broody single Muscovy

[campchickens]

I have a pair of Muscovy ducks, both female, from the same hatch, living with a mix of chickens and a couple of other female ducks. One wandered half a mile through the woods and has moved herself into our neighbor's pond. The other one wandered around for a few days looking lost, and then disappeared... only to turn up in our goat shelter! I was initially worried she'd be squashed, but it seems she has her nest in her corner, and the goats are actually really careful around her.

ANYWAY. I had a thought this morning, and wondered if I'd missed collecting any eggs, since she moved out of the coop on Saturday. Sure enough, there were 11 eggs...

So, do I just take them away from her? Will she continue to be broody? She's not going to get any ducklings out of this due to our lack of male ducks, so I'm worried about her getting weak from brooding for too long...

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

There is no use in leaving them as they won't hatch. If you want ducklings try getting her some fertilized eggs and replacing them. If you take the eggs away from her right now, she will be broody for at least a couple more days before giving up because of an empty nest. It depends on how persistent she is.