How to Hatch Duck Eggs

Hatching duck eggs can be a wonderful and rewarding experience. Although this task is a relatively simple one, care must be taken throughout the process to ensure a safe transition from egg to incubator.

Things You'll Need

  • Duck egg incubator
  • Duck eggs
  • Incubator thermometer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Obtain duck eggs that have been fertilized.

    • 2

      Ensure that a proper incubator has been purchased or built. Incubators can simply be any enclosed box or area that can retain heat and has easy access to the eggs.

    • 3

      Make sure the temperature of the enclosure or incubator stays at approximately 99 to 99.5 degrees F for the first 25 days. Reduce the temperature to 98.5 degrees F on day 25 and allow incubating for an additional 3 days.

    • 4

      Control the humidity of the incubating duck eggs for the first 25 days to 86 percent. Adjust the humidity to 94 percent for the remaining 3 days.

    • 5

      Turn the duck eggs an odd number of times per day throughout the first 25 days. Three, five, and seven times are a common process. This allows the hatching duck eggs to "rest" in differing positions. Stop turning the duck eggs over the last 3 days.

    • 6

      Consider candling (placing a small, very bright flashlight at the top of the duck egg and shining light through) the duck egg after 7 days to check on the fertilization process.