What type of incubator do your use for ducks

[Learningstill]

Hi,

We are new to incubating eggs. I want to make a homemade incubator, but I thought I should research what people usually buy for duck eggs. We would need an incubator for extra large eggs as we will be hatching khaki, welsh, appleyard, and saxony.

What do you use?
What do you like and dislike?
What should we look for in a store bought incubator?
Hatch rate?


If you have a homemade, how did you make it?
What do you like or dislike?
Hatch rate?



Thanks a bunch!

 

[aprille218]

I use the Rcom incubators. They work well for hatching out my call ducks. I like how accurate and easy they are to operate. They also adjust from goose eggs to quail eggs in size easily. I don't like the time it takes to clean them and how expensive they are. Hatch rate for home grown chicken eggs 100% for the show quality call ducks that I want less

 

[Learningstill]

I use the Rcom incubators. They work well for hatching out my call ducks. I like how accurate and easy they are to operate. They also adjust from goose eggs to quail eggs in size easily. I don't like the time it takes to clean them and how expensive they are. Hatch rate for home grown chicken eggs 100% for the show quality call ducks that I want less

What takes so long in the cleaning process?

Are call ducks harder to hatch than other breeds of duck or is the incubator not as good for duck eggs?

Thanks

 

[aprille218]

R coms have a series of grooves in the bottom of the incubator that are harder to clean than I'd like. Yes call ducks are very hard to hatch. The show quality ones have very short bills and round heads which make getting out of their egg shells hard without help.
Aprille

 

[Learningstill]

R coms have a series of grooves in the bottom of the incubator that are harder to clean than I'd like. Yes call ducks are very hard to hatch. The show quality ones have very short bills and round heads which make getting out of their egg shells hard without help.
Aprille

Thanks for getting back so soon. Have you tried any other breed of duck in this incubator? Just wondering if other breeds had better success or if they too did not have the greatest hatch rate.
Are the grooves part of the base or like an oven rack? Is the purpose behind the grooves proper circulation?
Thanks again.

 

[wyochickenranch]

I made my own incubator and actually holds temp and humidity alot more consistent then the cheap store bought incubator . Mine has 2 light bulbs run off a hot water heater thermostat and I also have a computer fan for air and used 2" foam board to insulate it ..Easy thing to make and I've gotten one batch of duck eggs hatched and got 11 out of 13 ..

 

[Learningstill]

I made my own incubator and actually holds temp and humidity alot more consistent then the cheap store bought incubator . Mine has 2 light bulbs run off a hot water heater thermostat and I also have a computer fan for air and used 2" foam board to insulate it ..Easy thing to make and I've gotten one batch of duck eggs hatched and got 11 out of 13 ..

Thanks for sharing! What is the case made of? Are you using heat lamp bulbs or regular house light bulbs and what wattage? What did you use for humidity? (the hot water thermostat - I'm not familiar) If you are able, will you post photos?

 

[S1ilkieGirl99]

I use bransea

 

[wyochickenranch]

I use 2 regular 60 watt light bulbs the case is made of plywood with 2 plexiglass viewing opening I used 2" foam insulation on the inside you can pick up the water heater thermostat at any hardware

 

[Learningstill]

I use 2 regular 60 watt light bulbs the case is made of plywood with 2 plexiglass viewing opening I used 2" foam insulation on the inside you can pick up the water heater thermostat at any hardware

Okay now I can visualize it a bit more. I did not realize regular bulbs would generate enough heat. I will have to look up the thermostat. I do not understand how it works to control the humidity, but then again this is all new.

Thanks!