Broody duck in hedge hatch not went right!?

[WeeNicole]

Hi all, I've a broody magpie duck that's been sitting for the duration in a hedge in the most horrible area she could find.

One duckling hatched late on Sunday early Monday. Since then there has been nothing, she's still sitting tight but I'm starting to worry her lone duckling. I've left food and water in there but I'm very wary of rodents coming in at night. She won't budge, haven't seen her leave nest for food nor water. Only evidence is a little chick crumb in the drinker.

Will I just bite the bullet and move her and lone duckling? Or wait longer to see what's up with the other eggs? Last hatch only took 2 days which only gave up 3 ducklings but that broody was in the shed safe Nd sound and that was last month.

This duck is not in a great area, hard to get into and the flies are now 10 to the dozen


What to do?

 

[Orca5094]

I would move momma and the duckling to a safe place and candle those remaining eggs to see if any are still alive in there. Do you have an incubator you could stick them in, just in case? There could still be more that are just taking longer to hatch, but it sounds like the one that's already hatched needs to be in a better place where it can eat and be safe. I don't think it's worth the risk to that duckling and mamma to stay where they are on the off chance that more eggs will hatch, it doesn't sound like an ideal situation and location.

So I guess what I'm saying is, go out and candle those eggs ASAP and see if it's even worth all this trouble keeping her and her duckling there. If none of the other eggs are alive, then that solves all of your problems. Easy to just take mom and duckling and move them to a better location. If there ARE some about to hatch, you have a couple options: Leave things as they are until they hatch (depends on how close they are, if it's going to be days then I think you should try to move them) or just move momma and duckling to a safe place and put eggs into an incubator (or try to move as much of her nest with them as possible and see if she'll still sit on it in the new location).

Tough call if there are still viable eggs under her, but you just need to candle them right away and then it'll be easier to figure out the best thing to do.

 

[WeeNicole]

Thank you for quick reply. I'll do what you say it's my only option. Not a good place to be broody at all. She disappeared and this is how we found her, wish I'd of found her earlier so I could of moved her and nest before this.

Thanks again I'll keep updated

 

[Orca5094]

Good luck! Let us know what you see when you candle, and how everything goes.