Advice re: muscovy broody duck

[KAZROB]

Hi to all the wonderful information sharers! I am looking for advice. I have a muscovy duck that went broody, she collected a clutch of eggs and has been sitting for well over a month. I am happy to leave her longer, however where she has made her nest is almost impossible for me to see. I have to move several bales of hay and even then I wonder how in the earth will she get her babies out of there? I am not sure when she started sitting, as I had initially thought she had disappeared, only then to see her come out of this area and then to discover her clutch.

My concern is, that where she is, it is hard to block off and if she does have ducklings, then if I am not around and she takes them out, I have my drake, chickens and two rosters in the same paddock. All my animals get put away of a night but free range through the day...Will the others kill the young ones?

My next concern is that yesterday i went to the hay stack only to find a duck egg with half the shell gone and a dead duckling full of maggots? Now this was away from where mother duck is burrowed in and I am surprised to even think it was possible for her to roll that egg all the way out? Is this possible and what could have been the issue? Like I said I have to move several bales of hay to actually see where she is and even then it is difficult...what should I do? I have been told to move her and the eggs, but I am not inclined to do this, unless it was what everyone else thought I should do?

Cant wait for all the wonderful advice.......

 

[laughingdog]

Could you just make at least a corral out of the bales, maybe wood over top ect? have largest open area inside as possible, food and water inside (pale deep wide and high enough for her only to get in to wet feathers so she can water eggs and ducklings, then shallow dish/chick waterer for ducklings), and board ect easily moved by you for door?

 

[KAZROB]

Thanks for the advice, I will try and make her area bigger as you suggest, she does come out and get in her bath, I am just concerned about babies, i will try and do what you have suggested....Thanks

 

[laughingdog]

I just got and learning about my scovy (7/1/13), so hoping to help till someone comes on withmore experience ect.

 

[Going Quackers]

It's possible, they will toss bad eggs, well you hope they do!

Is this in a building where you close at night? i usually leave mamas till the eggs hatch then i separate for a few days, just to keep things stable. I have not had any troubles with other birds harming the young, that said it's a realistic concern, drakes are known for it.

Average scovie nest is roughly, 34/35 days... some sooner, some later... unless the duck is in harms way i wouldn't recommend moving, she can abandon the nest, sounds to me like it's also to far along for that sort of thing too.

I'd keep checking, drives me nuts when it's close because you just don't know when lol even if you do know when they sat. GL~ do update!

 

[KAZROB]

Hi Going Quakers!

Thanks for your advice, I actually didn't see this until now which is Wednesday 330pm Australia time.... I went out to the hay stack and there was this terrible smell, in fact at first I thought mum must have died, but it was three eggs that had semi hatched with dead babies in them, just sad and just sooooooo stinky. I decided to move all the bales of hay and have a good look and mum was fine, no eggs to be found, then I started moving lots of hay in which she had covered her eggs with, really quite deep under? I am not sure if they are viable or not, but they were stone cold, anyway i moved them into a much safer hut and she is a bit distressed as she can not get back to where her eggs were...she has gone into the other hut and looked at the eggs and pushed one around, so she knows there are some eggs there, but she hasn't stayed in there, this hut that I have moved the eggs into is her original sleeping hut, before she made a nest elsewhere so I am hoping she goes there...if she abandons her eggs then I hope she begins to lay again soon in this new area where it is safe and can be locked at night. My other duck is in this hut as well in another big box covered with hay etc and she is sitting on three eggs currently...so I hope I have done the right thing and if not I will have learn't something for next time. I would not have considered moving her but something had to be done as the babies were dying, mum has been sitting along time almost 40 days I think. As I said the eggs I moved were really cold, really deeply buried and I am just not sure if viable or not, we tried to candle them, but it was too light. I feel very sad at the moment, cos I feel that i have taken her babies and she is upset as I have blocked off the hay stack where she had her eggs.

 

[Going Quackers]

Hi Going Quakers!

Thanks for your advice, I actually didn't see this until now which is Wednesday 330pm Australia time.... I went out to the hay stack and there was this terrible smell, in fact at first I thought mum must have died, but it was three eggs that had semi hatched with dead babies in them, just sad and just sooooooo stinky. I decided to move all the bales of hay and have a good look and mum was fine, no eggs to be found, then I started moving lots of hay in which she had covered her eggs with, really quite deep under? I am not sure if they are viable or not, but they were stone cold, anyway i moved them into a much safer hut and she is a bit distressed as she can not get back to where her eggs were...she has gone into the other hut and looked at the eggs and pushed one around, so she knows there are some eggs there, but she hasn't stayed in there, this hut that I have moved the eggs into is her original sleeping hut, before she made a nest elsewhere so I am hoping she goes there...if she abandons her eggs then I hope she begins to lay again soon in this new area where it is safe and can be locked at night. My other duck is in this hut as well in another big box covered with hay etc and she is sitting on three eggs currently...so I hope I have done the right thing and if not I will have learn't something for next time. I would not have considered moving her but something had to be done as the babies were dying, mum has been sitting along time almost 40 days I think. As I said the eggs I moved were really cold, really deeply buried and I am just not sure if viable or not, we tried to candle them, but it was too light. I feel very sad at the moment, cos I feel that i have taken her babies and she is upset as I have blocked off the hay stack where she had her eggs.

Yes, sounds like something has gone wrong, i am sorry, hatching is a stressful thing. Do check the eggs again, but cold is not a good sign. I moved a nest once but it was early stages.. the mum had parked them under a wood pile, she didn't take the nest back, another duck came and took over and added a few of her own eggs, eventually the nest got messed up by one of our dogs, we lost quite a few babies and two we had to handle ourselves as they went into premature hatch. In the end we got 4 ducks out of it, so again hatching is stressful!

Sometimes moving is all you can do, i would rather loose a nest than a mum any day. I gather she is a new mama? first nests here never seem to go well lol