First time hatching ducks

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Hanlills777

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Hello, I'm about to hatch ducklings in my classroom but as the children are about to have a weeks holiday I'm going to have to unplug the incubator about 2 days after the eggs have gone in so I can take the incubator home and then again a week Later to bring them back to school. This is the only solution I can think of in order to keep an eye on the temp and humidity. I only live about a 3/4 min drive from the school. Can anyone give me any advice on whether this will be ok or not? I don't know what else to do, thanks
 
Hello,

It would be best not to transport them during the first 7 days as this is the most critical and a broody will sit very tight during this time.
Temperature wise, you should be OK. The eggs will hold their temperature for a while and a broody would leave the nest for a while to eat and so on. Keep the lid on and transport the incubator as gently as you can.

The main worry is eggs moving around when you are transporting the incubator in the first few days of incubation.

Could you not set eggs after half term? Or set them at home (they will keep, just turn them a couple of times per day and store them upright, pointed end down) then you are transporting them one way - to school only and after the critical first week.

I assume you realise you'll quite probably have too many drakes and have a means to deal with this.
 
Hi Hannah :)

you must be very excited about the thought of impending ducklings!

Tim's advice is very sound, he has a great deal of experience.

Any problems with incubation may result in dead embyros or problems may manifest themselves later in the ducklings life with external and internal organs not developing correctly.

I am sure you have it all covered, but what are your plans for the ducklings when they hatch? I also assume you are aware of issues with imprinting. Sometimes you may only get one hatch and if you do it will imprint on humans and then you may have a rather large issue on your hands! Especially if it is a drake!

I remember getting my first 4 ducklings and suddenly having a huge panic about what I had taken on and the magnitude of what they required, especially since mine turned out to be 3 drakes and 1 female! They will change your life and are a huge, but wonderful commitment!

Do you have homes for them already sorted or are you planning to use them for food animals?

Zo
x
 
Hi Hannah,
Like you, I'm a complete novice at incubating and hatching, and I've got a dozen quail eggs in my little Brinsea Mini advance incubator at the moment, due to pip this weekend I hope. I just wondered if you'd come across two paperbacks I've found very helpful, which would also be good for the children in your class to use for researching your project, ie Katy Thear, Incubation; a guide to Hatching and Rearing see amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/090613725X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=poultrykeep09-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=090613725X (£3.34)

also Terry Beebe, 'Hatching and rearing your birds' see amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/mn/search/?_encoding=UTF8&x=16&tag=poultrykeeperforum-21&linkCode=ur2&y=20&camp=1634&creative=19450&field-keywords=Hatching%20and%20rearing%20your%20birds&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks (£9.99)
Both of these give a lot of clear information about what to do when setting up an incubator and also preparing the brooder for when the ducklings or chicks hatch. I'm finding this takes quite a lot of time and thought, when you're doing it for the first time. Our house is a bit like a maternity ward ATM! I've found that the temperature drops a lot at night, even in a centrally-heated house, and I expect that your classroom also has quite wide variations in temperature when the heating is switched off overnight and at weekends. Something else to think about and plan for, if you want to brood them for a few days in the classroom after hatching, though if you wait until after half-term, as Tim suggests, and then add on another 28 days to hatch, maybe it'll be a bit less cold by then.
There's also a thread running at the moment on here, about setting up and heating brooders, see http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3636 which i've found useful.

(Edit;) Was there any particular reason for choosing to hatch ducklings rather than chickens? I don't know what you plan to do with them after they're hatched, but of course the incubation period for chickens is only 21 days, a week less than ducks, which might be helpful in your planning.
 
Tim, no I'm a complete beginner to hatching, I don't know what you mean by the drake comment? (I know drakes are boys though) I could start after half term but I want the children to have a great experience with the ducks and as the term is 6 weeks long, by the time they hatch the children will only have one full week with them before they're picked up the week after. I have a nursery class so some children are only in 9-11:45am so really they won't get long with the ducks at all. I just think 4 weeks is a long time for a 3 year old to wait to only get a short time with the little ones. thank you for your advice :) Zo, does imprinting mean they'll think I'm their mum or something? Why is this worse in boys? There is another child in the school that lives on a farm. His mum is lending us the eggs to hatch, then when they're a couple of weeks old she will be taking them back for us as Easter holidays are not far away. I am aware they may end up as food though as it's a working farm :( If I could keep them I would but I just don't have the means to do so :( I am indeed very excited, I can hardly believe it's happening, I almost feel it's too good to be true (to answer to marigold...) I'm absolutely in love with ducks, I always have been. They're my favourite animal, I think I'm more excited than the children lol. I have a big heat lamp and a brooder already to go so that should keep them warm in the classroom. There's a low and a high setting on it though, when do I use each one? Sorry for the multitude of questions but I'm so scared of hurting their development in any way or harming them unintentionally once their hatched through not knowing what I'm doing, Hannah :)
 
There are plenty of people on the forum who can talk you through every step of the process Hannah and any problems you may have or information you need at any stage. Thing is the more you are told in one go the less you take in, as i'm sure you know, so Its best to go just a few steps at a time. So sterilise the incubator, set it up over 48 hours and when happy all is right sterilise the eggs and put them in. Next stage will be candling, which is as exciting as hatching for me. We do ours three times. You will need a thermometer fitted at floor level of the brooder, so plenty of time to find one.
 
