Broody Duck, Maybe?

Hi Rebecca,

I'm having the same kind of problem with one of my girls. She appears to be broody during the day...hisses if you go near her on the nest, wont move, etc. But at night, when the rest of the duck crew goes to the pond, she leaves the nest and spends the night on the pond.

Any experienced duck people out there know about this?

 

Comments

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,561 admin
    edited August 2018
    I have three types of ducks, so I guess I would qualify. Sorry that I am so late to the conversation. Hopefully you got some beautiful ducklings from your lady ducks.

    Most ducks will lay for a period of time, not sitting on them for long periods until they feel that they have laid enough eggs. This way, they can start them all off at the same time for a synchronized hatch date. Of course, eggs laid are 1 per day. In the course of the day, they will cover the eggs and only come back to lay...at least that is my observation.

    Various duck breeds will only lay a certain amount of eggs in each clutch (of course, give or take). Calls are generally around 12-15, muscovies can be up to 30, I have not counted Indian runner eggs, but had them lay somewhere around the 10 mark.  I had pekins as a teen, but didn't pay much attention to that back then. I am not familiar with any other duck breeds.

    If the duck is young, she might not be ready to set eggs. We had this happen last year with our call. All eggs were wasted. She laid, covered, laid, covered, and never set. My pekins did the same years ago, resulting in a towering nest over 2' tall! This year, as much as I artificially incubated some in case she would not set, we left 4 for her. She hatched them all and is a fantastic mom! I can now trust her to hatch next year.
    Once they set, they will get off to eat, drink, poop, and maybe clean off a bit with a short bath or swim They will also be very protective of their nests...and their bite can hurt. We have had muscovies break small sticks with their dangerous peck. Certainly watch your fingers if you need to do something close to their nests!
    Let me know how things went for you. Raising ducks can be so fun and rewarding!
  • Rebecca
    Rebecca Posts: 4
    edited August 2018
    Thanks Laurie, very informative!