7 month old pekins -2 of them- have built a nest together and

[Luckyducksinbama]

These girls built a walled nest together and are laying their eggs in it? lol So about duck behavior? Are they doing this to hide the eggs bc we take them? Or are they sleeping together with this cold snap abd built the hay wall around them to stay warm?

 

[M-H-Fielding]

These girls built a walled nest together and are laying their eggs in it? lol So about duck behavior? Are they doing this to hide the eggs bc we take them? Or are they sleeping together with this cold snap abd built the hay wall around them to stay warm?

It sounds like they might be going broody. They might be hiding the eggs. Do you have a drake?

 

[Luckyducksinbama]

It sounds like they might be going broody. They might be hiding the eggs. Do you have a drake?

The coop and enclosures are separated by 1/4 jnch hardware cloth floor to ceiling - so the two drakes and 2 ducks can see each other but no contact- we don't want fertile eggs lol. They were all incubated together and grew up together, do not have the heart to rehome the drakes bc we hatched them and they are sweet. Wgen we take them all on walks to forage rarely do they try to mate- too busy looking around and eating etc - does being broody mean they want to hatch babies? or just lay eggs?

 

[Isadora]

The coop and enclosures are separated by 1/4 jnch hardware cloth floor to ceiling - so the two drakes and 2 ducks can see each other but no contact- we don't want fertile eggs lol. They were all incubated together and grew up together, do not have the heart to rehome the drakes bc we hatched them and they are sweet. Wgen we take them all on walks to forage rarely do they try to mate- too busy looking around and eating etc - does being broody mean they want to hatch babies? or just lay eggs?

Broody is when want to hatch babies and they will stay on the nest, getting up just to poop and get some food.
My ducks make little nests when they lay their eggs. That's just what they do. I haven't had a broody pekin yet... We'll see if it happens!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

My ducks (Khaki, Swedish, mixes, 3-5 years old) snuggle together in the hay when it is cold, and make what you are describing. We also take their eggs daily and my girls have never gone broody for more than a few hours and only in the spring in hidden nests.
It is their instinct to bury their eggs, especially when it is cold, but also to hide them from predators who might steal them (like you).

 

[ruthhope]

When I piled in pine straw in my son's coop just before the cold weather, both his pekin ducks made a nest from pine straw and feathers and now lay their eggs in there. They used to lay and leave anywhere in the coop. The eggs are now cleaner and so I like their new habit. The ducks, and a third muscovy who is not laying, all snuggle up together to keep warm at night.

I think that your ducks, Luckyducksinbama, are just doing the same. They are probably not broody at this time of year

 

[Luckyducksinbama]

My ducks (Khaki, Swedish, mixes, 3-5 years old) snuggle together in the hay when it is cold, and make what you are describing. We also take their eggs daily and my girls have never gone broody for more than a few hours and only in the spring in hidden nests.
It is their instinct to bury their eggs, especially when it is cold, but also to hide them from predators who might steal them (like you).

Haha we all giggled at predators like you. So sweet to learn about our ducks!