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HEKA Incubators UK
Duck Egg Incubating Chart
Preparing the Incubator
It is important to bring the eggs up to room temperature before loading them in the incubator.
Remove the incubating trays from the incubator, load the eggs into the trays and stand the trays on a safe table.
Check that the trays in the incubator are in turning mode and the water supply is connected and filled.
Set the incubator for day 1-3 and run it for 2 hours to let the temperature and humidity settle.
Meanwhile, your eggs will be coming up to room temperature.
Load the eggs into the incubator and make sure that you have connected the trays to the turning mechanism.
IMPORTANT
Cooling Period for Duck Eggs is VITAL for hatching success. From day 9 - if your incubator has a cooling facility, set it
to operate for 90 minutes cooling per day. If it does not have a cooling facility, then once per day, turn the power off and
open the incubator door slightly for a period of 30-45 minutes, very large eggs a little longer, then close door and turn
power back on. If you are opening the door, set an alarm to remind yourself to close it and turn the power back on!
* From day 25 you must maintain humidity, even if it means closing the air vents down a bit.
Day
1-4
5-9
9-10
11-24
25-26
27-28
Temperature
(C)
37.8
37.7
37.7
37.6
37.6
37.6
Humidity
(%RH)
67
63
63
63
65
75
Air Vents
Egg Turning
Cooling Cycles
Notes
Open 1/4
Open 1/2
Open 1/2+
Open 1/2+
Open 1/2+
Open 3/4*
ON
ON
ON
ON
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
ON 90min/day
ON 90min/day
OFF
OFF
Run for 2 hours before loading eggs
Check Water Level
Check Water Level
Check Water Level
Transfer eggs to Hatching Baskets
Do not open door until all hatched
Check-off Chart
Use the chart below to keep track by ticking off the days.
DAY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
30
NOTE: Using properly stored eggs from healthy stock you should be able to achieve a hatch rate average in excess of 80%. This guide is based upon a hatch period of 28 days. Humidity requirements vary for different breeds and egg size to achieve a weight loss of 12% to 17% between day 1 and 28, according to the breed guides. You will need to follow these guides, or weigh
eggs during the incubation period and adjust humidity levels accordingly. Reduce the humidity if they are not losing enough weight.
This guide is for BATCH INCUBATING, where the incubator is filled with one batch of eggs, not for cycle incubating, where new eggs are put in every week.
This hatching guide is designed for use with HEKA incubators which have very accurate temperature and humidity control and moving air inside. It is not suitable for still-air incubators.
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