How long does it take for duck eggs to hatch? (2024)

Wondering how long it takes for duck eggs to hatch? There are few factors involved, but this article will walk you through how long you can expect to wait, for adorable baby ducklings to emerge.

Pin

The short answer is that most duck eggs take 28 days to hatch. Muscovy eggs take longer to hatch (about 35 days), and bantam duck eggs can hatch in just 26 days.

There are, of course, many factors that can influence exactly how long a particular duck egg will take to hatch.

These range from temperature and humidity conditions, to how old the egg is when incubation begins, and the specific breeds of the parents.

Let's drill down and take a look at some of these!

How long do different duck breeds take to hatch?

Pin

Standard Mallard-Derived Breeds

When you think of a "duck", chances are, you're thinking of a breed that's been derived from the Mallard species. Most of our modern duck breeds fit into this category, from Welsh Harlequins, to Dutch Hookbills, to Cayugas. They're all distantly related, but derived

Standard sized ducks, including both domestic and wild breeds, take 28 days to hatch.

Pin

Bantam Duck Breeds

We find an exception to this rule, however, in the smaller "bantam" breeds of ducks. While they're still mallard-derived, small breeds like Call ducks and East Indies ducks don't generally take a full 28 days to hatch.

Bantam duck breeds usually hatch in about 26 days.

Pin

Muscovies

Another waterfowl species, that's not technically a duck at all. (Yes, some of you will be peeved with me for saying Muscovies aren't ducks, but this is simply a scientific fact, and not an exclusive judgement on them as a species.)

Muscovies take 35 days to hatch.

Mixed-Breed and Hybrid Ducks

Of course, this all gets more complicated, if you're keeping a mixed flock of waterfowl, and may have different breeds or species producing offspring together.

In a mixed breed situation, you can generally expect your duck eggs to still hatch in 28 days, unless you have bantams, in which case your ducklings might show up a day or two sooner. If that's the case, and you think you may have bantam mixes, I generally recommend putting the incubator on lockdown two days early, just to be safe.

If you've got ducks and Muscovies producing offspring together, these would be called hybrids. They can take anywhere from 28-35 days to hatch, and grow up to be infertile. They're beautiful ducks that can still lay lots of eggs, and may be wonderful mothers if given fertile eggs to sit on. However, their own eggs won't fertile.

Impact of temperature on length of incubation

Next to breed, temperature is a factor that most significantly plays a role in how long duck eggs take to hatch.

Duck eggs require a steady temperature of 99.5F during incubation for best results. If the temperature is lower than this (say, 98.5), the eggs may likely still hatch, but almost certainly will take an extra day or two.

Waterfowl eggs do not tolerate higher incubator temperatures with the same resilience that chicken, quail, or turkey eggs seem to. However, if the temperature is just a little high throughout incubation, you may still have a successful hatch, and might see your ducklings hatching just a little earlier than otherwise. High temperatures can lead to increased death during the hatching process, and even duckling deformities, so this definitely is not something to shoot for.

Your best results will always be had, when keeping the incubator steadily at the ideal temperature.

Pin

How long do duck eggs take to hatch after the first pip?

This is an excellent question, and requires a post all to itself! The actual hatching process takes longer for ducklings than for chicks, and can be quite nerve-wracking the first time! Expect it to take up to 36 hours, or sometimes even more.

For a very thorough answer on how long you can expect the hatching process to take, please see this post: How Long Do Ducklings Take to Hatch?

Worried that your duckling isn't hatching properly, and need quick advice on whether to help? This is the post you're looking for:
Should You Help a Duckling Hatch?

I hope you've found this quick guide useful for helping to know how long to expect it to take, for duck eggs to hatch. If you have any questions I haven't covered here, please feel free to ask away in the comments. I'll be glad to help if I can!