The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Eastling on April 25, 2013, 10:13:14 pm
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We were give some duck eggs today. Could someone give me some advice please as only every incubated one set of chicken eggs.
We have a Brinsea Octagon 20 they are recommending a setting of 37.4 - 37.6 c and humidity of 45 to 55%
I have read on the web that you don't need to worry about humidity until the last 3 days of incubation, then the humidity needs to be 70% all very conflicting.
Also when would you stop them being turned.
thanks
Jackie
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Relax!
I worry less and less about humidity and the temp you have been recommended is fine.
I have used the brinsea for the first time with my last hatch and had the best results I've had in a long time. I am in a pretty damp area and run the incubator dry for the first 25 days and just add water for the final 3 days when I also stop turning.
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Thank you will give that a go. Just wanted to give them a fighting chance.
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Yep to the above - that's what I've heard as well anyway. The slightly complex thing is to lose enough water so they can internally pip OK a couple of days before hatch but then to keep the humidity up while they're trying to externally pip so they don't get shrink wrapped inside the egg. What I was told with the ducks and geese was to run the incubator dry but to spray with warm water once a day (or more) when manually turning (the goose eggs have to be turned end over end hence the manual bit even with a cradle). Then have a really high humidity for the last couple of days. If you read the books, they are graphs to follow so you can plot the weight loss and check they're losing the right amount of water over the first three weeks.
I was following this with broodies and four out of five still failed to hatch so I've clearly not perfected the technique - I think they were too dry (they lost too much weight). I now have an incubator full of goose and duck eggs so I'll be trying this in parallel with you. I'm not quite running it dry at the moment - I have it at 30% humidity (I think I'm in a dry area, certainly at the moment) and I'm spraying them once a day (and according to the controls, it takes hours after spraying for the humidity to drop right back down again).
H
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My OH has set the humidity at 35% interesting re weighing them. Out incubator is automatic and turns the eggs.
When we had chicken eggs we used a damp sponge to give slight humidity but guess that would replace spraying with water.
I don't think you are far from us Hester, we are near Dover and today is a wet day!
We will have to compare notes!
Good luck
Jackie
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Hi,I hatch lots of geese and duck eggs,I would sagest you set your humidity to 45-50%,I always like to turn duck and goose eggs buy hand as I have far higher hatch rates buy doing so,I think your average small incy is designed to turn a small egg from a chicken not a large egg such as a goose.I turn the eggs 3 times a day end over end only don't rotate them as you can wind up the elasticy bits that hold the yolk in place.When I turn the eggs I then spray them with luke warm water until it runs off them.
As soon as the eggs start to pip,stop turning them and raise the humidity as high as you get it at least 70%.
Below is a picture of the best hatch I ever had from my octagon 20, 9 from 9 goose eggs.In the picture I have all ready removed the shells it was so tight in there at first I thought they were dead.I am in canterbury so not far from you either.
Graham.
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc431/graham68j/SL380237.jpg) (http://s1211.photobucket.com/user/graham68j/media/SL380237.jpg.html)
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Hi Graham
Thanks for the reply, lots to think about. Silly question but.. do you still let the incubator turn the eggs as well as turning them yourself?
We will have to get together with Hester to compare notes
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Lovely pics
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Hi,when I turn buy hand I take the incy off the turning cradle and only do it buy hand.I had great difficulty hatching goose eggs until I started doing this.
Its what works for me.
Graham.
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Just candled the eggs. Looks like all 7 are fertile. Have a slight problem OH has cracked one doesn't appear
To have gone all the way through, would it be an idea to leave for a couple of days to see if all ok. Have read that you can use glue think it would be a pva type glue.
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100% is great! I'm really annoyed with one of our broodies who has her head away with the fairies and is rapidly losing fertile eggs as she forgets to cover them. We had eight out of nine fertile of our own eggs (after having had loads of infertile eggs before). She kicked out two early on which I transferred to the incubator and although they'd gone cold, they survived. Then she kicked one out a couple of days ago and that's not made it. Then I went in this morning and she'd pooed all over one, left it where it was, moved three across but left a further three to go cold as well. So now she's down to sitting on three and I've put the four she'd left to go cold in the incubator and am waiting with baited breath to see if they're going to make it. Suspect not :-\. Grrrr - so much for broodies being more reliable than incubators.
