Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-02-20
PATCHING DUCK EGGS.
Some Valuable Information ON How
to Run Your Incubators.

Some Valuable Information ON How
to Run Your Incubators.
One of our correspondents wishes to
know if duck eggs are treated in the
same manner in the incubator as hen
eggs. He writes: II have four Prairie
State special duck machines which l
operated portion of last season with
varying success. l have thought that
perhaps / did not handle the machines
right, as l found a good many dead in
the shell in some of the matches. l ran
the machine the same as for hen eggs"
On most of the large duck farms the
eggs are incubated very similarly to
hen eggs, though the temperature is
often run from one-half to one degree
less, but some successful operators con-
tend that duck eggs differ materially
from those of other fowls and require
different treatment. Some years ago
the writer visited a large duck ranch
at Riverton, Va, and the manager who
was very successful Matching duck
eggs, explained in part his methods,
which at the time we noted very care
fully, as we were then Matching quite
a number of ducks, and afterward fol-
lowed his methods as closely as pos
sible and are free to assert that the
result was far better than our old
method, which was practically the
same as for hens eggs. We cannot say
that we operated our machines in ex-
actly the same manner, or even re-
membered all we heard there, but this
is the rule we adopted after our visit:
Slowly heat the machine to 100 de-
grees with tie thermometer resting on
the trays with the bulb free and hold
it steadily for twenty four hours, when
it is ready for the eggs. After placing
the eggs in the machine place the
thermometer on the eggs, the top of the
bulb just even with the top of the eggs,
and then turn up the lamp so as to
bring them to the desired 102 degrees
as quickly as possible without unduly
oVerheating the egg chamber. When
the heat has reached 102, adjust the
regulator so that the damper valve is
slightly raised and then turn down the
fame so as to just balance the lever. If
the incubators are in a room where the
temperature is liable to fall suddenly,
turn the flame so the valve is slightly
raised. The regulator will then do the
rest. Do not disturb the eggs for the
next forty-eight hours, but after that
turn them twice day, cooling as little
as possible. Before the animal heat has
developed in the eggs adjust the trays
by raising or lowering so the Their
mometer on the different trays will
read alike and then do not again
change their position no matter how
much the temperature seems to vary,
but shift the trays each day so as to
equalize or average the variation in
temperature.
Test the eggs on the fifth day. plac-
ing all live germs at the back of the
tray, leaving the untitled rows next to
the door. In the last of these (the one
farther from the door, place the Their
mometers, which should then read 80
degrees when resting on the bottom of
the tray, with the bulb free. Test again
on the fifteenth day, when, if devel-
opment has properly advanced, the egg
will be nearly opaque, the allantois
having almost or entirely encircled the
embryo. Handle the eggs very care
fully when testing and turning, SO as
not to jar them.
After the twelfth day the creative
forces will have done their work. This
will be noticed by rise in tempera-
ture, and with the adjustment you
have it will require less heat from the
lamp, and the regulator will doubtless
have to be altered somewhat. If the
machine is full of live germs, it will
need watching very closely or it may
run up to 105 degrees OF more, espe
cially during the third week, which
would cause many to die. They may
not die Immediately, but they will be-
fore the end of the hatch. Cool the
eggs daily during the third week, so
that a thermometer resting on the
eggs will register 80 degrees but do
not cool any during the fourth week.
During the fourth week the danger of
overheating is not so great, as the an
imal heat declines or remains about
stationary until piping, when it in
creases and a temperature of 105 or
106 is desirable at the time the duck
lings are breaking the shell. and under
no circumstances should it then be al
lowed to fall below 103 degrees. When
the last duckling is we'll dried off. open
one of the doors about an inch and Sc
cure it in this position, so as to accus-
tom them to a slightly lower tempera-
ture before being removed to the
brooder, but if the nursery under the
tray is not too full let them remain in
the incubator for twenty-four hours.
There is not so much necessity for
ventilation with duck as with hen
eggs, and all currents of air should be
avoided This was the principal point
we learned on our visit to the Virginia
duck farm.-National Poultry Journal