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need help

post #1 of 7
6/30/12 at 12:47pm
Thread Starter 

my duck are in a shed and i have built a house in there so they can get in their to keep them warm but my female  duck has lay her eggs in their, but  the top is screw on would it hurt the eggs (their were layed ten days ago) if unscrew it to clean and put a latch on it  so it makes it easy to keep it clean cause she is not keeping it very clean herself.

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post #2 of 7
6/30/12 at 1:24pm

If she is safe in there, I would leave her be.  If she is not safe in there, you may need to go ahead and do the work.

 

When my ducks go broody, they do not make a mess in the nest.  Have you looked closely?

Nine beautiful Runners, four beautiful Buffs, thousands of beautiful memories and counting.

 

Looking for ducks?  Please consider adopting rescued ducks.  There are many places and people who do rescues, but we are not allowed to post the links due to BYC regs.  So fire up your web browsers and find some sweet, grateful duckies. 

 

 

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Nine beautiful Runners, four beautiful Buffs, thousands of beautiful memories and counting.

 

Looking for ducks?  Please consider adopting rescued ducks.  There are many places and people who do rescues, but we are not allowed to post the links due to BYC regs.  So fire up your web browsers and find some sweet, grateful duckies. 

 

 

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post #3 of 7
6/30/12 at 1:34pm
Dannii, is your duck sitting on the nest? I'm going to assume that you have a broody duck sitting on the eggs. Ducks are much more easily disturbed from their nest than chickens are so if you start to modify the house there is a risk that she will abandon the eggs. If you want her to keep sitting on them then I would not make any changes to the house yet. I would try to clean the nest though if it is poopy (has she pooped in it?) When she is off the nest to eat or drink can you use a small rake or something to gently move the nesting material to a spot where you can reach it? Then you could change the bedding.

It's also a good idea to fence off the area that your duck is sitting in so that no other ducks (male or female) have access to it. Use mesh that is half inch by half inch so ducklings can't get through it. Doesn't need to be a high fence, just a foot and a half will do. If other ducks can have access to ducklings they can injure or kill them.

When you have ducklings, take care stepping over the fence. Ducklings are fast and will run under your feet before you know it.

I hope that that is helpful. Sorry if I have misunderstood what you meant though smile.png
Swedish ducks in Black, Blue and Splash
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Swedish ducks in Black, Blue and Splash
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post #4 of 7
7/1/12 at 4:11am
Thread Starter 

ok thanks yeah my female is trying to keep it clean and my male keeps on

going in the nest box and pooing and also laying in their with her, at first the female was not

letting him but now she does not care.

if he goes in their now so should i try and keep him out.

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post #5 of 7
7/1/12 at 3:31pm
Yes, definitely put up a fence to keep the drake separate. Drakes can hurt or kill new ducklings so I'd keep him away till they are much older - about 2 months old. Make sure the fencing has no gaps that ducklings might run through so use mesh that's about a half inch by a half inch square.

Fingers crossed for a successful hatch!! smile.png
Swedish ducks in Black, Blue and Splash
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Swedish ducks in Black, Blue and Splash
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post #6 of 7
7/1/12 at 9:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 70%cocoa View Post

Yes, definitely put up a fence to keep the drake separate. Drakes can hurt or kill new ducklings so I'd keep him away till they are much older - about 2 months old. Make sure the fencing has no gaps that ducklings might run through so use mesh that's about a half inch by a half inch square.
Fingers crossed for a successful hatch!! smile.png


I find this interesting.  My ducks would let the drakes in for a few weeks then about 2 weeks before hatching he stopped going into the nesting box.  None of the ducks would let anyone near the nest from that time on until the babies were 3 or 4 days old up to a week, then they stopped mothering.  I don't know if this is particular to call ducks or ducks in general. 

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post #7 of 7
7/3/12 at 8:34am
Thread Starter 

ok he very friendly and he try to keep us away from the female and they are just older than a year old their are in a shed so have too try and sort something out to keep him away from her

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