Hatching Ducks :)

Well, as a last minute type of thing, i bidded on some duck eggs on Ebay yesterday! So i spent the day researching :D and made an incubator for them, in the hope that i would win!
Guess what, i did. I have won 6 eggs, they are a mixture of;-Aylesbury and silver appleyard.

I really hope they hatch. Will post updates on this thread

Looking forward to it! Love ducklings, not suitable with two kittens and a 3rd floor flat lol. Cant wait to see/hear more xx

Good luck with your eggs. How long to you have to incubate for?

I hatched my ducks and chickens out in an incubator as well, its great to watch. Although even though my ducks were small (Call Ducks) they made ALOT of mess

Cant wait! hope Milo and Alfie get along well with them.
Incubation take approx 30 days, at 99.9F and 66% Humidity. Lol, will turn the eggs 3 times a day.

:D All starts on Tuesday.

Good Luck!

They have arrived!! well eventually, the postman left them outside, on the steps, Pfft... poor things, i will be complaining about that! Then saw them when i was going out. So they were outside for around 3 hours. All fertile, i candled them! :D

They are setting just now, and the temperature on the incubator is not getting stable. I have until 10pm tonight to get the tem[p. right before i have to put them in. Also, just realised the Hygrometer was 2nd class post, so that will be arriving tommorow. I have placed water in the dish, so lets hope its right.

Why O Why am i attempting this, This is a warning for everyone, to thoroughly research before getting a new pet and make sure you have everything! :D

They were fertile already? Eggs only usually germinate and become fetile if they have been incubated and you normally can only see if they are fetile after a week of incubation were veins are visible. If you can see veins already thats not a good sign as they would of gotten cold through the post and the developing chicks will have died.

Sorry to sound negative but i know alot about this type of thing and i thought i would just warn you

I mean that they are hatchable, you can see that when candling them before incubating. They have an embryo. I have read it on google over 100 times and the Ebay seller also told me.

If you mean you can see yellow within the egg that does not mean they are hatchable im afraid, you will see the same in a battery hen egg. It is the same with any bird as i have ananlysed my own ducks, chickens, finches and pigeon eggs they all look the same when first layed but then once the chick begins to develop you will notice the difference, for example my chicken eggs that havent been fertalised will still contain the yellow after a week whereas my duck eggs which have been fetalised will show small red veins within them and as the chick develops inside the veins become a dark shadow and then the egg becomes completly blacked out. You can also check if they are fertile by weighing them throughout the incubation period as the egg will become lighter.

Just MHO

Not to say they wont hatch by the way, im sure they will!

its just im a bit of a nerd on the whole incubation thing Didnt mean to give a mini lecture.

if they have actualy started incubation and you can see an baby, or blood veins and the seller shipped them then they are all already dead. you CAN NOT start incubation, stop and ship and then restart. shipping also has a high incedence of damaging the eggs so even if fertile they may be dead.

the only way to tell if an egg is fertile before incubation is to break the egg open and look for the tiny dot sized bulls eye mark on the yolk. sellers should only be selling eggs from birds that have had live babies hatch out before, that is the only indication of a birds fertility.

Nath J wrote:If you mean you can see yellow within the egg that does not mean they are hatchable im afraid, you will see the same in a battery hen egg. It is the same with any bird as i have ananlysed my own ducks, chickens, finches and pigeon eggs they all look the same when first layed but then once the chick begins to develop you will notice the difference, for example my chicken eggs that havent been fertalised will still contain the yellow after a week whereas my duck eggs which have been fetalised will show small red veins within them and as the chick develops inside the veins become a dark shadow and then the egg becomes completly blacked out. You can also check if they are fertile by weighing them throughout the incubation period as the egg will become lighter.

Just MHO

ahhhh, thats what i meant, i cant see any viens atm, they have not started incubating. Im sure of that!! :D
I thought that meant there fertile... or so i read.

Its okay lol Im glad to help and to go on about it to someone haha my family are fed up with my telling them useless info.

Got them in last night, had to change the bulb again (4th time) as heat was too low. Turned them in the morning. Will wait for Day 7 for next candling. It stayed at 96F at night, then this morning it went up to 100F, i hope thats ok. Just aslong as it goes no where near 104F.

They should be fine

Ok people, i need help with candling.


So far so good with temperature and humidity. I have been turning them 5 times a day. I am now on Day 3 and candled them a few minutes a go. I dont see any viens, but i can see a black circle (the yolk?).

Is it too early to see viens appearing? Really need help. i Hope they hatch!!

When Netty gets off the phone, i'll ask her about candling as she candles the rep eggs.

ohhhh brilliant!!, ok will wait in suspense!! :D

Some places on the net says thats fine for day 3 and some say, viens only appear on Day 7.

Not sure what you have to look for in duck eggs as it's different with crestie eggs in that with cresties you're looking for a doughnut shaped red ring.

The best way I've found is to do it at night in a room completely darkened and use an LED torch. You should be able to see quite clearly with a little manoevering to block any excess light out with your other hand.

thanks, thats what i done, i dont think the torch im using is LED, i just picked up the cheapest one i could find. LOL

I can see inside it, like the air cell, but i dont know what the large black shadowy thing is....
hmm very confusing

Oooh... I feel like such an idiot now, I was like why do they have to use candles? Surely a torch would work better? Is it that obvious I'm an Essex girl?

-Rezz

^ LOL :D

http://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-candling.html

not a fish forum in any way shape or form, teachs you exactly how to candle bird eggs and gives a few examples of what things should look like.

Rezz wrote:Oooh... I feel like such an idiot now, I was like why do they have to use candles? Surely a torch would work better? Is it that obvious I'm an Essex girl?

-Rezz

Now you come to mention it

I suppose it's called that because that's what they used before torches were invented....I think