Can anyone tell me why my duck does this

[sjallen78]

I have Indian runner ducks. First 2 I got was male and female. My female Queenie started laying last yr, she would lay 10 eggs, cover them up, lay 10 more on top of that, cover them up then lay 10 more and sit on them. Not exaggerating , she literally laid 30 eggs to sit on lol. She done good once she sat on them. 6 hatched, 4 made it. I figured she was just young and that's why she did that. I noticed she's doing that again. She laid 10 eggs, covered them and laying more on top. Is this normal? She's a sweet duck and made a great mama other than bing skiddish of everything lol.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I have Indian runner ducks. First 2 I got was male and female. My female Queenie started laying last yr, she would lay 10 eggs, cover them up, lay 10 more on top of that, cover them up then lay 10 more and sit on them. Not exaggerating , she literally laid 30 eggs to sit on lol. She done good once she sat on them. 6 hatched, 4 made it. I figured she was just young and that's why she did that. I noticed she's doing that again. She laid 10 eggs, covered them and laying more on top. Is this normal? She's a sweet duck and made a great mama other than bing skiddish of everything lol.

Bless her, she sounds very broody, though I'm not sure why she wants to lay so many to sit on-
But it'd be a very good idea to limit the amount she has to brood!

If she lays, say, 10 eggs, you could mark those eggs, and remove any fresh ones added. That way when she decides to sit, she won't have so many under her! You could store the fresher eggs, and swap them for the marked ones after she begins sitting, if they've been left too long to still be viable.
Covering, and turning more than that many eggs would be pretty difficult, and I expect you may actually end up with less successful hatches. A smaller batch would ensure she's able to focus on those eggs and they'd probably have a better chance.

I've never actually let my girls go broody, but that's what I've heard anyway

 

[BelovedBirds]

I have Indian runner ducks. First 2 I got was male and female. My female Queenie started laying last yr, she would lay 10 eggs, cover them up, lay 10 more on top of that, cover them up then lay 10 more and sit on them. Not exaggerating , she literally laid 30 eggs to sit on lol. She done good once she sat on them. 6 hatched, 4 made it. I figured she was just young and that's why she did that. I noticed she's doing that again. She laid 10 eggs, covered them and laying more on top. Is this normal? She's a sweet duck and made a great mama other than bing skiddish of everything lol.

BTW I see you joined fairly recently! Welcome to BYC!

 

[sjallen78]

BTW I see you joined fairly recently! Welcome to BYC!

Thank you

 

[sjallen78]

Bless her, she sounds very broody, though I'm not sure why she wants to lay so many to sit on-
But it'd be a very good idea to limit the amount she has to brood!

If she lays, say, 10 eggs, you could mark those eggs, and remove any fresh ones added. That way when she decides to sit, she won't have so many under her! You could store the fresher eggs, and swap them for the marked ones after she begins sitting, if they've been left too long to still be viable.
Covering, and turning more than that many eggs would be pretty difficult, and I expect you may actually end up with less successful hatches. A smaller batch would ensure she's able to focus on those eggs and they'd probably have a better chance.

I've never actually let my girls go broody, but that's what I've heard anyway

Thank you, that's a really good idea. Appreciate it

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I myself haven’t had a girl do this
My pekin has gone broody twice now
First time at 8 months she did a clutch of 8
This time I tried to break the broody for a month and gave up when she sat all day on one egg as I was removing them daily
I added in more eggs and she is currently sitting on 10
Out of the 10 eggs 4 are further behind almost like they aren’t getting at much heat
But still developing
I agree with @BelovedBirds
I would number the eggs as she lays them then keep the most recent laid under her and remove the rest
10-12 tops
This way she will have a better hatch rate by being able to turn and warm them properly

 

[sjallen78]

I myself haven’t had a girl do this
My pekin has gone broody twice now
First time at 8 months she did a clutch of 8
This time I tried to break the broody for a month and gave up when she sat all day on one egg as I was removing them daily
I added in more eggs and she is currently sitting on 10
Out of the 10 eggs 4 are further behind almost like they aren’t getting at much heat
But still developing
I agree with @BelovedBirds
I would number the eggs as she lays them then keep the most recent laid under her and remove the rest
10-12 tops
This way she will have a better hatch rate by being able to turn and warm them properly

I done same thing removed eggs daily but she kept getting upset, acted depressed so we put them back, we kept them in a temp so they wouldn't go bad, anyway, we put them back and she was happy and swimming again, even flew well, not really flying lol but gliding. Thanks again

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I done same thing removed eggs daily but she kept getting upset, acted depressed so we put them back, we kept them in a temp so they wouldn't go bad, anyway, we put them back and she was happy and swimming again, even flew well, not really flying lol but gliding. Thanks again

When they want to be broody they get determined