Incubation Day 14

Well today is the half way point.  The 3 eggs I put in last Wednesday two have veins in them so they will be a baby duck to.  That gives us Baby, Molly, Emma, and Joey.  I am waiting to see if the other one has anything in it .  I have 7 days left until the chicken eggs hatch out. Well suppose to hatch out.  I got two more coolers yesterday and I am taking on and making it a brood box, the other cooler I am turning into another incubator.  This way I can have a big one and a little one.  I put a new perch in the chicken coop that is all wood runners instead of metal, which the metal okay they used it but now that it is getting colder I thought about it and thought their feet may freeze so I took it out and built a new one.  I fixed a spot in the chicken coop for the ducks when they get bigger, and moved the nest boxes to give the chickens more room.

Tonight was Halloween, and we took the kids out to do some trick or treating and got him and got them to bed and now we are watching a movie until it is time to turn the eggs and them it is bed time.  Tomorrow I have to get up and turn the eggs, and go pay my house payment and get some feed for the animals, and be home before 2 in the afternoon so I can turn the eggs again.

14/28  days left   --------   14 days left to go for the duck eggs
14/21  days left   ---------   7 days left for the chicken eggs

Incubation Day 13

Well it is incubation Day 13 for Molly and Baby, and the 3 chicken eggs.  I have to stop turning the chicken eggs in 5 days.  That is what I have read you have to stop turning them 3 days before they hatch.  I don't think i am as excited over the chicken eggs because they are brown eggs and I can't see anything when they are candled.  Now the duck eggs I can see what is in the and I find it more exciting being able to watch them grow and letting the kids see them when we candle them.  The kids love to look at them and I do have to keep them away from the incubator sometimes because they want to look all the time at them.  I can't wait until my chickens start to lay eggs because i want to hatch them out so the lady that gave me the duck eggs can get some of my chickens.  Plus we are going to try hatching Turkeys next year so that should be good to that would save us about $200 dollars for just Thanksgiving and $200 for Christmas and I would be able to make some money by selling the turkeys if I can get them to live.  This year started out really bad, but it is starting to look up things are getting better, maybe this means next year is going to be a great year.  Couple more months and we will find out.

Incubation Day 11

Well the 2 duck eggs that are suppose to hatch in about 17 days, one has 1 dark spot whit is the embryo, but the other egg has 2 spots, and also when i candled the two eggs this morning I could see the spots move.  The egg with the 1 spot or embryo was moving around and going back and forth.  The other egg you can well you could see 1 yoke, plus this ladies ducks don't ever have double yoke eggs, but you can see 2 dark spots which I guess are the embryo's and yes they are moving around.  They are moving away from each other and toward each other and looks like having fun.  Are there two ducks in my egg or just one?  What does the 2 spots mean.

 This egg you can see the 2 little spots and no they do not move as one the move separately.











This egg has 1 spot and it moves to.

 More pictures of the ducks that laid the eggs.

This one has blue freckles on her beak
















This is the mom to the two blue ones we know for sure.

Incubation Day 9

We took out two eggs last night and cracked them open and nothing in them.  We put 4 more in there this morning to see if they do anything.  So in like 6 days or 7 days I should know if the new eggs are going to do anything.  In 19 days the ducks will hatch and in 12 days the chicken eggs should hatch.  I am so excited I am going to have 2 ducks at least can't wait to see what color they are.  The lady that gave me the eggs thinks that the blue ducks and the white dad will have darker babies, i think lighter babies.  We will see.  Hope they are blue.


It is 9:30 p.m. and in 30 minutes I turn the eggs again.  Every 8 hours like clock work.  You still can't see in the chicken eggs because they are brown.  The 2 duck eggs are coming along nicely.  I can't wait until they hatch out.


9/ 21 day  -------   12 days left to hatching time
9/ 28 days -------   19 days left to hatching time

Incubation Day 8

Well only 2 duck eggs have veins and embryo's so I think if nothing happens tonight or tomorrow I am going to take them out and put a couple more in there and hatch them out or see if the will hatch.  I am so excited I am going to have ducks and hopefully I have blue ducks.  I am going to go get pictures of their parents so everyone can see what the ducks that laid the eggs look like.


