Hatching mandarin ducks

[matthewrbo]

Hi, I recently purchased hatching eggs for mandarin ducks, and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how to hatch them properly, how to take care of them after they hatch, and how friendly they will be if I raise them from ducklings. Also, what is the hatching rate of the eggs, and how to tell if the eggs are fertilized. I attached a photo of a mandarin duck egg that I candled. Could somebody please tell me if this looks fertile? Also, I was reading in another article that Mandarin ducklings have trouble eating when they first hatch how can I help resolve this issue? One last thing does anybody have a photo of a mandarin duckling? This will be helpful so I can identify it when it hatches. Additionally, I attached a photo of the incubator that I am using. Will the incubator hatch the eggs properly? Thanks

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

@MGG Don't you have Mandarins?

 

[nuthatched]

Not to be rude or discourage you, but you really should have looked into all this information before you purchased the eggs to see if you could even give them what they require or if they'd make a good match for you or even if they're legal for you to have.
Mandarin ducks aren't like other domestic waterfowl and not cared for like other duck breeds. They're wood ducks.
If this is your first time incubating, starting off with likely shipped Mandarin ducks is going to be tricky, to say the least.

 

[MGG]

Hi, I recently purchased hatching eggs for mandarin ducks, and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how to hatch them properly, how to take care of them after they hatch, and how friendly they will be if I raise them from ducklings. Also, what is the hatching rate of the eggs, and how to tell if the eggs are fertilized. I attached a photo of a mandarin duck egg that I candled. Could somebody please tell me if this looks fertile? Also, I was reading in another article that Mandarin ducklings have trouble eating when they first hatch how can I help resolve this issue? One last thing does anybody have a photo of a mandarin duckling? This will be helpful so I can identify it when it hatches. Additionally, I attached a photo of the incubator that I am using. Will the incubator hatch the eggs properly? Thanks

Welcome to BYC.

Were they shipped eggs? Like nuthatched said, Mandarin ducks are not like other ducks and require someone who is pretty knowledgeable about other ornamental waterfowl and incubation to hatch and raise them successfully. They're not very easy to hatch in an incubator. The only way I get a good hatch rate is if I let a broody chicken hen or one of my Mandarin hens sit on them for the first two weeks. After that they can be pulled and hatched in an incubator decently. My eggs aren't shipped either so obviously that will give you an even harder time if yours are. How many eggs do you have? Mandarins are pretty flighty and even if hand raised, won't tolerate petting or even getting much closer to them than a few feet. Some of mine will eat out of my hand, but only if I'm the only person out there. And I've been working on it with them consistently for months. They're not at all like domestic ducks. What kind of pen do you have for them? They require a large enclosed pen with unlimited access to a pool of fresh bathing water. They also like branches and logs to sit on, and need wood duck nest boxes to lay their eggs in.

There's no way to tell if that egg is fertile without incubating it for a week or so first.

Mandarin ducks naturally hatch in tree cavities, and it's been said that them jumping from the nest and hitting the ground kick starts their brain into eating/drinking/following mom, etc.
Tree ducks hatched in captivity go straight to the brooder from the incubator, never getting that jump. I've only had it happen a couple times, but they do tend to act depressed without the jumping thing. It sounds stupid but I try to replicate it with most of mine. I haven't had any issues since I have so I have to say it works. I just put a few of my newly hatched ducklings in a tree cavity in our yard 5-6 feet high, and call them to get them to jump out. After each one jumps, I catch it and put them in a tub. If you wait till they're more than a day old you'll never catch them again.

After they've all jumped, I give them a dish of warm water with a sprinkle of gamebird starter in it. It starts to dissolve, and they love dabbling in it. I've used Mazuri Waterfowl Starter in the past which I really liked, but they changed their recipe last year and I had some issues with it so I just use gamebird starter now. Mine also love live mealworms and they're great for teaching them to be friendlier.

Here's a pic of one of my Mandarin ducklings for you.

I've never used a Kebonnix, but if you have a separate calibrated thermometer and hygrometer inside to check the presets against you should be ok. I run 98-99 for Mandarins and 35-45% humidity. At lockdown I raise humidity to 70%.

 

[MGG]

@MGG Don't you have Mandarins?

