What happened to our Muscovy Duck eggs?

Hey everyone, new here. We had a large group of Muscovy ducks move into our neighborhood about 18 months ago. Several of us over a two block area kind of watch out for these little guys, as there are no ponds and people are generally rude while driving and mean to these animals as they are messy.

Lately all the ducks are gone, I assume animal control has relocated them. The only two left were two females who were sitting on their nests. We have done our best to watch over these animals, but predators, cars, etc have wreaked havoc. One of them had her babies and they were slaughtered by a predator, so she has left. The other had about 12 or 13 eggs she was sitting on. I have found 3 eggs broken in the yard, but the rest seemed to be in tact and she sits on them all the time. I make sure she has clean water.

I noticed yesterday that she was not sitting on the eggs, during the day or at night or this morning. I went to see if there were any eggs in the nest and it was totally empty. I don't see any evidence that they hatched or were attacked as there are no broken pieces anywhere.

Is it possible that she could have moved them to a safer place? We have had something attacking babies and eggs for a while, could she have just found a better place?

Thanks

Hi! And Welcome!

You are seeing how dangerous it is for domestic ducks to live without fences and protective housing. It sounds like you did all you could for them. She wouldn't have moved her nest, they don't do that. It sounds like what probably happened is a predator scared her off the nest and took her eggs, or she was taken too. Sitting ducks are very high risk for predatory attacks because they don't want to move off their eggs. I, for one, appreciate that you tried to help. It is so sad when domestic animals are left to the wild to defend themselves. Did you know that 90% of domestic ducks released to the wild don't survive the first year? They are either killed by predators or cars, malnourished by well meaning people feeding them nothing but white bread, or starved to death because they don't know how to forage for their complete diet.

Thanks for the reply. I was afraid that was the case. We have just watched these little guys go through hell and I have cried and been heartbroken so many times. Although it pangs me to see them gone, I am certain animal control took most of them away because they did it before. I hope she flew off to be with them. I will miss them. We all got a lot of enjoyment out of them, other than the poo, and I will miss them.

If they do come around again, what is the best thing to feed them? I tried a few different things like cabbage and they wouldn't touch it.

lknovello said:

Thanks for the reply. I was afraid that was the case. We have just watched these little guys go through hell and I have cried and been heartbroken so many times. Although it pangs me to see them gone, I am certain animal control took most of them away because they did it before. I hope she flew off to be with them. I will miss them. We all got a lot of enjoyment out of them, other than the poo, and I will miss them.

If they do come around again, what is the best thing to feed them? I tried a few different things like cabbage and they wouldn't touch it.

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Cabbage is a great option, but a duck that was probably raised on bread won't view it as food. My ducks were raised on veggies, and won't even try bread if it is thrown at them I would start with a healthy whole grain bread, get them to trust you. Cat kibble is ok as a treat, as is koi food. Most ducks love thawed frozen peas, and watermelon. I only offer things like cabbage and other dry veggies in a dish of water, it makes it easier to eat.

If they were to come back, is there any way you could offer them a safe place to roost? I don't know if they would want it or not, but you could make them part of your family. You would have to clip their wings or fence them in, but it would probably save their lives. Muscovy can fly, so I would think they are a little better off in the wild compared to a non flying domestic. It is still hard for them to find enough food, and be healthy.