As for your cracked egg, I've not put any cracked eggs in but I guess you've nothing to lose. Just keep a close eye on it - I imagine the danger is it's more open to infection so be very careful with how you handle it,
H
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Hi,I have herd of people sealing a crack with nail varnish.Not something I have tried myself but the person who told me swear it was true.
Good news about the fertility.
Graham.
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That's interesting will see if the egg is still viable and may well try, but OH thinks it is too big a dent/crack.
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Hi,I doubt it will work if the egg is actually damaged,its more for sealing up cracks.But you have nothing to loose
Graham.
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hi graham will check again and them make a decision. :fc:
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Update of the 7 eggs we had one we had to discard due to the crack but have 5 hatch successfully. What a mess they make! but very cute all the same.
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Hi,loverly picture I'm glad the hatch went so well for you,welcome to the mess,ducks have got to be the messiest creatures I have ever come across.
I have some in a brooder in the living room once,they actually manages to get s**t onto the celling.
I love ducks but they are just soo messy.
Graham.
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LOL know what you mean Graham. We have got them in the lounge but have a lid on them so all contained! What age can they go on to wood chip?
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Hi,why didn't I think of that a lid.
I put them on shavings pretty after only a few days,they eat a few but it doesn't seem to do them any harm.I like to have them on a towl or mat for the first couple of day,just so they have a nice grippe surface as they can be a bit prone to spraddled legs.
Graham.
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They're so cute! You've got three different breeds there? Mine look similar - I've got 12 that hatched over four days last week six black (Cayugas), one pure yellow (Aylesbury) and five yellow with brown touches (Silver Appleyard). All really cute too. I'm beginning to wonder whether my brooder set up will last them until they're off heat in a couple more weeks. They all seem to have doubled in size already and, yes, so much mess - I've refilled their water four times today and most of it is going straight onto the shavings (which they've been on from day one). I've got the drinker stood in a bowl so no idea how they splash it so far.
I'm hoping if it gets warm enough they can go into an outside run sooner. Graham, when do you normally move your ducks outside/off heat? They all cuddle together anyway - and seem to spend more time on top of the brooder (which is not warm) than they do underneath it.
H
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Hi,this is more aimed at geese which is what I mainly keep and the ducks just go in with them.
I normally keep them in a brooder in the house for the first week or two.I then move them outside into a shed with a concrete flaw covered in wood shavings,topped up daily.After about 3 weeks I put them out in the day time on to grass.I have a 8' x 4' movable run,if it looks like its going to rain I cover the run with a polythene sheet.You need to keep an eye on them at this age if they get wet or look cold move them back into the shed.If they get wet and cold up to about 6 or 7 weeks they will die,wet is the big killer I tend to air on the side of caution here,I only put them out if I am about ready to move them.At 7 weeks I puts them out in the orchard my geese then stay out 24/7.
Heat,I keep them with an electric hen up to 4 weeks and then after that I have a low hanging 40w bulb in the shed this mainly for if they get wet.
I feed them chick crumb for the first 3 weeks then growers pellets.When they go into the grass run I put growers pellets out with then so they have a choice.
I moved these into the orchard a couple of days ago,they were instantly adopted by a goose and gander.
Graham.
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc431/graham68j/31590500-a0df-480a-a4c0-1e5e40024def_zps32f93ac6.jpg) (http://s1211.photobucket.com/user/graham68j/media/31590500-a0df-480a-a4c0-1e5e40024def_zps32f93ac6.jpg.html)
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Hester the chap that gave me the eggs had runners and a couple of other breeds wandering around so not sure what we will get!
Aylesburys and Cayugas are very pretty, may have to get some at a later date. Ours are using the water as a paddling pool at the moment! will have to put them into something bigger soon. They seem to grow quicker than chickens.
Lovely picture Graham.
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Thanks Graham - very helpful and sounds like it makes sense for ducks too. Still not got a suitable (predator free) outbuilding but I have just bought a big duck house which can have a run attached so I'll get that ready (if the weather holds long enough to finish painting it - ever). Then they can stay inside if it's wet or I can cover the run.
Lovely orchard but looks like at least one tree needs a prune - I can have a go at it next winter if you want!
H