7: 25 p.m.

Here are pictures of the parents to the duck eggs.  We cracked the two duck eggs that didn't have any veins and sure enough there wasn't anything in them but a yoke, so in the morning we are going to watch and see which duck has what egg and mark them and when or if they hatch we will know what duck has what color off spring.  The mom to the two blue ones is the female with the blue bill the white duck in the middle in this first picture has blue freckles on her beak.  and the male is plain white.

Incubation Day 7

7/28 ----  21 days left for duck eggs

7/21 ----  14 days left for chicken eggs

I have tried to candle the chicken eggs but since the are a light brown I am not going to know it they are okay until the 7Th or 8Th of November.  Now the other two duck eggs I will try and look at in another couple days and it I still don't see anything I will get rid or them.  2 eggs I know are okay as long as everything keep constant.  We are definitely keeping a tom turkey and two females so I can hatch out turkeys next spring.  I have to see if I can do it.

Incubation Day 6

Well Great news.  I candled the duck eggs today when I turned them and guess what the egg I named Molly and the Egg I named Baby both have embryos and veins.

In these pictures you can kind of see the shadow lines in the eggs and the dot is the embryo.  I have 2 baby ducks due in 22 more days, maybe tonight or tomorrow I will be able to see the other duck eggs and say that I have 4 ducklings coming.  Not sure about the chicken eggs since they are brown I probably wont know until they hatch.

Incubation Day 5

Well we looked yesterday and nothing yet I should be able to candle them Monday and see veins.  Hope this works I really want ducks now.

This was from yesterday humidity came back up.  I am still turning them at 6 a.m. -- 2 p.m. -- and 10 p.m.  

5/21  for the chickens      ---------     16 days left

5/28 for the ducks    -------     23 days left

Incubation Day 4

Well I put the eggs in on Tuesday and it is Friday.  The kids are out of school today so I told them about the eggs and they are helping turn them today.  We turned them this morning at 6 a.m. and we will turn them at 2 this afternoon.

Incubation Day 3

Well I have been turning the duck and chicken eggs at 6 a.m., 2 p.m., and 10p.m..  I have kept the temperature around 97 degrees to 99 degrees.  The humidity has been around 55 to 57 percent.  I will try and candle them on Monday and see what i can see.


3/21 days chicken eggs  17 days left

3/28 days duck eggs   25 days left

I sure hope this works.  I know the eggs are fertile because he male duck and the rooster take very good care of the female hens and ducks so lets see how many if any I can get to hatch.  Everyone Pray for the eggs.

Incubation Day 2

Well I turned the eggs this morning at 6 a.m. and moved them in a circle so the same ones weren't by the light.  Temperature is still hold around 97 degrees and humidity is about 55 degrees.  Filled the water dish in the incubator this morning.  I really hope this works.  you are suppose to be about to candle the eggs at 5 or 6 days and see the the veins in the egg so I will get pictures of that in a couple of days and post them.

Incubation Day 1

Well I have been researching the incubation of eggs from chickens, ducks, and turkeys online.  I am now going to put it to the test.  I took an old cooler and cut a hole in the top and a hole in the side.  The hole in the top I put a piece of glass over it and glued it so me and the kids can look in to it.  The hole in the side is for the light and it will help me regulate the temperature if I need to.  

I put the eggs in to day at 8:30 a.m. about 15 minutes after they were laid, they were cold since it is wet and cold out today but should be okay.  I ready that a fertile egg will keep for 2 weeks as long as they are kept between 45 degrees, and 65 degrees.  They were between that.  I put in 4 duck eggs and 3 chicken eggs.

The incubator was warm but I have to get it warmer.  i have heard and been told several different temperatures for incubation.  I have heard between 99.5 and 101 F.  I have it at 95 and holding, the humidity should be between 50 and 60 % which I don't know but I am staying around 55 to 58%.  The should hatch on November 7 or 8 th for the chicken eggs, and the 14 or 15th for the duck eggs.  Lets see how this goes.  I have to turn them 3 times a day so first thing in the morning about 2 in the afternoon or 3, and when ever I go to bed.  Lets see.