To candle an egg, you darken a room and then shine a flashlight into the large end of the egg. Candling duck eggsĬandling the eggs you’ve been incubating is hands down my favorite part of the process. You will continue your daily turning of the eggs until 4 days before hatching. This will help you make sure each egg has been fully turned. If turning manually by hand, before you set them, take a soft pencil and place an X on one side of the egg and an O on the opposite side of the egg. Always wash your hands before touching your eggs! The oils and dirt on your hands can clog the pores in the shell or contaminate the eggs with bacteria. If you don’t have an automatic egg turner, it’s not the end of the world. Automatic egg turners are especially nice because you don’t run the risk of contaminating the inside of the incubator or the eggs themselves by touching them and you don’t run the risk of throwing off the internal temperature and humidity. When incubating duck eggs, or any other type of poultry egg, this action must be simulated by manually turning the eggs or using an automatic egg turner. In the wild, a mother bird sitting on her eggs is always busy rotating and turning her eggs. Once you are certain that your incubator is stable and ready for eggs, go ahead and set them. Incubator humidity: 55% or 84.5☏ if you use a wet bulb thermometer.As a reminder, you will want these two readings to be perfect: You’ll want to see that the temperature and humidity are stable for at least 12 hours before setting eggs. Sad times all around.Ĥ8 hours before you begin incubating duck eggs, set up the incubator and get all of its measurements stabilized. If the humidity is wrong, again, you can have ducklings that don’t develop or hatch properly. If it’s too low, it can impact development negatively. If your temperature is over a few degrees, your eggs will die and you’ll be in for a sad time. It’s not like the lazy way of cooking a frozen pizza in an oven that’s not preheated yet! You want to make sure each of the fundamental aspects of incubating a duck egg is spot on. Never start your incubator and immediately set eggs. Once your incubator has been disinfected, it’s time to get it set up. Once it’s been cleaned, allow it to sit in a protected spot for 12-24 hours. A slightly damp cloth or a brush is the ideal way to clean the heating unit. Gently clean the heating unit, but avoid getting it wet.Now, clean the bottom of the incubator by soaking it in a 25% bleach and water solution.Wipe down each of the components and allow to dry.After cleaning, you can further disinfect these components by soaking in warm water with a mild bleach. Remove all of the removable components, like water pans and egg trays, and clean them with soap, water, and a sponge.If you have used your incubator before, be sure that any pieces of shell or any other material left over from past hatches has been removed from the incubator. We want to prevent as much bacterial growth as possible, so a proper cleaning protocol is a must. Incubators are hot and humid – perfect for bacteria to grow. How to clean an incubatorīefore setting eggs in your incubator, it is important to properly clean and sanitize it. Always start incubating an egg from room temperature. Putting colder eggs in an incubator can breed bacteria as the egg heats up. Your eggs should be given plenty of time to reach room temperature. This will allow the air cell at the fat end of the egg to settle into place before incubating. Place them in the carton with the fat side of the egg pointed upward. Once you’ve picked up your eggs, whether it’s from your local postal office or from a local farm, you’re going to want to allow your eggs a minimum of 12 hours, though ideally more like 24 hours, to settle. After 2-3 weeks, most of your duck eggs won’t be viable anymore. Getting your eggs set in the incubator within a week of being laid is vital. 7 days after a duck egg is laid, it begins to rapidly lose fertility. These eggs are likely not viable and will probably not hatch.īe aware of the rough age of the eggs as well. Also be aware that eggs with a defective air cell should not be incubated. Never try to incubate an egg that’s cracked, dirty, too large, too small, misshapen, double yolked, or unusual in any way. This will reveal any cracks or imperfections inside of the egg. You may darken a room and candle your eggs by shining a flashlight into the egg. Be sure to wash your hands before and after handling the eggs every single time. When you have your eggs in hand, carefully examine each egg.
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