How to Incubate Mallard Duck Eggs

Mallard ducks are highly recognizable, as males feature a bright green head, yellow-orange bill and brown, gray and black body. Like most types of dabbling ducks, the females are light brown. Although adult mallard ducks usually take care of their eggs and care for their young after hatching, you can also incubate and raise mallard duck eggs at home.

Things You'll Need

  • Incubator
  • Thermometer
  • Humidity gauge
  • Pencil
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Instructions

    • 1

      Start up the incubator several hours before you add the eggs to stabilize the temperature. The ideal temperature is 99.5 degrees F, but a range between 98 and 99.9 degrees is adequate.

    • 2

      Set up a thermometer and humidity gauge so that you can monitor these two numbers consistently throughout the incubation process.

    • 3

      Write an "O" on one side of the egg, and an "X" on the other side of the egg gently. This will make it easier to keep track of turning once you begin to incubate the eggs.

    • 4

      Add mallard duck eggs to the incubator with a small amount of water for humidity. The ideal humidity level is 30 percent.

    • 5

      Rotate the mallard eggs three times daily. The odd number of rotations is necessary so the chick rests on a different side every night. Some incubators have automatic egg rotators, simplifying this process for you.

    • 6

      Increase the humidity level to between 40 and 50 percent the week before the predicted hatching date. Mallard duck eggs hatch approximately 28 days after they are laid.