Duckling incubator up and running

[Ripeberry]

Got my duck eggs from Ebay and they arrived in the post yesterday, have given them a wipe over with the egg cleaner and disinfected the incubator.

Turned it on at 1pm today, so hopefully by the 30th September should get 3 cute fluffy ducklings.

Hatching day is when I have the older mindees so if they are lucky they will be able to see them emerging!

[nannymcflea]

Thats such a cool idea.


Where do they go when hatched?

[little chickee]

Oh how exciting! We hatch out ducklings (runners, campbells and magpies and this year call ducks) every year they are the cutest wee things far cuter than than chicks.

we keep some and sell the rest on.

keep us posted.

[Ripeberry]

Thanks, we are hatching Campbell X so they will be brown with white patches when adult and yellow and black as ducklings.

Once they hatch, they will be going into a brooder pen with an electric hen :D It's a thermal tile that they can huddle under and it can be raised up as they grow.

When they are about two months old then they will be introduced to the bath to have a swim.

The incubator I got is the Rcom and it will hold only 3 eggs of duck or hen or up to 8 quail eggs. It can be used for other birds as well.

It has a digital counter and tells you when to expect them :thumbsup:

[happytotschildminding]

Ripeberry - hope you have more luck than we did - tried two lots of duck eggs from ebay and all of them died in their shells before hatching - sprayed them with a warm water mist each day too - tried to do everything right but we were disappointed none of them made it:( .
Have also tried doing the caterpillars and all of them have died too - got three lots and they've all died:( .
Despite our failings, we're still going to try some chicken eggs from ebay (bantams) just waiting for them to arrive in the post and getting incubator out and disinfected tonight. Fingers crossed because its lovely when it works!
Carol

[Ripeberry]

It's now day 28 and out of the eggs that were originaly put in only 3 were actualy fertile. The middle egg that was put in at the very begining is now starting to 'peep' and the egg is cracking ever so slowly.
Started yesterday at 2pm and overnight there is a crack about half way round the egg.

There is one other egg in there but it's 7 days behind as the originals were not fertile. So fingers crossed I should have some pictures by the end of the weekend.

I've just got to get the brooder up and running.