12/6/2023 0 Comments Duck incubator homemadeI was upset with her.telling her that nature should be left alone and when she went to go return the six eggs the two that she left were smashed. There were eight eggs and she took six and left two. Two weeks ago my daughter found a dead mama duck about five/ten feet from its nest. Hi there, I have some questions on incubating our six duck eggs. The babies will need heat and kept draft free after they hatch. This is because they need the humidity generated by themselves to aid hatching, Keep the thermometer near the eggs for an accurate reading.Ĭover the water when the eggs start to hatch to avoid accidents.įrom day 16 it is important not to open the incubator, (no matter how tempting it is) until the eggs have hatched and the baby chicks have dried out and are fluffy. Heat is a light bulb, the size is whatever will keep the temp at 100 degrees at egg level. Mark the eggs with an 'O' on one side of the shell and an 'X' on the opposite side.Place the eggs into the incubator on their sides with the pointed ends angled slightly downward. Temperature has to stay right and the humidity has to be right at hatch or they die in shell Ventilation and getting the wattage right are the keys. NOTE: Most duck eggs take longer to incubate: 28 days Muscovy Ducks go 31 days. The difference of temperature should be no more than 1 degree from 100* The warmer the temperature, the faster the eggs will hatch, the cooler the temperature, the slower they will hatch. The eggs will hatch at 17-19 dependent on accuracy of temperature. You can check the fertility after 6 days, using a candling lamp the embryo should be red and clearly visible. As the embryos grow, they will create a little heat. You may need to adjust the temperature, so check it daily. Keep in mind you will need to turn the eggs 3-4 times a day. Put the light over the water, not the eggs. You can adjust the height of the bulb, and you can cover part of the top to keep the heat in. Let the eggs set for a day so they are room temperature before adding them to the incubator. Set up before you get eggs and maintain the correct temperature with water, before putting eggs in. Quail need about 60-70% humidity and 100* temperature.Įxperts recommend that you set the temperature of your still-air incubator to 101 to 102 degrees to best avoid the formation of cold spots on the inside. You will also need a thermometer with humidity. A more inexpensive incubator is a Styrofoam cooler. An aquarium works well and you can look at the eggs easily. You can use anything for an incubator as long as it is fireproof. We started with a store bought incubator and have progressed to large cabinet style incubators. Granted I was only about 8 years old! Years later, hubby Jim and I now hatch quail, chicken, duck, goose and emu eggs with success. I didn't understand the value of the right temperature and humidity, so year after year, I failed to hatch any eggs. I turn my eggs 3 times each day, so it is always a different side overnight.Back in the 1960's, I tried to hatch robin's eggs in an old metal breadbox. This keeps the developing embryo from sticking to shell wall and deforming. It's also important to turn the eggs a few times each day. I've found a wetted sponge does the trick. It can been difficult to keep the humidity high enough during dry Winter months. You also need to maintain the humidity around 40-50% for the first 18 days, then increase to 60-70% the last 3 days. This will automatically turn off the lightbulb when it gets too hot, and turn it back on again when within the desired range. Purchase a water heater thermostat and wire it into the power source.Buy a dimmer switch for plug-in lamps ($5 at the hardware store), and play around with the brightness until you find the right temp.Cut small holes in the lid until you find the right temperature (you can always tape over them if you overdo it).Here are some options for fine tuning the temps: And you need to hold that temperature for 21 days. The hard part is fine-tuning the temperature! Hatching chicks requires a very fine tolerance, 99 to 102 degrees F.
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