I do, thanks for the tag!

 

[matthewrbo]

Welcome to BYC.

Were they shipped eggs? Like nuthatched said, Mandarin ducks are not like other ducks and require someone who is pretty knowledgeable about other ornamental waterfowl and incubation to hatch and raise them successfully. They're not very easy to hatch in an incubator. The only way I get a good hatch rate is if I let a broody chicken hen or one of my Mandarin hens sit on them for the first two weeks. After that they can be pulled and hatched in an incubator decently. My eggs aren't shipped either so obviously that will give you an even harder time if yours are. How many eggs do you have? Mandarins are pretty flighty and even if hand raised, won't tolerate petting or even getting much closer to them than a few feet. Some of mine will eat out of my hand, but only if I'm the only person out there. And I've been working on it with them consistently for months. They're not at all like domestic ducks. What kind of pen do you have for them? They require a large enclosed pen with unlimited access to a pool of fresh bathing water. They also like branches and logs to sit on, and need wood duck nest boxes to lay their eggs in.

There's no way to tell if that egg is fertile without incubating it for a week or so first.

Mandarin ducks naturally hatch in tree cavities, and it's been said that them jumping from the nest and hitting the ground kick starts their brain into eating/drinking/following mom, etc.
Tree ducks hatched in captivity go straight to the brooder from the incubator, never getting that jump. I've only had it happen a couple times, but they do tend to act depressed without the jumping thing. It sounds stupid but I try to replicate it with most of mine. I haven't had any issues since I have so I have to say it works. I just put a few of my newly hatched ducklings in a tree cavity in our yard 5-6 feet high, and call them to get them to jump out. After each one jumps, I catch it and put them in a tub. If you wait till they're more than a day old you'll never catch them again.

After they've all jumped, I give them a dish of warm water with a sprinkle of gamebird starter in it. It starts to dissolve, and they love dabbling in it. I've used Mazuri Waterfowl Starter in the past which I really liked, but they changed their recipe last year and I had some issues with it so I just use gamebird starter now. Mine also love live mealworms and they're great for teaching them to be friendlier.

Here's a pic of one of my Mandarin ducklings for you.
View attachment 3483979

I've never used a Kebonnix, but if you have a separate calibrated thermometer and hygrometer inside to check the presets against you should be ok. I run 98-99 for Mandarins and 35-45% humidity. At lockdown I raise humidity to 70%.

Hi, thank you so much for your advice. here is a updated photo of one of my mandarin eggs. it looks like there is some veining that is forming.

 

[matthewrbo]

Not to be rude or discourage you, but you really should have looked into all this information before you purchased the eggs to see if you could even give them what they require or if they'd make a good match for you or even if they're legal for you to have.
Mandarin ducks aren't like other domestic waterfowl and not cared for like other duck breeds. They're wood ducks.
If this is your first time incubating, starting off with likely shipped Mandarin ducks is going to be tricky, to say the least

Hi, thank you so much for your advice. here is a updated photo of one of my mandarin eggs. it looks like there is some veining that is forming.

 

[matthewrbo]

Hi, thank you so much for your advice. here is a updated photo of one of my mandarin eggs. it looks like there is some veining that is forming.

 

[mrputerz]

Hi, I recently purchased hatching eggs for mandarin ducks, and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how to hatch them properly, how to take care of them after they hatch, and how friendly they will be if I raise them from ducklings. Also, what is the hatching rate of the eggs, and how to tell if the eggs are fertilized. I attached a photo of a mandarin duck egg that I candled. Could somebody please tell me if this looks fertile? Also, I was reading in another article that Mandarin ducklings have trouble eating when they first hatch how can I help resolve this issue? One last thing does anybody have a photo of a mandarin duckling? This will be helpful so I can identify it when it hatches. Additionally, I attached a photo of the incubator that I am using. Will the incubator hatch the eggs properly? Thanks

Hi Mattewrbo - how did you do with your incubation? I am in the middle of incubating / hatching a bunch of mandarin eggs. If your on facebook, look me up under my name or Westfield Farm and Gardens - maybe I can help?

 

[matthewrbo]

my hatch was unsuccessful. Unfortunately none of them hatched. do you sell the mandarin ducks?