Incubating Duck Eggs

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Rachel February 6, 2013 at 9:19am

Not to derail your duck hatching thread, but I thought this pic was worth sharing. :) In a pinch, Delilah the Muscovy hatched a batch of chicken chicks. She seemed pretty pleased. Sometimes the ducks accidentally squish the chicken chicks, or lead them to water... :( but this worked out perfectly.
Donna Bruce February 1, 2013 at 3:25pm

what kind of ducks?
- Cyndi-Marie Myers > Donna Bruce February 1, 2013 at 5:49pm
  
  I haven't ordered the eggs yet, I want cayuga and maybe welsh harlequin. I wonder what kind of ducks you would like to order?
- Donna Bruce > Cyndi-Marie Myers February 2, 2013 at 12:04pm
  
  I think that I would like a pair of Muscovy ducks. I have heard that they do not quack. That they only hiss, they are prolific egg layers and get along with chickens. If this is true, I would go forward.
- Cyndi-Marie Myers > Donna Bruce February 6, 2013 at 8:36am
  
  Here is a sale on Muscovy duck eggs--good price. I wonder if you are still interested? If you are give me a call.
  
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/MUSCOVY-DUCK-HATCHING-EGGS-12-EXTRAS-NOT-A-...
  
  Cyndi-Marie
  
  602.741.3414
- Rachel > Cyndi-Marie Myers February 6, 2013 at 9:12am
  
  Fair warning: Muscovy ducks are nearly impossible to incubate artifically. If I recall correctly from all of my failed attempts (I'm not just using my failures as evidence, I have never known anyone in person or online that has had success incubating them in an incubator) They take 35 days as well so they're a fair bit longer than all other ducks.
  
  Also, your male muscovys will usually attempt to mount your chickens, this results in some very injured chickens as the males can be 20 pounds. My females harrassed my chicken hens and would grab them by their wings or tail feathers. In addition, they make a lot of mud with the water you give them, both in the drinking water and around bathing areas. Muscovys are nowhere near as prolific of layers as any chicken. They will lay an egg a day for 3 or 4 weeks straight and then not again for a couple of months. They are excellent and prolific mothers, they really like to sit and hatch babies. After awhile they often begin to hide and defend their nests from you. On the bright side, they are nearly silent, and I have known some VERY friendly muscovy ducks.
  
  In conclusion ;) , I LOVE ducks of all kinds, I miss having them, but I would never keep them with chickens again. I think my next ducks will be Indian Runners, very prolific layers and they look like feathered bowling pins running around the yard! (There are also good disease prevention reasons for this).
- Kari Spencer > Donna Bruce February 3, 2013 at 3:11pm
  
  I, too, would be interested in ducks that get along with chickens.
- Cyndi-Marie Myers > Kari Spencer February 6, 2013 at 8:35am
  
  Give me a call. Do you know what kind of duck breeds you are interested in?
- Kari Spencer > Cyndi-Marie Myers February 7, 2013 at 1:20pm
  
  I really don't know what kind I want,and am just beginning to explore the idea. Due to space limitations, they would need to be compatible with my chickens. Rachel posted that she does not think that Muscovy ducks are very compatible with chickens, and she has never steered me wrong. I would be interested to find out other people's experiences, however. I would really love to have duck eggs.
Christie Carroll February 1, 2013 at 3:05pm

How many can you incubate at once? If we paid for a whole batch, what would it cost? We want to breed ducks ourselves, and want to start with more than two or three.

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Micro Livestock

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