Day 1

We set nine duck eggs in the incubator last night.

Since we did this in the evening, today counts as day one of incubation.

We've been learning quite a bit.

Did you know that the baby chick/duckling won't start growing until it's warmed up?

You can set aside some eggs to hatch but keep them at 50 - 55 degrees for up to a week.

I started collecting and setting aside our eggs on Saturday.

It drove me crazy not to clean the eggs.

Washing them removes the protective coating God designed to be on the eggs.

So there they sit.

Not too exciting.

They are on an egg turner that turns very slowly.

So slow you can't see it.

It takes hours for it to lean from one side to the other.

I've read about several reasons for the turning.

One of the reasons is so the yolk doesn't settle in one spot.

It can also prevent the embryo from sticking to the membrane.

Another reason was so the embryo stays in the right position.

Moving it around to different places on the yolk allows for better nutrition absorption.

The only thing I know for sure is that if you do not turn the eggs you will not have a successful hatch!

If you have ever seen a hen on a nest, you've probably seen her moving the eggs.

I read that a broody hen will turn her eggs up to 52 times per day!

Pretty cool to think about the instincts God gave the hen.

Since I'm not a hen, I've had to do my research on how to hatch ducklings.

These are my notes of what to do when.

Found this cool calendar with useful information.

I don't plan on posting more incubator pictures until the hatching starts.

I will probably post some pictures when we candle the eggs next week.

We have to keep an eye on the temperature and humidity.

The temps seem to be OK.

It's the humidity that's been tricky.