How Long Does It Take To Incubate Magpie Duck Eggs?

By - Kalina Perkins
Sun, September 17, 2023 05:48 PM
A blog cover photo showing a white magpie duckling that says the title of the blog post.
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Okay, if you've found yourself here after spending what feels like probably way too long trying to figure out how long it takes Magpie ducks to hatch, I can absolutely promise you that you're in the right place. The Internet is this big echo chamber with lots of SEO-ridden blogs saying it only takes "21 days" to incubate Magpie duck eggs. Now, spoiler alert: that's not quite right. Grab a seat, and let's take a look at this mystery together!

About Magpie Duck Genetics

Let's kick things off with some duck genealogy, shall we? Magpie ducks are what are known as "Mallard-derived" which simply means that domesticated Magpie ducks are descended from the regular Mallard ducks that you would find in the wild. Of course, lots of selected breeding over the centuries has resulted in our pretty Magpie ducks with the black and white plumage, slightly larger size and better egg-laying abilities that we know and love.
Science-y scribbles of dna, beakers, atoms, rocket ships, and more. White with black background.

Understanding that Magpie ducks are closely related to Mallards is key to understanding the incubation period of their eggs. Like lots of other things in nature, the timer for Mallard eggs to hatch is about 28 days. From there, it's easy to extrapolate that Magpies should also take the same amount of time. That's probably a good enough answer for most of you who stumbled across this post, but, if you're curious, the real answer for how long duck eggs take to cook (just kidding, but look how yummy those boiled eggs look!) is not always so straightforward.

A pair of boiled eggs sprinkled with salt and pepper, alluding to egg-doneness and incubating duck eggs.

Other Factors That Affect Incubation Time

The exact hatching time of a Magpie duck egg is dependent on more factors than the species of duck they descended from. Most likely you're here because you're wondering when to put your eggs on lockdown. A bunch of factors come into play when making that decision:

  • Incubation Temperature: An average part of degree up or down across the whole incubation period can either fast-forward or hit pause on the incubation. This means that eggs incubated at higher temperatures can cumulatively take a day or even several days less to hatch than its identical counterpart that is incubated at a lower temperature.

  • Incubator Personality: Yup, incubators have personalities! Some are consistent, some fluctuate, and that can make a day or two difference. Specifically, some incubators have "cool spots" such as the Farm Innovators styrofoam incubators that are popular with beginner hatchers. Eggs that are in the cool spots on the corners and in the front row may take a few days longer to hatch than the eggs in the middle.

  • Flock-Specific Genetics: Ducks, like us, come with unique genetics. The eggs from our own flock of Magpies usually like to hatch on day 26. Many of our customers are surprised by this, even though we warn them ahead of time on our incubation cheat sheet that we provide. The eggs that you may get from other breeders will have their own genetics and might have a slightly different incubation timeline, but for the most part, you'll see hatches happen within 2-3 days on either side of that 28 day mark.

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How To Account For Discrepancies in Incubation Time

If you're aiming to not be surprised by when your Magpie ducklings hatch, we have a few tips. A consistent incubation temperature of 99.5°F has yielded the best results for us here at The Texas Honey Spot. I recommend an incubator that has no cool spots and a good fan for proper circulation and consistent temperature such as the reliable Nuture Right 360 incubator, of if you're willing to splurge a little, the HatchingTime CT60 cabinet incubator has great success rates for hatching duck eggs. A stable environment ensures that all of the embryos develop at a steady pace.
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Another answer that you're probably here for is when to put your eggs into lockdown. If you're new to hatching, lockdown is the stage in the incubation process that mimics the behavior of a mother duck sitting on her nest 24/7 for the last few days of incubation. Unless you're an experienced hatcher, the general advice for the lockdown period is to increase the heat and humidity slightly and then not open the incubator until the hatching process is over. If you bought eggs from us, we recommend locking down at day 24 in case your eggs hatch at day 26.
An incubator full of eggs with a fan and two heat bulbs at the top.

While I definitely recommend reaching out to the breeder you got the eggs from and getting incubation and lockdown instructions from them, the best way to know when to put your incubator into lockdown is by candling eggs. Candling eggs can be done with a candling device or, if you're an experienced hatcher, you can use a flashlight. If you're not sure how to candle eggs, there's a wealth of videos online that can show you how. We're in the process of making our own instructional candling video, but until we're done, I suggest heading over to YouTube and there will be some great advice there.

In Conclusion...

Let’s wrap this up: Magpie duck eggs taking 21 days to hatch is a bit of poultry folklore. In the real world, with all factors considered, you’re looking at anywhere from 26 to 30 days. And for those of you really eager to know what's happening inside those eggs, candling is your best friend. Remember, each egg is a mini miracle waiting to happen, and patience brings the fluffiest rewards!
An infographic describing that Magpie duck eggs take 21 days to hatch, and discussing how incubator and flock genetics play a part in incubation time.

Kalina Perkins

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Magpie Ducks
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Ducks Ducklings Magpie Now You Know