How long does it take ducks of different breeds to hatch chicks? How did I hatch chickens and what came of it? What does fertility depend on?
How long a duck sits on eggs is affected by its breed and the size of the eggs. Compared to chicken eggs, duck eggs are noticeably larger. The weight of chicken reaches an average of 58 grams, and duck 80 grams. They also contain a large amount of fat, because of which the eggs can quickly overheat. That is why, for the successful hatching of chicks, it is necessary to observe the necessary temperature regime and humidity percentage.
How long do duck eggs of different breeds incubate
How many days ducks sit on eggs - most breeds of this bird incubate from 26 to 28 days. Beijing - from 27 to 29, musky - 30-36 days.
Pekinok have a poorly developed instinct for breeding chicks, so they rarely hatch. Instead, ducks of other breeds are used, either chickens, or geese.
The number of eggs laid depends on the size of the bird. From 9 to 11 pieces are placed under the chicken, 11-15 pieces under the goose, 17-19 pieces under the turkey. If it is too cold outside, then lay 2-3 less eggs.
Indian duck or Muscovy duck
How many days a musk duck sits - from 30 to 36 days. The number of incubated eggs is from 12 to 20 pcs.
In advance, before the duck is going to sit down, you need to increase the portion of food given to her, and also observe the feeding regimen during incubation.
Indo-ducks begin to rush towards the end of winter. If the duck is plucking the fluff out of itself and trying to settle in one place, it means that it is preparing to sit on the eggs. Most often this happens in late March or early April. The nest for ducks is installed in a quiet and darkened place. Eggs begin to be laid by individuals who have reached six months of age or older. They rush for 3-5 months, after which they molt. As soon as the molt is over, they rush again for about 12 weeks.
In the first days of incubation, the indochka almost constantly sits on the eggs. This is necessary in order for the embryo to begin to fully develop. Therefore, the feeder and drinker are placed as close to the nest as possible. It is also necessary to have a bathing container, since water is needed to wet the eggs.
The percentage in a natural way is much higher than if they were bred in an incubator.
Unfertilized eggs are thrown out of the nest on their own. No matter how long the duck has been incubating the eggs, she will sit until the last chick hatches. In order for the percentage of hatched chicks to be higher, it is necessary to use those eggs that have lain for 2 weeks for hatching. At the same time, they should be stored at a temperature of +8°C to +15°C in horizontal position and turn daily.
Mulard
To get chicks, you will need to cross a Peking duck with an Indo-drake. For incubation, eggs collected in 1 week are used. You can breed mulards both in an incubator and in a natural way. Moreover, the latter method is much more effective, a larger percentage of chicks survive, sometimes even reaching 100%. In an incubator, losses can reach 40%. No more than 15 eggs are laid under one individual. After 10 days, they are examined with an ovoscope to identify spoiled ones.
Features of breeding chicks in an incubator
For the incubation of duck chicks, eggs of a week old, but not older, are used, with the exception of eggs of musk birds.
Before laying a large batch, you should check how quickly the device warms up the air and how long it keeps the heat in itself. It is better to try to breed only a few ducklings at first.
Before laying the incubator, you need to carefully select the material. Eggs with the following deficiencies are rejected:
- non-standard form;
- with growths;
- heavily polluted;
- with mold;
- cracks.
If the dirt is not removed, then an infection can enter through the shell, due to which the embryo will immediately die. All hatching duck eggs must be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate using a sponge or sprayer to disinfect them and remove small contaminants. But it is better not to allow them to get dirty at all, but to keep the duck house and aviary clean and dry.
Musk duck eggs are placed in trays in a horizontal position.
During the first week from the moment of laying, the circulatory system and organs develop in the embryo, so it is extremely important to ensure sufficient warming at this time. The temperature must be at least +38°C, humidity 70%. Turn the eggs at least 4 times a day. In the second week, the skeleton is formed. At this time, the temperature is slightly lowered to +37.8 ° C, and the humidity is also reduced to 60%. Turn over 4-6 times a day.
