Observe eggs before adding them to incubator and make sure that there aren’t any cracks, double yokes, misshapen, oversized, etc. This will help maintain humidity inside while the air gets very hot. Set humidity to 65% (for the first 23 days, this will increase later) Run your incubator for at least a day to make sure it remains stable and is fault free. The best part about hatching your own eggs is watching them develop! As an alternative, you could use some fine chicken wire mesh to cover the outside of a light bulb. Daily Maintenance. Since duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs, make sure you buy and incubator with setting trays that are designed to accommodate their larger size. The hole will contain the light bulb and its socket. To incubate Muscovy eggs ‘artificially’, place the eggs under a duck for 10 days and then transfer them to an artificial incubator. From day 1 to day 25, the temperature in the incubator should be 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit (37.5 degrees Celsius). This will allow you to easily check the temperature / see what’s going on. Put the incubator on a level and hardy surface. You can tell it’s a failed embryo because there’s no surrounding blood vessels connecting it to the yolk. You can stick it on with duct tape or a hot glue gun. The Definitive List of Chicken Treats: What Can Chickens Eat? Test the incubator. It’s best to leave the thermometer on top of the eggs, because still air incubators are subject to temperature layering (hot air rises!) The Happy Chicken Coop - All Rights Reserved. I gave him/her a proper sky burial.. RIP little ducky.. A good breeder drake is one who mounts several times a day, is very large and has a big meaty chest. Around the 5th day you’ll definitely be able to see which eggs are developing and which aren’t. The humidity in the incubator needs to be a bit higher for hatching duck eggs than for hatching chicken eggs. Placing the incubator at least 10 feet or so from an AC vent and 5 feet from any windows works pretty well for me. After you have your incubator and eggs ready to go, these are the steps that I followed to successfully hatch all of my duck eggs. 25 watt bulb), you will want to leave the lid slightly open to regulate the temperature and air flow. Purchasing an Incubator. That should raise it by 2 degrees. Step 2: Put your eggs in your incubator on their side. Your best bet is to search on Amazon for the size incubator you need, in your price range, and read the reviews. Duck eggs require between 50-70% humidity for most of the hatch cycle and around 80% the last few days before hatching. When the duckling makes a pip hole in the shell the air bubble that has been growing inside will be pierced. You want to collect the cleanest eggs for incubating because you won’t be washing them before they go into the incubator. Home made incubators are not only cost effective but are very fun and easy to make. Bad eggs should be thrown out before they smell foul and get the other eggs sick (eggs can breathe!). Duck eggs require between 50-70% humidity for most of the hatch cycle and around 80% the last few days before hatching. Set your incubator to 37-38 Degrees Celsius. The successful hatching rates on ducklings is commonly lower than that of chicks. Usually it’s possible to repair small cracks with some tape, but if the crack is too large the embryo will easily succumb to bacterial poisoning and exposure to dry air. Step 3. Also, make sure the eggs are note cracked. If you’re using a 15 watt bulb, you will most likely be able to leave the lid completely closed which will keep the temperature much more stable. Eggs that are extra large are generally double-yolk and will not hatch. There are so many incubators on the market that it’s hard to know what to buy. Step 2. 44 Beautiful DIY Chicken Coop Plans You Can Actually Build, Beginner’s Guide to Raising Backyard Chickens, Chicken Nesting Boxes 101 and 13 Best DIY Plans, 10 Breeds of Chicken That Will Lay Lots of Eggs for You, 7 Reasons Why Your Chickens Stopped Laying Eggs. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Add to that the longer incubation period necessary for duck eggs and you run the risk of a weak hatch. The temperature should be kept at 99.5 degrees through-out the incubation. Attempting to help the newly hatched duckling could actually harm the young bird. If it’s too cool, you can cover the outside of the plexiglass with a towel or tin foil to reflect the light back in. After this happens the ducklings may need between 12 to 48 hours to crack enough of the egg to make its exit. Here you see what it looks like on Day 1, which is not any more distinguishable than unfertilized egg. I’ve found that wetting my hands every time before I turn an egg (you should be turning them 180 degrees 3-4 times per day) makes the egg shells soft enough for the duckling to hatch out. With this type of lamp , you only need to cut a small hole in the back for the plug and not a gigantic one to fit an entire lightbulb. Unfortunately someone who was helping me turn the eggs accidentally dropped one. Incubation period of various duck … We’ve also found that covering the lightbulb with tinfoil helps keep the temperature inside more stable. Warm up the incubator prior to placing duck eggs inside by heating it to 98 degrees for an hour. Fill the glass jar with water and place it inside the incubator. Cut a square hole in the top of the incubator with your exacto knife for the Plexiglass. Before putting in the eggs, turn on the light and monitor the temperature and the humidity for a day or so. We want to keep between 99 – 101 degrees F, which is good for a still air incubator. Make sure the incubator’s fan and temperature gauge works properly before you buy it used. The key is to put the incubator in a part of your house where the air temperature is very constant/stable and not subject to drafts or too much sunlight during the day. If your duck has not externally pipped within 24 hours of an internal pip, you should poke gently through the shell and the membrane with a needle and provide him with a hole big enough to breathe through. … This will help maintain humidity inside while the air gets very hot. The hardest thing to maintain with a home made incubator is a constant temperature inside. At day 10, I discovered 2 more infertile eggs. Bad eggs might have a dark spot that looks like a fingernail clipping. You can stick it on with duct tape or a hot glue gun. Duck eggs lose weight over the process of incubation – this is necessary for hatching. Incubate duck eggs that are a normal size. Cut out a hole at one end of a styrofoam cooler. The Ultimate Quail Feed Guide, The Definitive Guide to Chicken Tractors and 13 Free DIY Plans, 10 Mistakes Made In Winter With Your Chickens, Backyard Chickens: A Practical Handbook to Raising Chickens. Fill the glass jar with water and place it inside the incubator. Plexi glass is easier to work with than glass because it’s lightweight and easy to cut. Do not be discouraged or conclude you necessarily did something wrong.  I almost lost one of my ducklings because the membrane of his egg was abnormally thick and rubbery and he could not break himself out even though the entire shell was cracked through. Washing eggs removes the bloom. What Exactly Is a Broody Hen and How to Stop It? Collecting Duck Eggs for Incubating. Not sitting up or down like they would in the store. Duck eggs that are thicker retain more moisture and protect against bacteria and viruses more effectively. How To Store Your Chickens’ Freshly Laid Eggs. Hopefully your eggs will have lost just the right amount of water. Rotate your eggs often during the first week (e.g., seven times a day). We made things easy for ourselves by buying the type of lamp which comes with a metal and plastic lining, which would help radiate the heat outwards and act as a barrier to keep the ducklings from burning themselves when they hatch out.