Hanlills777 said:
I have a big heat lamp and a brooder already to go so that should keep them warm in the classroom. There's a low and a high setting on it though, when do I use each one? Hannah :)
Click to expand...

Hi Hannah, i'm doing a lot of experimenting on this ATM as well. I've fixed up the heat lamp on its chain suspended from a piece of wood resting across the gap between two bookcases on our upstairs landing, over the brooder. I've been experimenting with the temperature in the brooder by raising and lowering the lamp a few links of the chain, and reading off the temp. from a max/min thermometer placed in the brooder, sometimes right under the lamp and sometimes a little way out of its circle of heat. I've read that initially the brooder temp, needs to be the same as in the incubator and needs to stay steady, so the chicks don't get a cold shock when transferred, ie about 37.8C. ATM I'm a bit concerned about the way the temp. in the brooder drops at night now it's so cold, even inside the house, and i'm working out how far to lower the lamp at night and cover part of the top of the brooder to give a correct reading through the hours of darkness when the ambient temperature is low because the house isn't heated. I'm glad I started experimenting several days before my hatch is due as it seemed to take some time to get an understanding of how the equipment should best be set up. Obviously you've got to get this right before the chicks go in, no time to fiddle with it later!
The book I recommended' Hatching and Rearing your birds' has been a great help to me and has told me all sorts of things I'd never have thought of, or would have found out the hard way, well worth getting a copy if you haven't already found it.
 
Thanks everyone. Yup good advice Chrismahon, I'm trying to follow everything everyone's said, overload lol. How do I sterilise the eggs? I can't wait to candle, I didn't even know it was done until I was researching, I'm fascinated to see. I have an overview and a ovascope so the children can have a good look. Should I make sure the eggs are only out for like 5mins max? I had the caretaker make me a frame to go over my brooder so that the lamp can hang in the middle Marigold, do I put the thermometer inside or outside? How long do they need the heat lamp for? I'm sorry sorry for the question overload, Hannah :)
 
Well, as I said I'm just experimenting but I'd think you need the thermometer inside the brooder, under the lamp. and also take some readings round the edges, so you're getting data as if the chicks/ducklings were in there. Once they go in, you can get a good idea of how comfortable they are by watching how they behave - if they cluster under the lamp it's too cold, if they scatter far out it's too hot. My main problems ATM are avoiding overheating during the day, and the temp. dropping in these very cold nights. but you have to get the right temp. before switching them from the inci to the brooder, so they don't chill. Maybe at night when yours hatch, you may have the same problem, unless the weather gets warmer, especially if you leave school after the PM session (4.00-5.00?) and don't return until next morning (15-16 hours?)
Today I adapted a cardboard box by lining the sides with the silver foil stuff that goes behind radiators, as it reflects the heat back in to the brooder and invented curved edges round the corners, as the book on hatching and rearing advises. I had a feeling that the glass sides of the fishtank were too cold, so with better insulation tonight will be a good test of whether the brooder temp. stays up a bit. Even with the lamp right down low over the box, it dropped to 20C last night, they'd all have been dead by this morning! I don't think ambient temperature changes have such an effect on the incubator, at least mine has stayed steady at the correct temp. for the past 15 days. Of course it's thermostatically controlled, unlike my basic little brooder.
Someone with some proper experience may be able to tell you how long they need the heat lamp for - I expect it depends on the time of year quite a lot, ie what the ambient temperature is as they feather up in the first few weeks, and the lamp is gradually raised and eventually switched off. Certainly I'm looking to rear any that I hatch indoors for the next few weeks, and then maybe put them out in a cage with a small heat lamp in the quail house when the weather improves. That seems a long way away ATM! Today I thought I saw one of the eggs moving, 2 days too early, so I watched for a long time but it was just my imagination. Have you got the right stuff to line the inside of the inci and the floor of the brooder, so their little feet don't slip and spay out on a slippery surface? You can get special anti-slip matting but i think some people just use disposable J-cloths.

But, as i keep saying, I don't know what i'm talking about, so best wait for someone who does to come on here!
 