In the third week, the temperature and humidity are left the same, but a couple of times a day the eggs are cooled for 15-20 minutes at the same time, for example, at 8 am and pm. After cooling (after 15 minutes), they are sprayed from a spray bottle with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, while the temperature of the eggs should drop to + 28-30 ° C. Then they heat up again. should reach the maximum temperature within half an hour (maximum).
The brood appears on the 26-28th day (depending on the breed). In the incubator, the chicks hatch for the same amount of time as the ducks sit on the eggs. The temperature at this stage is reduced to + 37 ° C, and the humidity, on the contrary, is significantly increased to 90% so that the shell becomes softer and it is easier for the chicks to get out. You don't need to flip anymore. 
For a coup a large number eggs, it is better to purchase trays with automatic rotation.
Eggs are recommended to be scanned with an ovoscope every 7 days. Thanks to the incubator, chicks can be hatched at any time of the year and in large numbers, and there is no need to fear that the mother hen will leave them prematurely.
Depending on what was the diet of feeding the breeding stock during oviposition, it also depends on how long the ducks will incubate the eggs. If the food was inadequate, the embryos develop more slowly, so they hatch later, and may be weak and small.
Duck hatching chicks - video
The idea to breed my chickens, ducklings, goslings constantly worried me even before I arrived in the village. It's great to have your own chicks. You don't need to buy them. The main thing is to have time to lay eggs in the incubator. There is nothing complicated. The technology is elementary, even a schoolboy can handle it. We lay the eggs in the incubator, after a certain time the chicks appear, and then big bird. Everything is very simple. This is theory. How about really? What does practice say about hatching chickens?
Where did it all start?
When I arrived in the village, I did not have a household. I wanted real homemade eggs right away. Living in the village and buying eggs is not right. I bought one-year-old chickens from a poultry farm and a rooster from a local resident so as not to let them get bored.
rooster and chickens
Then I bought day old goslings and ducklings.
There was a farm. A small experiment began, which turned into an experience of feeding and getting used to these exotic animals. Raised ducks and geese. I did not dare to score for a long time. Tells about this When he started to score, the idea came - to leave a small number of ducks in order to next year bring out your ducklings. Why ducks? Since I managed to overexpose the bird, the ducks grew up and began to show interest in each other, duck eggs appeared. The Utaki became sexually preoccupied. So they paid attention to the ducks - you are amazed. What good fellows.
What about geese? Geese are a very big secret for me. They became indifferent to each other. Only food for them was something divine, for this food they went crazy. And they ate, drank, ate, drank. And that's it! This is what ruined them.
For these reasons, I left two ducks and six ducks for breeding. Survived the winter.
The spring of 2015 has arrived. The sun began to please with its warmth. The ducks, which had been laying all winter, stopped laying eggs in the spring.
Imagine. I bought two incubators. I wanted to lay them down and it turned out there was nothing. There were no duck eggs. Don't beat them with a stick beautiful birds.
I went to the village hardware store to buy something to speed up the process of getting eggs and met a nice woman. It turned out that she was a veterinarian by profession. Who explained that I could get eggs from ducks only in a month and a half or two months, not earlier. To all my objections: they say they do not agree, and how is it so? The answer was unequivocal - it's his own fault. There was nothing for the ducks to create ideal conditions. They were warm and comfortable in the winter, so they laid eggs. Now excuse me, they need rest, leave the birds behind. Let them rest. How not to trust a knowledgeable person? But the incubators are standing idle. Time runs. And here the chickens caught my eye. And I, like Archimedes, jumped with happiness and shouted - chickens !!! My salvation is chickens!
There is a rooster, ruthlessly wakes me up in the morning. Chickens run around. eggs every day. So lay your incubator with chicken eggs. Don't slow down. You will have chickens.
I started collecting chicken eggs. After 10 days, I collected 62 pieces. Satisfied with himself, he laid the first incubator in his life. I managed to tell all my acquaintances and villagers how great I am. AND.
It's been 21 days. There are no chicks. I'm waiting further. Day 25 - no one. 30 days result - zero. There are no chicks.
I threw out all the eggs. I managed to break one. This smell was... "Neither in a fairy tale to say, nor to describe with a pen." The gas mask had to fall in love.
