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BUYING AN INCUBATOR FOR EGGS MANUAL

I have had average to above average duck egg hatching rates in my incubators that boast automatic turning arms.īut, some folks garner equally good results in incubators that do not have an automatic turning arm or tray function and swear by them with equal vigor. While this is ideal for chicken eggs, which requires the air pocket turned upward to best facilitate breathing inside the egg, folks who do not favor automatic turning arms are concerned this type of positioning place the larger duck eggs too close to the heating element in the incubator.įluctuations of just five degrees on any part of the duck egg can cause significant hatching problems. This reason alone was enough to convince me that purchasing incubators with an automatic turning arm was the best way to go.Īn automatic turning rack does not actually turn the eggs, but rocks them back and forth.

BUYING AN INCUBATOR FOR EGGS MANUAL

An automatic turning arm or rack negates the need to for manual turning of the eggs multiple times per day.īecause duck eggs are much more susceptible to negative effects from humidity changes (even extremely brief ones) than chicken eggs, an automatic turning arm prevents the need to open the incubator lid multiple times per day to turn the eggs. This is a hotly debated question among duck keepers. If the duck hen attempts to sit the egg and/or the weather is fairly warm, a two or sometimes three day old egg might remain viable enough to hatch in an electric incubator. If you do not collect eggs every day and the hen refuses to sit, the viability of the egg is greatly reduced. The duck egg incubation period begins as soon as the egg is laid. At What Temperature Should I Incubate Duck Eggs?ĭuck eggs should be incubated at 99.5 ☏ (37.5 ☌). Do not expect a duck egg to hatch at 21 days like a chicken egg or give up on a duck egg before the 35 (to even 38) day mark. This 28 to 35 day time frame should help guide you through the incubation process. Muscovy duck eggs typically take up to 35 days to hatch. It takes Pekin duck eggs about 28 days to hatch. The incubation period for duck eggs varies at least slightly by breed.

How Long Does It Take To Incubate A Duck Egg?

You can also add a sponge to the water pan if you want to increase the humidity.Either the large incubator shown in the photo above with egg opening style trays or the smaller incubator below that have open trays, can be easily used to incubate duck eggs.

If the water depletes, the humidity level will drop too low. Filling up the pan helps maintain the desired level of humidity.

Replenish the water in the water pan regularly.

To find the relative temperature between the wet bulb and dry bulb temperature readings, consult a psychrometric chart online or in a book. Be sure as well to record the temperature in the incubator using a dry bulb thermometer. Using a wet bulb thermometer or hygrometer, take a reading of the humidity level.

Measure the humidity level in the incubator.

Consult your hatchery or the available literature on hatching your particular species of bird. You may need higher or lower humidity levels depending on the type of eggs you wish to hatch. Humidity should be around 45 to 50 percent throughout incubation, except during the last three days when you will want to raise it to 65 percent. Rotate the eggs daily by propping up different ends of the carton each day or carefully turning over the carton.Īdjust the humidity levels in the incubator.

Store eggs in cartons at 40 to 70 degrees F (4.5 to 21.1 degrees C) until ready to incubate.

You should expect about 50-75% of the fertile eggs will hatch, although it possible that this could be higher. Note that it is very rare for all of the incubated eggs to hatch and that certain species have higher viability than others.

Consider how many eggs you want to incubate.

The office may have recommendations for local poultry farmers. Contact your local agricultural extension office if you have difficulty finding an egg source. You will need to get eggs that are produced by hens in a flock with a male bird, or else the eggs may not be fertile.

Locate hatcheries or farmers in your area who sell eggs for hatching.

The eggs sold in stores are infertile and will not hatch. X Research source Don't attempt to incubate eggs you bought from a supermarket. You will want to incubate the eggs within 7 to 10 days after they have been laid.