Adding new birds to the population each year is critical to the future waterfowl population. Here are the basics about incubating, hatching and releasing ducklings. 

It is important to know there is a difference between domestic and wild ducks.  It is CRUEL to release domestic ducks as they will not survive.  Domestic ducks are meant to be kept as pets.  Which ever you choose, please make sure you have the proper time and means to care for them before you take on the responsibility and check your state and federal regulations prior to releasing waterfowl.

Items You Need:

2 cardboard boxes Pencil Hot glue gun Scissors Insulation 1/4-inch metal mesh screening Wire snips Disposable baking tin Commercial heating element Tape Hatcher

If you want to use an incubator to hatch duck eggs, purchasing a commercial incubator is your best option. However, commercial incubators are costly. If you do not want to spend the money on a commercial incubator to hatch your duck eggs, you can make your own using cardboard boxes and newspaper for much less money. Although homemade incubators do not guarantee successful hatching, they are inexpensive and fun to make.

I am bringing this story up just as a reminder and maybe someone knows who did this. Last week I finally seen my first Whooping cranes. I hope that a tragety like this never happens again. It saddens me that a fellow Hooisier would do such a thing.

Food for Ducks: If you have private land that you are interested in making a haven for ducks, here is a link to at site that will help you get growing!