Result. Of the 62 chicken eggs laid in the incubator, not a single chicken. For me, it was terrifying. How so? Tried. And none. Can it be so? There were doubts about their village abilities.
Neighbors began to ask - how? How? He answered everyone honestly - yes, not a single one, it turned out. For me, it was news and surprise how people who always communicate normally with you when you answer that nothing worked out for you - they begin to rejoice. Rejoice in your misfortune. And this joy cannot be hidden. You're all in worries, nothing works. And your interlocutors are transformed before your eyes. From boring and dull they become cheerful and joyful. What do people need to be happy? It turns out very little. Only for a neighbor's cow to die or a barn to burn down. In my case, so that chickens do not appear. Here it is joy and fun! City has no chickens! It seems that you won $1 million and immediately lost it. I have never seen such a ruthless smile and happiness on the face of people at the same time. It was very impressive. How so?
This sad experience of hatching chickens made me very angry. The joyful smiles of the villagers added an adrenaline rush. True, his hands immediately dropped, he was going to sell incubators. The score in my favor became - 1. And here at this moment my ducks began to lay eggs.
Do you want to breed your chickens, ducklings, goslings?
We will tell you how to get healthy day old young from your pets - chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and other types of poultry.
we become on the most important issues that arise before the poultry farmers.
Incubation is natural (under a hen) and artificial (in an incubator).
Artificial incubation was known in Egypt, China and South-East Asia in ancient ages. Only priests could deal with it, because. this required a lot of experience and skill.
How to collect eggs for incubation?
The egg must be collected in a separate place or have a small room for storing and washing the eggs.
The bird usually rushes at night or in the morning. When a hen is preparing to lay, she instinctively looks for a secluded place. Therefore, for demolition, she needs to prepare a nest. Their number should be sufficient. You need to collect an egg in the morning. An egg taken from a wet bedding or from the ground freezes quickly. The collected eggs are stacked in ready-made pads, then in wooden boxes or boxes. If there are no ready-made gaskets, it is better to shift them with shavings, but not with loose substances (hay, straw, sawdust). This should not be done so as not to clog the pores of the egg shell.
How to collect eggs in cold weather?
Cold days are unfavorable for the laid egg.
The bird lays the egg warm, close in temperature to its body (+ 40-42 C). Under the influence of external temperature, the egg cools quickly, and its contents coagulate. When curdling, water is absorbed through the pores of the shell, and bacteria and mold penetrate with it, especially when the egg is laid on the ground. Therefore, try to collect eggs every 2 hours, keep the bedding clean and move them to a warmer room with a temperature of 8-12 C and a relative humidity of 80%.
Egg cleaning and washing
If the egg is heavily soiled, then it must be washed before being placed under the hen or put in the incubator.
What rules should be followed when washing eggs?
The air temperature in the washing room should be around 21-23C (maximum 26-27C).
The temperature of the washing water should be 2°C higher than the egg temperature, but not exceed 38°C.
Eggs for incubation should not be immersed in water above 38°C for more than 3 minutes.
Eggs should be washed within 2-3 hours after they are laid.
How to wash eggs?
Eggs are washed with a foam sponge, and in case of heavy contamination with a brush that is easy to rub. The egg is held still, and the sponge or brush makes movements around it. With strong friction, there is a danger of destroying protein bonds and membranes, spilling their contents (protein, yolk).
After washing, the eggs are rinsed with clean water and treated with a disinfectant solution if you suspect diseases in the bird or if you bought the egg from other owners.
What disinfectants can be used before incubation?
The temperature of the disinfectant must be equal to the washing water.
You can use solutions of the following disinfectants:
1.1-1.5% hydrogen peroxide solution (for 2-3 minutes.);
2. 1% solution of chromamine for 1.5-2 minutes;
3. 1% - iodine solution for 0.5-1 min. (Gives good results, but quite expensive).
After disinfection, the eggs are dried for 30-60 minutes.
Irradiation. Good results are obtained when eggs are irradiated with ultraviolet rays of 30 W germicidal lamps at a distance of 40 cm for 3-5 minutes.
How to gas disinfect eggs?
