chicken sitting on variety of duck eggs

[fowlmood]

Forgive me if there is already a thread/answer to this. I searched but couldn't actully find what I needed. Anyway, I have a mixed flock of ducks....runners, mallards and a pekin. My white rock chicken has gone broody on 5 duck eggs. I don't doubt that she can hatch them out, my concern is will they all hatch out at the same time or will she get confused if the hatch date varies? Will they all be 28 days? The eggs were layed yesterday and today. I will be blocking her and her nest off because she just keeps collecting eggs. I don't have a rooster so all the chicken eggs she keeps are of no good to her. If having a variety of duck eggs is no problem I'll leave them for her and see what happens.

Is it a problem that she started setting on some yesterday and a few more today? And what should I expect for a hatch date or dates?

Thanks for any input.

 

[jenjscott]

I`m pretty sure it will be 28 days for all of them. . One day apart won`t matter, but I would check any eggs she leaves behind before you throw them out just in case. She`ll just go crazy the first time they all go for a swim.

 

[fowlmood]

Thanks. I thought about that whole swimming thing.

Hopefully that will be the only issue. This hen has always been a little different and thinks she's a duck anyway. Maybe now she'll figure out that she really isn't. Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[RioLindoAz]

I'm sure she can hatch them. Can she fit on all of them? I have heared of chickens very succesfully hatching duck eggs. I would let her try them out. I'm sure you can get lots of dukies from her! I'm almost positive they will all hatch on day 28. The embryos don't start developing under the hen starts sitting on them


~Rio

 

[fowlmood]

She is coverying the five eggs well. I don't think she could handle any more than that though. Those duck eggs are bigger than anything she's ever layed!

I guess it'll all be a fun experiment. I figure let nature take it's course and if we get one or two ducklings out of it it will all be worth it. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to get too stressed or neglect some of them if they took longer to hatch. It sounds like they'll all be due about the same time and hopefullyl she'll be o.k. with it. Wish us luck and thanks for your post!!!!

 

[elliemay0305]

isnt it so cute! im glad you have some kind of eggs to give her some babies. i had a turkey last year that didnt get any babies at all. that poor thing laid a lot of eggs but never got any babies. and she was the only hen with that problem. anyway a mom hen ended up leaving her baby and wouldnt you know that turkey took that baby in!!

one night an owl even tried to get it and he got the poop scared out of him when that mom turkey attacked him!

i can say he left that night and went some where else for dinner. i also had a turkey hatch one chick, one duck, and three or four of her own eggs. not sure how the duck egg and chicken egg got in her nest but she hatched them out and you know they all have different hatch times.

 

[fowlmood]

I guess sometimes those motherly instincts just know what needs to be done. It's times like this that I fall in love with nature all over again. Some people just don't know what they're missing. Thanks for sharing your story, that was sweet.

 

[RioLindoAz]

Aww.

I'm glad you're letting her keep them!

 

[KattyKillFish]

years ago when i was little my aunt had a wild broody mallard in her backyard. on just the right day she somehow snuck some of her chicken eggs into the nest, i guess while the mother was off... when they hatched (at the same time as the duck eggs because of the day she put them under her) the mallard eventually tried to take her babies into the water and the mallard was frantic and angry when the chicks wouldn't go into the water

she ended up running out and saving them before the drowned. it really was something to see, my aunt is the most amazing person i know!

 

[fowlmood]

Wow, those lucky little chicks!! I guess I never gave it a thought that a duck would also go broody on chicken eggs and what a scene that would be after hatching. Poor momma duck...she must have been very frustrated with those little buggers.