Charleston we have a Broody here!

[YodaBat]

Hi friends,

it looks like my one year old Indian Runner Lady "Katharina" is broody: I noticed last Sunday that she spent almost the entire day inside the duck house and on Monday morning she was sitting on two eggs which she viciously and loudly defended. Since then she spends most of her time sitting like that:

Only one problem: Monday there were two eggs in that nest, today there are nine!

As i don't know which were the eggs from Monday and which of the additional eggs have been laid by Katharina and which were laid by other ducks, i snuck in to the house while Katy took a quick bath and drew a blue "X" on the shell of all nine eggs.

This way i will be able to identify any new eggs and can remove those.
As i have neither had a broody duck before nor have i ever hatched my own ducks eggs i have a lot of questions:

• What is the usual size of a duck's clutch? Nine eggs looks like a lot to me…
• Isn't it a little late for broody ducks to hatch ducklings?
• Should i candle the eggs? - I never candled any egg, but maybe a Momma duck knows which eggs are good and which are bad?

And there will be more questions for sure. Thank you all very much in advance for your help.

How funny! PATOS and I have the same thing happening OH JOY!
This is our best layer Goldie (named after Goldie Hawn) she is wanting to be a mommy! It took a few days to make her sit but now she won't leave her nest for long. JOY JOY JOY Have a look. Happy Ducking everyone!

 

[PATOS]

I love how much you love your Ducks! How much cat food do you feed them? I hear it can cause issues if fed in large amounts

NO CATFOOd!!!!

 

[YodaBat]

Morning update: I sneaked in to the duck house when Katharina Duck was busy with meal-worms and cat-food and found another three new eggs, which i removed just before an angry quacking tornado stormed back into the house…

They do that. LOLZ

 

[YodaBat]

Earthquake?! Good one!
I thought about naming the largest of my White Layers "Earthquack". She is even larger than Blanca Duck, the walking mouse-trap.

Oh the the dredded EarthQuack strikes again. Then comes the DuckNami here in Chile.

 

[YodaBat]

Update: Only two additional eggs in Katharina's nest today, which could mean that she has stopped laying and her two sisters Curiosity and Nona each "donated" one egg. Anyway, i removed the new eggs and made it out of the duck-house alive. Katy is sitting day and night taking only short breaks for water, food and a quick bath.
Today marks week one…

We are at week one too with Goldie. Going to candle tonight. Fingers crossed.

 

[YodaBat]

You guys! I have Muscovy and yes they do pinch like the dickens when you mess with their eggs. I just go ahead and do it. I love to candle and they get over it pretty quick.

It's the six claws and two spurs that is the trouble.

 

[PATOS]

How funny! PATOS and I have the same thing happening OH JOY!
This is our best layer Goldie (named after Goldie Hawn) she is wanting to be a mommy! It took a few days to make her sit but now she won't leave her nest for long. JOY JOY JOY Have a look. Happy Ducking everyone!

also notice how our nest is counterclockwise!!

 

[YodaBat]

also notice how our nest is counterclockwise!!

LOLZ

 

[Miss Lydia]

Goldie is adorable looking forward to those ducklings!!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Yes she's a pekin mix and Beauregard should be out later today. Two brooders is a pain. Barbra Lewis is not like any duck I've ever seen before. I think I'll get her a collar and a leash and take her to TSC.

Get her on a plane to WV together with you and come by for a visit! The other passengers will be baffled and unable to lift their jaws from the floor.