Help neededCall Duck Eggs hatching tips

I've just bought some call duck eggs via Ebay. I've hatched & raised chickens, but never waterfowl, so I'm a true newbie. Calling for helpful advice!!!

I've read call duck eggs are hard to hatch (in regular incubators). So far, I've not been able figure out if that's because the humidity tends to run too LOW, or too HIGH. Thus, I need to know if the eggs need more or less humidity than chicken eggs?

Also, how many times a day do you turn the eggs & would an automatic turner do all right? I have a turbo-fan Hovabator.

I've seen many mentions of "wet-bulb" temperatures--is there a special thermometer/hygrometer that I can purchase that will give these readings, or it is something specific to certain incubators? (I'm really ignorant here!)

Any tips regarding the chicks' pipping/hatching?

And, this may seem like I've not thought my purchase out very well, but here goes--I don't have a pond. I'm planning to keep these ducks as pets and let them run around in my garden when I'm watching (to avoid hawk trouble). I'm planning to provide a small water source, such a kiddie pool. Is the pool essential, or would a smaller waterbowl work as well? (I've already decided that if I can't make these birds happy, I'll give them to some friends with a pond.)

Thanks in advance for any and all help! I love this forum :-)
~JoAnna

First off, When it comes to turning them and the regular process it is about the same as for chickens. I haven't found an incubator that hold the humidity at the right level for ducks yet. One thing I always do is put some fresh water in a spray bottle and LIGHTLY mist them one to two times a day. This is basically doing the same thing as when the hen gets in the water and comes back to the nest. I have also always heard, never feed waterfowl medicated starter, so I don't. Not sure if it really makes a difference or not, but it's a little cheaper and mine always do just fine. Yes, especially for call ducks a kiddie pool will work just fine. I never let my little calls out on the big pond because we have some rather large catfish and turtles that just love roasted duck.

just fyi....i was told that ducklings and goslings eat so much more food than chicks that they can o.d. on the medicated feed

good info re misting the eggs....i have some in the incubator now (my first try ever) so i'm going to go mist now :-)

I wonder if you were to feed them a ratio of med to non-med if that would be better for them. Like I said earlier, I never had a problem but if it could be beneficial.