breeds hatched right on time, but the Runners were always early.

 

[KansasKid]

i thought through osmosis, the movement of water through a membrane goes from a region of higher water concentration of less solute to a region of lower water concentration of more solute, theoretically being that the moisture on the outside of the egg when misting would diffuse into the egg and keep it from loosing too much moisture. (hypotonic to hypertonic)

 

[T Hi]

Hmmm...... lots to think about.

Well another BYCer has been kind enough to loan me an automatic egg turner. I put it in today. I have noticed that since the eggs are not just laying on their sides anymore that the temp has seemed to go up!

I have had to re-stabilize the temperature again.

I think I have it steady again but I have an alarm on 1 of the thermometers that goes off if the temp goes up again!

I'm planning on using the same bator as my hatcher too. (since it's the only 1 I have!)

I didn't know that Indian Runners tend to hatch a little earlier. That might explain why a friend of mine had 1 of my eggs hatch at day 24 instead of 28!

So much to learn!
Thanks guys!!

 

[duckyfromoz]

I have found that having the eggs laying on their sides gives a better result with duck eggs. I tossed my auto turner after only using it three times- and have never looked back.

Because I have a roll turner in my current incubator- at times days can go by without me needing to opening it. Water needs to be topped up every 4 days or so. So there is no cooling period with my eggs. Its not something I have ever done on purpose. Opening the incubator to candle or fill water only takes a minute- but I am lucky enough to have a great machine. I have found no reason to mist during incubation either, but did when using a hovabator. I misted each time I opened it- but didnt ever open just to mist. Now the only time I use the mister is to help along some late hatchers that can benefit form the extra moisture to loosen the membrane.

I know that with work and family- sometimes it is hard to stick to a schedule of turning- but having them lying down certainly works alot better for me when hatching Indian Runner eggs.

 

[Baralak]

I find the hardest part of hatching any type of egg is the second after lockdown waiting on the first pip!!

 

[cracking up]

As you can tell from the posts different parts of the country and different incubators give different results. For me it is important for the air cell to be big at hatching or they drown.

The most critical time is hatching - it's hard to keep from helping but it really does take a long time for the egg sack to be absorbed. If you help too soon you can do more harm than good. Some take longer than others so if one is slow just leave it. There are times to help but if you really think you need to go back to the board and get advice before tinkering with the eggs.

 

[T Hi]

Quote:
What kind of incubator do you have?

I am using a borrowed still air LG. I'm hoping this group of eggs will hatch enough ducklings to convince me to buy my own bator! I was looking at the Genesis 1588 with turner. I have never seen roll turner. What is that?

 

[T Hi]

Quote:
I live in Washington State! It has been ridiculously humid so far this year!

Perfect for my adult ducks!

 

[sheila3935]

I have hatched 2 sets of Khaki Campbell/runnerX and I hatched them like chicken eggs. No misting dry incubation and humidity at 70% at lockdown and all of mine hatched. First set took longer then 28 days last set hatched early. Try different ideas and find the one that works best for you.

 

[cracking up]

The weather here has been unusually wet too. If you start with inexpensive eggs and learn what to look for it really helps. Only problem is now I have a bunch of mixed ducks that I love but would like better quality. Shipped eggs are another ball game. All of mine this year have had wobbly air cells so I have to incubate up right. I'm trying to find all I want from CL but it's hard to get the breeds I want. Hope your eggs hatch.