in my experience it's not that they are not good mothers, but both Wood duck and Mandarin duck hens are pretty nervous and agitated when they first come off the nest and if there are other ducks in the pen with them, the other ducks might also start chasing and pecking the ducklings as they jump...
okay that makes more sense.. if you don't have magpies or jays around, then it was probably your mandarin hen that dropped it out of the box. I have had it happen to me twice. Once I was standing there watching as she flew out her nest box with an egg in her beak (half broken) and she dropped...
what egg is it? is this egg from birds you raise in captivity?
it looks like it could be a wood duck or mandarin duck egg.
if you have a hen sitting on a clutch of eggs, I bet she is missing an egg if you count them. Several possible scenarios, the hen dragged an egg out when she left the nest...
thank you guys. So nice to find other folks who love and appreciate these fascinating and stunning species.
I am posting more pics since I know we all like to look at pics of other breeders (again forgive me if I include wood ducks even though this is a Mandarin duck thread).
Hello. I would suggest trying to get rid of the rats before the ducklings hatch. So you should put some rat poison inside the pen (under a crate or something that will keep the ducks away from it). Also use some of those live traps. If you get the rats out of there before they hatch, that would...
Hi All -
I will post some pictures later. but All 5 of my Mandarin hens have been incubating their own eggs. I always let them hatch their own eggs and I actually let them raise their ducklings. it is true that it is very tricky to let the babies with their mothers. those ducklings can...