Allevamento Poggio di Ponte makes use of two amateur incubators in order to improve births of duck and goose babies. One of these machine includes 60 eggs and the other 120. These incubators are different each other in relation to their dimensions and usually we use them starting from the end of February in order to look after all those eggs that are found outside their normal nests or that are abandoned for some several reason by female. When female is disturbed, for example by animals as mice, it is possible that she decides to abandon her nest, sometimes interrupting a brooding of also 15/20 eggs about. At this stage what is important is the use of the incubator where breeder puts eggs inside and it is fundamental that all happens in 7-9 hours after the abandonment. They are amateur incubators, not professional, so profit is not the best and the other problem is that they are duck or goose eggs. Indeed those breeds eggs need to be periodically humidify with something that sprinkles water; this is a fundamental stage because two important factors in Incubation Period are damp and temperature. Because of all those problems profit is always rather low, 20-25% about. Regarding chickens and pheasants, profit is higher. In the Incubation Process are fundamental the last 2-3 days before babies birth and so to try to improve profit is used a particularly incubator machine named “Static Unlocked”. With this different process, eggs hatch in a different place with different conditions, in particularly this is the latest period in incubation process and so we have to guarantee the perfect damp in order to allow babies to born without any other problems. Ducklings stay inside this incubator for about 24 hours; during this period they dry their plumage and they also start to walk. After that they’re going to be insert in their natural habitat passing through many different places, each one specific for a special life period. The particular plastic box for babies which are born in captivity is fundamental because it can guarantee warmth, food and water through its particular structure. Those features are fundamental for the survival of new babies. The greatest percentage of birth success with an artificial incubation is recorded with domesticated ducks as Call Duck, Black East Indian and Mallard (Anas Platyrhynchos); whereas wilder breeds as Mandarin Duck (Aix Galericulata) or American Wood Duck (Aix Sponsa) do not allow us same positive profits. Every year Allevamento Poggio di Ponte tries to improve profits with many several new devices but some breeds are quite impossible to born through an artificial incubation.