Thanks Marigold :) yup I normally leave school at 6:00 and get in at 8:00 but am sure when the babies come I'll get in earlier to check on them. Or maybe it's a good idea to take them home in the evenings for the first few days? I have bought a yellow hexagonal brooder kit, it's just 8 sides that slot together. I have nothing for the floor as it's just an outside frame that sits there but was planning on bin bags covered in newspaper and towels. It's quite big so a bit worried now about heat not staying inside it and escaping. Do you think a little box like a nesting box in there might help? Exciting that yours are two days from hatching, my eggs are not even here yet :( I have a long time to wait until cuddles :(
 
How many are you hoping to hatch, Hannah? Obviously this will make a difference to the size of brooder that'll be suitable, especially at first when they're small and need to be kept more cosy. I'm sure people who've actually hatched ducklings will be able to advise you on this, but you could always make a smaller enclosure within your panels to start with. Baby quail are really tiny, like fluffy gobstoppers with little legs and wings sticking out, so a smaller box should be OK for mine until they need more space ( if any hatch, that is....) The silver radiator foil round inside the corrugated cardboard box worked well last night, much better than the cold glass of the fish tank. Outside it was -7.5C, and our indoor hall thermostat said 14C first thing, but the max-min thermometer in the box showed between 30 and 35C overnight, with the lamp about 10cm above the top of the box, so it should be possible to set it up to the right temp. a little bit lower overnight to stay warm enough. i'm glad I allowed enough time to experiment with this, though. The next hatch I try should be easier to set up, I hope.
 
Ducklings don't need as long under heat as chicks - make sure they have it but can also get away to a cooler area. Other than this, any enclosed area will do that can't get wet and soggy. They can't fly and can only hop an inch or two in the air. As they grow, give them less heat by lifting the chain / height of the lamp. Then at a certain point, you can drop the lamp back down again and use the low setting to maintain the same temperature but save electricity.

Ensure the chain of the heat lamp is securely fixed - they generate a lot of heat and if it falls onto bedding, it can easily catch fire...

Be warned, ducklings make a huge amount of mess with water... a cardboard box will be soaked in minutes. I use a driner sat inside a plastic plant pot saucer to catch some of the water and empty this twice per day. Once they are a few weeks old, a painters roller tray works well for a bath which can be given and taken away again. They will flick water everywhere!

I would not take them home every night. The radiant heat from the lamp will keep them warm. Just ensure there are no draughts.

Do not use wood shavings on the floor as they will eat them and make sure you use a non-medicated crumb to feed - Chick crumbs with Anti-Cocci drugs in them will cause them problems. Check the bag before buying.
 
Hi Hanlills. Just to follow up on Tim's advice. Chick crumb marked with 'ACS' Anti-CoccidioStat are the ones to avoid. Dobson and Horrell do a good quality crumb with no medication in it, if that helps. We had our duck in with chicks in an indoor rabbit cage which had a deep plastic tray base from 3 -6 weeks because of the mess.
 
I do know that ACS is highly toxic to Turkeys (farmer killed 2000 chicks when he gave them the wrong crumb)and that it inhibits food digestion and hence growth rate in chicks. We only use it for natural hatchings, those under mummy hen outside. Presume it has some effect inbetween on ducks.
 
ACS is a problem to ducklings as they eat more than chicks so overdose on it. First signs are usually ducklings losing their feet.

Personally, I don't use feeds with ACS in at all for my chickens - by doing this my flock is building up an immunity to Coccisidiosis.

I think that sometimes we can be too helpful with medication - providing chicks get clean water, fresh crumbs and bedding is clean and dry and they are kept at the right temperature and there is no over crowding, they should thrive (easier said than done sometimes I know).

Any chicks that die, as sad as it seems, help to strengthen the next generation in the flock. Breeding from birds that have been kept alive by medication only concentrates their genes further so eventually you end up always having to feed crumb with ACS in it.
 
Thank you everyone for all of your advice, 20 eggs went in on Thursday, am going to candle them on weds to check how they're doing but what exactly am I looking for? And if an egg is not viable do I take it straight out or leave it hoping it develops? also I didn't move the incubator in the end as the temp and humidity stayed constant for a week with just the humidity rising slightly when I put the eggs in, I'm going to check on it tomo and then weds when I candle, fingers crossed something's happening to some of them :)
 
You are looking for an embryo forming Hanlills. It will be a small cloudy lump with blood vessels coming from it. If the egg looks even all through, mark it with pencil and check again a few days later. When they go bad they weep first, which looks like dry crusty spots forming on the surface. They need to come out immediately. You may not have any at all. Not all embryos can be seen immediately, some seem clear and then are visible a few days later. Some embyos die from infection getting into them through the shell at three days and the cloudy lump hasn't grown at the next candling. You may not have any of them either. All very exciting -this is my favourite bit of the process. Helps if the eggs are numbered as you can record what you saw each time -forgot to mention this earlier, sorry. Use soft pencil very lightly.
 
Hi Hannah, i found this link which shows growth in chick embryos. I think it's for chickens but it might be similar in ducks, maybe someone else can tell you that.
http://shilala.homestead.com/candling.html

There's also a page on here about candling; http://poultrykeeper.com/common-articles-to-all-poultry/incubation-hatching/candling-eggs.html
 
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