Free range muscovies, pinned at night, & cannot locate nest

[AeonsMusings]

So this is our first time having ducks in any capacity. We have twelve muscovies, two drakes and ten hens. Earlier in the year we were getting 8 eggs a day for like a solid two months. I had to block off access underneath the porch because the girls suddenly stopped laying in the coop (we let them out in the morning) and we went from 8-5 a day to 2. I found their honey hole with 23 eggs all piled together (four were cracked). One hen loves to try and brood but she is literally the worst mom. She will abandon the nest directly after laying a new egg, sit for five minutes, and then leave and not visit the nest again the entire day and go to the coop at night like everyone else. I’m assuming she’s waiting for a certain number of eggs to sit on them all and just leaving the nest where I cannot find it until she can sit in earnest but if 23 eggs wasn’t enough…

Should I just let her have porch access and write off the lost nest? We have nine acres and they have access to it all, I have not managed to locate it yet looking daily for a week. My concerns is unattended eggs attracting predators.

Is this just typical scovy behavior?

Any and all advice would be deeply appreciated.

 

[sourland]

Keep them penned longer than normal, and then watch where the hens go after you release them.

 

[AeonsMusings]

Keep them penned longer than normal, and then watch where the hens go after you release them.

Tried that. Left them in the coop half the day and only two laid. They all dispersed to different areas of the yard and I’m only one set of eyeballs so after I tail a couple in the same direction the others are long gone. xD

 

[Yardmom]

It is normal bird behavior to go and lay an egg per day in a hidden nest. Muskovies can become broody, but no guarantee. (Not sure what you mean by worst mom if she isn't even setting. Is there a difference between what she is doing and the others?) You want to make sure when they do go to set that there are not more eggs than the hen can cover. You will likely need to mark eggs so you can take out eggs that the others add.
You may want to make some more attempts at keeping them in until they lay. Not only do the eggs attract predators, but if and when they do go broody the hens will literally be sitting ducks for predators to take.

 

[AeonsMusings]

It is normal bird behavior to go and lay an egg per day in a hidden nest. Muskovies can become broody, but no guarantee. (Not sure what you mean by worst mom if she isn't even setting. Is there a difference between what she is doing and the others?) You want to make sure when they do go to set that there are not more eggs than the hen can cover. You will likely need to mark eggs so you can take out eggs that the others add.
You may want to make some more attempts at keeping them in until they lay. Not only do the eggs attract predators, but if and when they do go broody the hens will literally be sitting ducks for predators to take.

She attempts to set, and gets distracted and off she pops until the next day. She’s tried setting on 23 eggs at one time, staying next to the nest but not actually sitting for more time than it took to lay another egg and move it around to how she liked. She is protective of her nest, peeping and trying to puff up and look big, but ultimately gets distracted the second she finds something more interesting to do.

I’ve kept them inside for hours later than I would normally let them out and I still result in only one or two eggs laid before they bolt. I can pin them up for the entire day and see how that works out.