Let the ducks do it...
But this isn't always and option and artificial incubation methods are needed.
We recommend using incubators designed specifically for waterfowl.
For shipped eggs, let them rest for 12 hours at room temperature with the air cell at the highest possible orientation. Why? Abrupt temperature changes damage the embryo. Shipped eggs often arrive below room temperature and we want to warm them up gradually.
Set the eggs in the incubator, and it is okay to let the incubation unit and eggs warm up from room temperature together. Do not rotate for the first 24-48 hours. Why? The embryo is most fragile when it first gets started, any jarring can damage it.
After activation, turn on the automatic turner. If you are rotating by hand, rotate 180 degrees, or pi radians, twice a day. Why? Rotating the eggs helps the air cell develop properly as the egg looses mass in the form of moisture. A symmetrical air cell is important for the duckling to rotate around, unzip and hatch. Eggs will loose approximately 14% of their mass during incubation.
Why rotate twice a day? Opening the incubator results in a humidity drop in the unit, which takes time to build back. Frequent opening will drastically lower the average humidity conditions, which causes the egg to loose too much moisture mass too quickly. Why is this important? It triggers an early hatch and the duckling may still be too small to get out of the egg.
A daily cool down cycle, bringing the eggs to room temperature for five to ten minutes is beneficial for waterfowl and mimics the activity of the hen on the nest when she leaves to eat and bath. Abrupt temperature changes may damage the embryo.
Rotation can be turned off at day 25 and the eggs moved to a hatcher. Humidity in the hatcher can be 50-60%. Higher humidities can damage the electronics in the equipment and ducklings may fail to dry out after hatching.
Ducklings can take up to 48 hours to fully emerge from the egg after external pip.