If you bought an egg intended for incubation, it is advisable to carbonate it with formaldehyde vapor. To do this, laid eggs in gaskets are placed in a hermetically sealed room or pantry (its volume depends on the number of eggs). 35 ml of formalin, 20 ml of distilled water and 20 g of potassium permanganate per 1 square meter of the room are poured into the bath on the floor of the room, after which the doors are quickly closed.
Distilled water in the mixture increases the humidity in the room, which increases the bactericidal effect of formalin. At an air temperature of 22-26C and high humidity, the eggs stand idle in the chamber for 30 minutes.
After that, an electric fan is turned on and the room is ventilated for 1-2 hours until you feel that the smell of formalin has disappeared.
What is an egg made of?
Bird eggs are formed in the genital organs of the bird - the ovaries and poultry farmers. They contain everything necessary for the nutrition of the embryo, including water. The egg consists of the yolk, protein, shell membranes and shell. The most female sex cell is only the yolk, everything else is just protection from external influences and an environment for the development of the embryo. The yolk is one-third fat, half water, then about 20% protein. In addition, it contains vitamins, enzymes, minerals.
Protein consists of 4 layers. If it is broken and poured onto a smooth surface, then its layering is clearly visible. Two cords - hailstones are riveted to the shell membranes and do not allow the yolk to float to the shell. Lysozyme is always present in the protein - this substance has the ability to kill and dissolve many microbes.
Shell consists of two layers of inner - papillary and outer
spongy. The composition of the shell is 95% calcium carbonate. Due to the presence of many small pores, the shell is permeable to water vapor and gases.
The surface of the shell of a freshly laid egg appears dull due to a thin layer of dried mucus from the oviduct, which is easily rubbed off.
How many eggs will you get from a bird?
Wild birds lay as many eggs in a year as they need to maintain their species. However, man, having domesticated the bird, increased egg production many times over by long-term selection. And modern chickens of egg crosses lay up to 300 eggs a year, meat crosses - 200 eggs, ducks, geese and turkeys up to 100 pieces, but at the same time, the instinct of incubation in many breeds has been lost in the process of evolution.
What is egg fertility?
Fertility is the percentage of eggs that give embryonic development to the number of eggs laid for incubation. Whether there are males in the herd or not, females still lay eggs in all types of birds.
Therefore, if you are going to incubate eggs, then there must be a sufficient number of males in the herd.
In a herd of chickens, 1 rooster should have 15 females of the egg direction and 10 females of the meat direction, in turkeys, there are 12 females per turkey, 5 ducks per drake, 3 geese per goose, 6 guinea fowl per caesar. The best fertility is obtained in young, but sexually mature males.
After being removed from the herd of roosters, hens continue to carry fertilized eggs for two weeks, guinea fowls and ducks - 10 days, and turkeys - 40 days, since the spermatozoa remain alive for a long time, once in the oviduct.
What does fertility depend on?
Firstly, from feeding your bird, especially from the presence of vitamins B, A and E in the diet. Fertility is reduced if the bird is overcrowded indoors, if it is cold or damp, if there is a short daylight hours. With a link of a bird, its exhaustion or illness, there is also a decrease in fertility.
What is output?
This is the percentage of hatching of young animals from the number of fertilized eggs. It is determined primarily by heredity. There are individuals, both males and females, which give a very low hatchability. They should be culled from the herd.
CONCLUSIONUNDERHAT
How to choose a good mother hen?
In the spring, some female poultry exhibit a brooding instinct. You need to watch your pets. If you notice that the bird's belly is bare, it will pluck out feathers and fluff and line the nest with them. If you drive her out of the nest, she reluctantly comes out and cackles - she makes guttural sounds. So this is a good brood. You can hatch young animals under any type of bird (under chicken, turkey, duck and goose). The only condition- do not put duck eggs under the goose, as duck eggs have a thinner shell and the goose can crush them.
Hens of all kinds of birds can breed chicks, but the best are considered old birds, and of them - turkeys. Under the duck they put 13-15 of their eggs or 7-9 goose, under the chicken 7-9 duck or 5-7 goose, under the goose 9-15 goose, under the chicken they put 7-9 of their eggs.
How to build a nest?
