Wild rescue Mallard laying almost 20 eggs?!

[BBMom]

Hey everyone!! I have a rescued WILD mallard with angel wing who is almost 8 months old. No mate, but plenty of attention. She has been laying eggs. She did a first set of 14.Took those. Then a few days later, she has a total of 19 as of today?! This doesn't seem normal? She's acting fine though! She has a slight bumblebfoot from an attempted lading on some rocks, but otherwise, her demeanor is good and is a spoiled princess! Eggs are strong and healthy as well. She eats Purina Duck feed, grazes all day in the yard, and has a few mealworm treats and fresh water all the time. Me and my sister spend a lot of time together with her and she enjoys it! And then she naps in her clean pillow pads on the porch... We have been removing the eggs and ruffling the nest spots. Please let me know if this is the right thing to do so she doesn't remain broody or laying? Wrong food? Still need to supplement calcium anyway? Or just let her sit on any remaining eggs? Seems like a lot of eggs for a first clutch ( and just a wild mallard in general?)! I've read so much info of taking the eggs to stop broodiness, but is this the case where I need to stop taking them?

A few things we're changing :

1. No more petting when she "bows"! Hah!
2. Less treats
3. And limiting her time indoors in the later evenings. Maybe the lights?

Any other suggestions are welcome!

 

[nuthatched]

Are you a wildlife rehabber? If not, you need to call one since it's likely illegal for you to have her.
It's physically impossible for her to lay so many eggs in a few days.

 

[SilverBirds]

It sounds like you're just finding hidden nests. Ducks are only capable of laying one egg a day, very rarely two, and they don't lay every single day. Since she is laying eggs she is not broody. I'm not sure why you are concerned that she is laying eggs? That's what healthy ducks do.

Have you been treating her bumble foot?

As nuthatches already said, it's illegal to take ducks (or any wild birds) from the wild, and in some states it's illegal to keep Mallards.

 

[BBMom]

Are you a wildlife rehabber? If not, you need to call one since it's likely illegal for you to have her.
It's physically impossible for her to lay so many eggs in a few days.

She is currently in our care and is fine for now but I am aware of the laws for sure. An I should have been clear that she laid these eggs once a day since the last egg. Not all at once. And This Mallard was not taken, but she waddled up to us actually from the middle of a bush. The mother did not come around for several days and was the only duckling in the area. We did try calling a wildlife rescue but none were available near we lived, unfortunately.
Her Bumblefoot is being treated.
I just have read that 13 or 15 may be the max and was wondering about egg laying going over that limit.
If there is no concern for egg laying, than all is well I suppose.

 

[BBMom]

It sounds like you're just finding hidden nests. Ducks are only capable of laying one egg a day, very rarely two, and they don't lay every single day. Since she is laying eggs she is not broody. I'm not sure why you are concerned that she is laying eggs? That's what healthy ducks do.

Have you been treating her bumble foot?

As nuthatches already said, it's illegal to take ducks (or any wild birds) from the wild, and in some states it's illegal to keep Mallards.

Please see my response to the reply above.

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

She is currently in our care and is fine for now. An I should have been clear that she laid these eggs once a day since the last egg. Not all at once. And This Mallard was not taken, but she waddled up to us actually from the middle of my culdesac. We did try calling a wildlife rescue but none were available near we lived, unfortunately.
Her Bumblefoot is being treated.
Was hoping or an answer but if there is no concern for egg laying, than all is well I suppose.

I have heard a myth that if a duck waddles up to you when you have snacks and does NOT get scared of you and runs away then they were most likely dumped by their previous owners and abandoned, I also heard that if a duck is abandoned you have full permission to take it. legally without charges, And the eggs is perfectly normal, I think you just never had a good egg layer like that because my ducks lay 5-6 a week and I feed them the same thing you do.

 

[BBMom]

I have heard a myth that if a duck waddles up to you when you have snacks and does NOT get scared of you and runs away then they were most likely dumped by their previous owners and abandoned, I also heard that if a duck is abandoned you have full permission to take it. legally without charges, And the eggs is perfectly normal, I think you just never had a good egg layer then because my ducks lay 5-6 a week and I feed them the same thing you do.

These does seem plausible. Although it was a duckling when we found her, this mallard has grown to be darker brown and sightly bigger compared to the rest of the mallards in the area which are more of a grayish color, and are a little bit smaller. So the mallard has grown to be a little bit different than the ones around here and have not seen any other ones exactly like her since. Makes us think this was a just hatched duckling that someone left or it ran away! She did walk up to us with ease pretty easily for such a little thing. Very random how we found her. The other pack of ducks did not have any babies at that time so she was the only duckling in the whole area!

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

These does seem plausible. Although it was a duckling when we found her, this mallard has grown to be darker brown, compared to the rest of the mallards in the area which are more of a grayish color, and are a little bit smaller. So the mallard has grown to be a little bit different than the ones around here. Makes us think this was a just hatched duckling that someone left or it ran away!

pictures?

 

[BBMom]

pictures?

BB is the darker one, slight bigger with a completely dark black beak. And the other one's on the couples image are a little bit lighter in complexion, and are a bit shorter than her.
These are from the internet, but these are pretty accurate to what I observed. She was taller than the other female for sure.

 

[SilverBirds]

She is currently in our care and is fine for now. An I should have been clear that she laid these eggs once a day since the last egg. Not all at once. And This Mallard was not taken, but she waddled up to us actually from the middle of a bush. The mother did not come around for several days and was the only duckling. We did try calling a wildlife rescue but none were available near we lived, unfortunately.
Her Bumblefoot is being treated.
I just have read that 13 or 15 may be the max and was wondering about egg laying going over that limit.
Was hoping or an answer but if there is no concern for egg laying, than all is well I suppose.

You can and should be collecting the eggs daily, and they are edible (and delicious! Duck eggs are great for baked goods). The only reason you would not want to collect eggs is for the hopes that she will go broody, which I don't think is what you want.