Page:Ducks- and how to make them pay (IA cu31924003102971).pdf/52

38 Aylesbury or any other breed they will often come out two days over their usual time, viz., 29 or 30 days. Where duck breeders hatch out a large number of young ducklings it is well to have an incubator, even if they do most of their hatching with hens, as this is so very useful, even if it is only a small one, to put the eggs in which may be a little late in hatching, as well as some of the cracked ones. The latter are just as good for hatching purposes, if there is no weight put on them, as those which are not cracked at all, so long as the inner skin is not broken. I thoroughly recommend an incubator where people hatch a large number of ducklings, as it brings about such a saving of time. I have never found any incubator hatch ducks' eggs so well as Hearson's. I run my incubator at 104 deg. for ducks' eggs during the first fortnight, and then down to 102 deg. for the rest of the time. I find this does better than keeping it at 104 and 105 deg. all the time, as many do. By following this plan a less number die in the shell, and the ducklings are much stronger when they are hatched out.