Nests for incubation should be located in a secluded, dark, dry and warm place. You can take old baskets, boxes. The main thing is that the front wall should be of such a height that the hen can freely enter and exit. It is better to plant a hen in the evening. Place food and water next to the nest. It would be nice not to disturb the bird at all for the first few days. Then she will go out 1-2 times for 10 minutes a day. If she does not leave the nest for 2 days, carefully remove her and bring her to the feeder until she starts doing it herself.
If there are several hens.
Sometimes the housewives plant several hens, then you need to make partitions between them so that the bird does not see each other and does not worry and does not fight. It is better not to let males into this room or behind partitions.
The place of incubation must be periodically ventilated, fresh air is needed for the development of the embryos.
How can you be sure that the incubation is correct?
When the hen goes for a walk or feeding - inspect the nest, change the soiled litter to clean and dry, remove the broken eggs. Eggs must be checked for damage. You need to do this when the hen leaves. Be sure to look at the ovoscope for each egg.
At home, you can look at the bright light of a light bulb. If the egg is translucent and there is no dark spot, then it is unfertilized. This egg must be removed from under the hen.
ZHARKOVA I.P., presenter Researcher Selection Center VNITIP, Ph.D. n.
"Your rural consultant" (No. 4, 2011).
Young poultry are hatched in two ways: artificial - in incubators and natural - under hens. Hatchery and poultry stations, poultry factories and breeding poultry farms annually sell millions of day-old chickens, ducklings, turkey poults and goslings to collective farmers and workers.
All duck eggs obtained on farms, with the exception of marriage (fight, notch, two-yolk), should be incubated. By agreement, they are handed over to the incubator at the poultry station or exchanged for ducklings. If this is not possible, then the young are bred under hens. The hatching of ducklings under hens (natural incubation) depends on three main conditions: the quality of the eggs placed under the hen, the choice of the hen and the care of her and the eggs during the incubation period. Poultry must be properly fed and maintained, only then the eggs will have all the necessary incubation qualities. Eggs intended for hatching are ovoscoped. An ovoscope is a device made of a plywood or cardboard box (case), inside which an electric or kerosene lamp is placed, and an oval hole is cut above them. When an egg is applied to the hole, its contents are translucent.
Eggs should not be stored in a warm place, as well as near odorous substances (creosote, kerosene, carbolic acid). It is best to keep them in a cool dry place at a temperature of 5-10 ° C in a basket, box in an upright position. The room should not be damp and mold. It is not recommended to place eggs with cracks, dirty, very small, with a thin shell, round or too elongated, as well as eggs with irregular rough shells with thickenings and belts under the brood hen. Duck eggs laid 2-5 days ago are best suited for incubation.
Choice of mother hen. After a period of increased egg-laying in the spring, the instinct of incubation appears in poultry. best time for planting hens - the end of March - April - May. At this time, the bird's stomach becomes bare, as feathers and fluff fall out, the bird pulls them out herself, covering the nest with them. A good mother hen is reluctant to leave the nest. If she is dropped off from there, she does not run away, but sits down on the ground and makes special guttural sounds (clucks). The nest with a brood hen is closed on top with a basket (box), releasing it only 2 times a day for feeding. After 3-4 days, the bird usually begins to cackle, sit up.
Excellent hens are turkeys, they breed both turkey poults and young poultry of other species equally well. You can make both female and male turkeys incubate. For this, several eggs are placed in the nest, a turkey is planted there and the nest is closed so that it cannot stand up. After 2-3 days, eggs are laid under the turkey for incubation.
You can also put duck eggs under a hen-hen, but you can’t put them under geese, since duck eggs have a thinner shell and a goose can crush them. 13-15 duck eggs are placed under the duck, 7-9 duck eggs are placed under the chicken. The mother hen should cover all the eggs without opening her wings. It is better to put the hen on the nest in the evening. There should always be food, water and a box with dry sand and ash near the nest, where the bird could swim. Mother hens usually leave the nest daily for food and drink. You need to feed the hens with whole grains, grain waste or a dry flour mixture. In the first 2 days, the hen should not be disturbed at all, even if she does not leave the nest.
