Hatching duck eggs

[millstreaminn]

I have Khaki Campbell ducks that are laying eggs in the shallows of the pond. I collect these eggs daily and was wondering if, after being in COLD (40 degree) water for up to 24 hours, would they hatch?

If so, what is the best way to keep the eggs 'till I get enough to start the incubator? I currently am getting about 2-3 eggs per day so I would have to store them for a week of so to get enough to start.

Thanks!

 

[livestock101]

I have Khaki Campbell ducks that are laying eggs in the shallows of the pond. I collect these eggs daily and was wondering if, after being in COLD (40 degree) water for up to 24 hours, would they hatch?

If so, what is the best way to keep the eggs 'till I get enough to start the incubator? I currently am getting about 2-3 eggs per day so I would have to store them for a week of so to get enough to start.

Thanks!

Cold temps kill the embryo. The 40 degree temp is on the cold side but I know someone that hatched 4 outta 5 duck eggs after putting them in the refrigerator for 3 days by accident. I'd try to collect the eggs as soon as possible. Most ducks lay in the evening or first thing in the morning....though we've had some lay all throughout the day. :roll:

Storing duck eggs for a week should pose no problem. Duck eggs hatch best when stored for 2-3 days. At 7 days the hatch rate declines I think about 5%. At 14 days seems the hatch rate declines by 10%. By 3 weeks the hatch rate is practically nothing. Store them (pointy end down) somewhere around 55 degrees F. If possible, an area that has a humidity level of 75% is best. Basements or cellars tend to work well.

 

[millstreaminn]

This whole problem could be avoided if the dang ducks would lay on the grass and not in the water.

livestock101: so being underwater for 24 hours is not a problem? I thought the embryo would suffocate or something.

I'll keep collecting the eggs and have a go at it. Thanks

 

[livestock101]

livestock101: so being underwater for 24 hours is not a problem? I thought the embryo would suffocate or something.

I'll keep collecting the eggs and have a go at it. Thanks

To be honest, I'm not sure if the water would ruin them or not. I would think it would, but who knows. Any chance you could trick the duck into laying in the grass. Try putting a pile of fake eggs or golf balls on a grassy area near the water, but far enough up from the water so the eggs wont roll in. This may encourage her to lay there instead. Worth a shot.

I'd go ahead and keep collecting. Candle the eggs during incubation to see if they are developing.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

Pen her up build her a nest box and I bet she hatches them out herself. ;-)

 

[Lammie]

livestock101: so being underwater for 24 hours is not a problem? I thought the embryo would suffocate or something.

I'll keep collecting the eggs and have a go at it. Thanks

To be honest, I'm not sure if the water would ruin them or not. I would think it would, but who knows. Any chance you could trick the duck into laying in the grass. Try putting a pile of fake eggs or golf balls on a grassy area near the water, but far enough up from the water so the eggs wont roll in. This may encourage her to lay there instead. Worth a shot.

I'd go ahead and keep collecting. Candle the eggs during incubation to see if they are developing.

Eggs have lots of pores all over them so I think that if they were in the water they wouldn't be good anymore. I know that with chicken eggs you can store them at 50-55 degrees F for a couple of days. You need humidity, too, but I don't remember that kind. Eggs will stay dormant for a few days while the mother lays the entire clutch so that all of them will hatch at about the same time.

I agree about the nesting box.

 

[mnmtranching]

Duck eggs may be a little different, maybe a little more waterproof.
Chicken, turkey, pheasant etc should not even be washed, water will ruin them. We keep eggs only to about 10 days at room temp.
And have about a 80-90 % hatch.

 

[KANSAS]

If it is real shallow and the place they are laying relatively small gather up some grasses and build two or three little "island" nests. They should lay on these and allow you to collect them. Dont let them sit on them though as the water level may rise and destroy em later.
Or you can do what the earlier post says and pen them up for a spell.

 

[somn]

I know this is completely of the subject but here goes. When my brother and I were young we always would play down by the creek in the spring. Well one day we came across a canadian honker sitting alongside the water as we got closer we realized she was nesting. Well in our young stupidity we decided to take two eggs. We took them home and darn near got our hands ripped off trying to put the eggs under one of our banty hens protective little things are those banties. After some time we had 4 banty chicks and 2 canadian honkers. As they got older those darn geese would swim in our little plastic pool and poop like mad in it but that old hen would just pace back and forth by that pool just a clucking. We tried to do that again every year for the next 3 or 4 years but everytime the old hens would roll the eggs right out of the nest. That had to be one of my most interesting summers ever watching that old banty hen flip out everytime those geese got near water. Those dumb geese never left the farm either they would spend the winters in the cattle shed all snuggled up with the steers. It was always funny watching those geese try to roost in the trees under the yard light like the banties did at night. After about 12 tries they would just head to the cattle shed. Those geese would always chase vehicles that pulled up on the farm like the dogs did too. They must have led confused lives. For some reason they would always chew the little rubber mufflers off our toy tractors and they would completely destroy those styrofoam beer coolers and minnow buckets. They even knew about what time we got off the school bus or else they would just follow the dogs to the top of the hill on our driveway and wait. We really were not sure who was leading who but both dogs and both geese would be waiting at or before 4:10 pm. They made for some of the most interesting pets I ever had. Why they never left is beyond me all they would have needed to do was fly away.

 

[Txwalt]

Somm, My Mother-in-law has some very interesting stories like that. I find your story bringing a smile to my face as does her stories. She says she used to wake up in the morning with a pig in her face.

Walt