SHIRLOCK ACRES Duck hatchery · Lancaster County, PA · shirlockacres.com EST. 2007

Hatching Duck Eggs: what to do, and what not to do

Your eggs had a long trip. Here is how to give them the best chance, from the moment the box arrives to the day your ducklings dry off and head to the brooder.

24 hrs

Set eggs within

99.3°F

Fan incubator

28 days

Pekin, Khaki, Appleyard

35 days

Muscovy

The most important rule

Set your eggs within 24 hours of arrival for the best results. Rest them first (see below), but don’t hold them longer than a day. Every extra day out of the incubator lowers the hatch.

Step 1 · Before they arrive

Get the incubator ready

Start the incubator at least 24 hours early so the temperature and humidity settle before eggs go in.
Put it in a room that stays 70 to 75°F, away from windows, heat vents, outside doors and direct sun.
Check it with a second thermometer and hygrometer. Built-in readings are often off by a degree or more, and one degree matters.
Clean and dry it first if it has been used before.

Step 2 · Arrival day

Open, check, rest

Open the box right away and look over every egg. Hold each one up to a light to find hairline cracks.
Rest them pointy end down in an egg carton at room temperature (60 to 75°F) for about 12 hours. Shipping shakes the air cell loose; resting lets it settle.
Set them within 24 hours of arrival.
Any eggs arrive cracked or broken? Take a clear photo and send it to us within 48 hours of delivery.

Step 3 · Incubation

The numbers that matter

	Pekin, Khaki Campbell, Appleyard	Muscovy
Days to hatch	About 28	About 35
Temperature	99.3°F in a fan (forced-air) incubator. 100°F at the top of the eggs in a still-air incubator.
Humidity	62% until lockdown
Turning	At least 3 times a day, or use an automatic turner
Stop turning (lockdown)	Day 25	Day 32
Lockdown humidity	70 to 75%

Shipped eggs: wait before you turn

If an egg’s air cell looks wobbly or out of place when you candle it, leave the eggs pointy end down and unturned for the first 1 to 2 days in the incubator. Then start turning as normal.

Optional: cooling and misting

Duck eggs like a little cooling. From about day 16 until lockdown, open the incubator once a day, mist the eggs lightly with lukewarm water and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes before closing it again.

Step 4 · Candling

Check development, gently

Day 10 to 15: look for veins spreading from a dark spot. Clear eggs are not developing.
Day 16 to 20: the egg should be mostly dark, with a clear air cell at the big end.
Just before lockdown (day 24 or day 31 for Muscovy): a last check, then mark where the air cell ends.
Remove eggs that are clear, show a blood ring (a red ring with no veins), smell bad or ooze. They can spoil and burst.
Not sure? Leave it in and check again in a few days.

Step 5 · Hatch

Lockdown and hatch day

Stop turning, raise the humidity, and keep the lid closed. Opening it drops the humidity fast and can glue ducklings into their shells.
Ducklings are slow. From the first pip to hatching can take 24 to 48 hours, and they often rest for hours in between. That is normal.
Leave hatched ducklings in the incubator until they are dry and fluffy (up to 24 hours). They don’t need food or water yet.
Then move them to a warm brooder. Our duckling care guide takes it from there.

At a glance

Do and don’t

Set eggs within 24 hours of arrival
Rest eggs pointy end down first
Run the incubator a day early and check it with a second thermometer
Turn at least 3 times a day
Stop turning at lockdown
Be patient at hatch time
Write down temperature and humidity each day

Don’t

Don’t wash the eggs. It strips their natural protective coating.
Don’t refrigerate them
Don’t hold them for days before setting
Don’t set them right out of a cold box. Let them come to room temperature.
Don’t open the incubator during lockdown
Don’t pull a duckling out of its shell early
Don’t chase the numbers. Small swings are fine; big ones are not.

Troubleshooting

What went wrong?

What you see	Most likely cause
Clear eggs at day 15	Not fertile, or held too long or too cold before setting
Development started, then stopped	Temperature swings, or a rough shipping trip
Hatching early, small or noisy ducklings	Temperature too high
Hatching late, soft or sticky ducklings	Temperature too low
Fully formed but didn’t pip, or pipped and stuck	Humidity wrong (often too low at lockdown), or the lid was opened during hatch

An honest word about shipped eggs

Shipped eggs nearly always hatch lower than eggs collected at home. The trip, the post office and the weather are outside anyone’s control, so we can’t guarantee how many will hatch. Following this guide gives yours the best chance.