The mother hen is released 1-2 times a day for 10 minutes. If the mother hen does not leave the nest for more than 2 days, she is carefully removed and brought to the feeder until she herself begins to approach the feed. You can not let her walk with another bird in the yard, it is best not to let her out of the room where the nest is. Eggs should be inspected after the hen leaves the nest. Crushed eggs (if any) are immediately removed, contaminated litter is replaced with fresh, traces of dirt are removed from soiled eggs.
The eggs laid under the hen are examined several times during the incubation period on the ovoscope, as among them there may be those that are unsuitable for further incubation - unfertilized or with a frozen embryo.
When viewed on an ovoscope of fertilized duck eggs on the 7-8th day of incubation, the circulatory system and the embryo are quite clearly visible. In eggs with a dead embryo during this period, you can notice a blood ring, a line or a blood gyrus. Unfertilized eggs, i.e. eggs without embryos, are light. The first time duck eggs are viewed on the 1-8th day of incubation, the second time - before hatching - on the 26th day of incubation. During the second viewing, the sinuous delineation of the borders of the pugi is clearly visible; it is often possible to establish the movement of the duckling's beak. In eggs with frozen embryos, a solid dark mass without blood vessels is noticeable, the contents of the egg overflow.
The duration of incubation of duck eggs is 27-28 days. Young poultry hatch wet, so the ducklings must first be allowed to dry under the hen, and then put in a box, box, lined with insulating fabric, covered with cloth on top and placed in a warmer place (26-28 ° C). The mother hen with young is isolated from other birds and kept separately. Ducklings are allowed to go to the hen after the hatch is over. Young growth, bred from two hens, can be kept with one of them (provided that both chicks are of the same age), and the freed one can start walking around or lay eggs under it to hatch a new batch. Under the hen, depending on its size and maternal qualities, you can let ducklings hatched in an incubator, but not more than 20-30. Such planting successfully succeeds in the first days of the life of the young; among older ducklings, the mother hen distinguishes other people's chicks and drives them away.
The duck is a caring mother hen, under which you can grow up to 20-30 ducklings. The first 2 days the duck, along with the brood, must be kept in a warm room. In good weather, ducklings from the 3-4th day gradually begin to be released for walking and carefully monitor their behavior. Ducklings are released into the pond early in the morning and fed only once in the evening in the yard, near the accommodation for the night. It is not recommended to allow ducklings to water before 10 days of age, as they can get very wet and overcool. Ducklings are grown for meat up to 60-65 days of age, by which time they reach 2-2.5 kg. They are fed abundantly with highly nutritious concentrated feed. In household plots, where there are no brood hens, and day-old young animals are bought at an incubator-poultry station or at a poultry farm, in most cases they are grown under artificial conditions. You can heat ducklings with electric heaters. At the same time, electric heaters are the safest in terms of fire, compact and hygienic.
Collapse
The incubation period of any poultry has its own characteristics. Usually these differences are related to which category the bird belongs to: land or waterfowl.
The peculiarity of duck and goose eggs is that they contain a high percentage of fat and are heavy. As a result of this, the incubation of the indoutok lasts longer - 26-30 days. In addition, for indouts, a certain thermal regime must be observed in order for the chicks to be healthy. Consider how to breed ducklings in an incubator at home.
What are the features of incubation?
Incubation at home is a complex process. Moreover, in order to achieve a good result, it is necessary to comply with a number of requirements. Duck eggs are larger than those of chickens. It has a strong and smooth shell. For hatchability to be good, you need to properly store the eggs.
Muscovy duck
Since ducks love water, their feathers are constantly wet. Therefore, the eggs are very dirty. They need to be well cleaned immediately after being removed from the nest. Otherwise, they may be susceptible to mold and various infections.
In order for the eggs of the Indochka to be fertilized, one male must be kept for 4 females. It is desirable that the drake be the same age as the ducks or a couple of months older than them.
Muscovy ducks have a special egg-laying schedule: they start laying early in the morning and lay their eggs before noon. Muscovy ducks are excellent hens, so there is a productive hatching of ducks. But hatching of ducklings can also occur with the help of an incubator. Incubator ducks should not be released into the pond in the first month of life, as they may die.
