chicken and duck co-parenting

[barb009]

Hi everyone!

Has anybody ever experienced or heard of a duck and a chicken going broody at the same time and sitting on/sharing the same clutch of eggs? We house our ducks and chickens together. We have a Rouen and Buff Orpington that are currently nest mates sitting on a mixture of 14ish eggs total - a mix of both chicken and duck eggs. The duck eggs are likely Rouens, but could be Runner, Swedish Blue, or Pekin. The chicken eggs are probably a mix of Orpington, Ameraucana, Olive Egger. The eggs are fertilized (we have an Ameraucana rooster and Rouen drake).

I'm not sure what to expect when the eggs hatch??? They both began sitting around the same time and I know that the duck eggs will take a week longer to hatch. Will the hens continue to co-parent? I know nature will do its thing, but if anybody is familiar with this type of situation, I would appreciate any information/tips/advice/etc.

 

[nuthatched]

Not an ideal arrangement, seperate them and their respective eggs since the incubation times differ.

 

[sourland]

The duck may very well leave the nest when the chicks hatch Fowl are biologically programmed to leave the nest within 24 to 36 hours after the young hatch so that they can feed and drink. I would move the chicken hen and chicks as soon as they hatch to a place the duck can not see and hear them.