To raise ducklings from egg, you must follow a different process then raising chicks from eggs. Ducklings has a different developmental schedule from chickens. To aid in the development of the ducklings from eggs, monitor the temperature and humidity within an incubator.
Use a growth chart to monitor the development of the ducklings within the eggs. A growth chart can show you the development schedule of duckling for each day of incubation. Additionally, having a growth chart allow you to catch any problem with the development of the ducklings in the egg.
How to Hatch Duck Eggs
Different breeds of ducks require different length of time to hatch from the eggs. For instance, Pekin and Mallard duck eggs take twenty-eight days to hatch, while Muscovy duck eggs take thirty-five day to hatch. Because duck breeds require different lengths of time for the ducklings to hatch from the eggs, you can not use the same incubation schedule for duck eggs.
You must adjust the setting of the incubator according to the breed of duck that is being incubated. Ducklings within the eggs develops in specific stages during incubation. At three days of incubation, the duckling will have its heart beginning to beat.
At seven days of incubation, the duckling will have its beak and webbed foot developed. Around day fourteen of incubation, the body of the duckling will begin to fill with down. You can monitor each of these developmental stage through the process of candling.
Candling is when you shine a light through the egg to observe the duckling within the egg shell. If you candle an egg at day ten of incubation and only see the shadow within the egg, then the egg are infertile and should be removed from the incubator. Through candling, you can determine whether the ducklings within the eggs is developing correctly or if they have passed on.
If there is a blood ring within the egg, then the duckling pass on early in the incubation process. If the egg remains clear after the first week of incubation, the egg is likely infertile. Near the end of incubation, the eggs should appear dark within the shell with a clear air cell within the wide end of the egg.
The size of this air cell indicate the amount of moisture within the egg. If there is too little moisture within the egg, the duckling may drown within the egg fluid. If there is too much moisture within the egg, the membrane will become too dry and the duckling will become trapped within the shell.
Compared to chicken eggs, duck eggs require additional care due to the different amount of moisture within their shell. During the first three week of incubation, mist the duck eggs to prevent the inner membrane from drying out. During the final days of incubation, provide higher humidity to the duck eggs.
Because duck eggs have a thicker shell than chicken eggs, there is a higher requirement of humidity to aid in the hatching of ducklings from their shell. If the ducklings are incubated in low humidity during the final days of incubation while they are attempting to emerge from the shell, the ducklings may pass on. The equipment required for incubation is crucial to the successful hatching of ducklings from the eggs.
You need to use a reliable thermometer and a reliable hygrometer to determine the humidity and the temperature of the incubator. An automatic egg turners will rotate the eggs for you within the incubator. However, you must remember to turn off the automatic egg turners during the lockdown period of incubation.
Additionally, you must remember to use the mister for misting the duck eggs as you are incubating them. During the lockdown period of incubation, you will candle the eggs one last time, remove the automatic egg turners, and increase the humidity within the incubator. You must not open the incubator during this period as it will allow the humidity within the incubator to escape from the incubator.
As ducklings are sensitive to changes in humidity, it is important to maintain the humidity within the incubator during this time. Once the duckling begins to pip the shell, it may take twelve hour or forty-eight hours for the duckling to fully hatch from the egg shell. The most common failure of duckling incubation can be prevented if you monitor the humidity and the temperature within the incubator.
Issues like temperature spikes, failure to turn the eggs, or low humidity levels within the incubator will result in a poor hatch rate of ducklings. Should the incubation process of your duck eggs go poorly, refer to the growth chart for the incubator to determine any error in the incubation process. Through the growth chart for the incubator, you can determine if the humidity or the temperature within the incubator drift from the settings required to incubate the duck eggs properly.
By using the growth chart for the incubator, you are able to understand what is considered normal development of ducklings within the egg for that period of incubation. Additionally, through using the growth chart, you can immediately recognize any abnormal development of the ducklings within the incubator.