The mode of incubation of eggs affects the vital signs of the chicks. Although usually, using the incubator, various defects are observed in ducklings, high mortality among chicks. This occurs less frequently when the chicks are hatched by the mother hen. Therefore, before removing the indout in the incubator, you should read the instructions for its operation, consider what temperature should be in the container.
Eggs of indoutok, mulards and wild ducks: comparison
duck eggs
Indo-duck eggs have a smooth surface, they are white. The weight of eggs reaches 75-80 grams. The shell is thick, so the eggs are hard to break. Indo-cats are quite neat, so usually the eggs in the nest are kept clean.
As a result, it is not necessary to collect them on the first day. On the contrary, if it is necessary for the duck to incubate the eggs, they are left in the nest until she becomes a hen. Moreover, she chooses the place for oviposition herself, and it is not recommended to change it.
Moulards are a hybrid of ducks, bred by crossing an indo-duck and a domestic duck. Unlike musky birds, they are not brown, but black or white. Mulard duck eggs weigh a few grams less. Their weight is 50-60 grams. They have the same oblong shape as the rest of the birds.
However, they have a yellowish tint and dark specks on the shell, reminiscent of turkey. Although it is found that representatives of the Favorit duck breed carry eggs of the same color. Incubation of ducks in agriculture gives positive results, despite the fact that mulards are hybrids.
Wild duck eggs can have a different color: from white to brown-green with dark spots. The peculiarity of such eggs is that after the start of incubation, the shade disappears, and they become white. In the first days of warming, females begin to equip their nests.
When they are ready, the ducks start laying eggs. They rush regularly, every day, mainly in evening time days. The weight of an egg is about 45 grams. Dimensions - 34X46 mm. Externally, wild birds resemble Bashkir ducks, although they are slightly smaller in size.
What to do before laying in the incubator?
Breeding indoo on a home farm is a simple process, but for optimal results, you need to follow a number of requirements. In particular, you need to properly care for the eggs before laying. After all, the incubation process will depend on a number of factors:
- temperature and humidity. The hatchery should not be too warm - up to 15 degrees. The moisture level in the storage room should also be high enough - 50-70%. Therefore, it is even recommended to purchase a special wet bulb thermometer to monitor the humidity indicators.
- Coups. It is necessary to regularly turn the eggs before laying - 2-3 times a day. They should not sit constantly in the same position. Following this technology, you can save ducklings from sticking to the shell. Therefore, the embryo will form in the center of the egg.
- Selection. You need to select only suitable instances. All eggs that are irregularly shaped, cracked, damaged are laid aside.
- Storage. All eggs must be as fresh as possible. In general, it is not recommended to store them for more than 5 days. An exception applies only to eggs of indoutok. It is allowed to store them for 10-15 days.
After selection, they should be disinfected. It is not recommended to put dirty products, as an infection may develop inside. To do this, several crystals of potassium permanganate are added to warm water so that the solution gets a pink tint. One egg is dipped into it for a minute so that the dirt dissolves. The remains of dirt are washed with a brush. They should dry naturally. Therefore, they are placed on fabrics and left until the moisture has completely evaporated. Then they are placed in a box horizontally.
How to lay duck eggs in an incubator?
The incubator must be placed in a well-ventilated area. It is desirable that the room is used only for breeding ducklings. It is not recommended to keep other pets here.
It is important that the location of the container has optimal lighting. Breeding ducklings in an incubator at home should be carried out in compliance with the same air parameters as in the nest of a mother hen. 
The laying in the incubator occurs vertically, with the air bag up. You can determine its location using an ovoscope.
It is advisable to highlight its outlines with a simple pencil, so that over time it can be seen how much its dimensions have changed.
Some poultry farmers believe that it is better to lay eggs horizontally in the incubator. Although fewer eggs will fit in one incubator, the ducklings will be strong and healthy.
During the incubation of the indochka eggs, they need to be turned over several times a day so that the entire surface has the same temperature.
Otherwise, the fetus will develop unevenly, so ducklings hatch with birth defects. Incubation of waterfowl takes place at a high level of humidity. Therefore, you have to additionally spray them with warm water or a solution of potassium permanganate.
