Do any of your Calls ever brood?

[keeperofthehearth]

I have a little Call hen, Pepper, who has a nice little clutch of eggs going. What are my chances she will brood/hatch them out? Pepper is her mate and I've checked ... the eggs are fertile.

 

[Teach97]

yes had a couple raise chicks last year

 

[keeperofthehearth]

Good to hear. Were they good moms?

 

[Katy]

I have 2 that will brood and hatch their eggs every year. Yes, they are good mothers. Others have never gone broody.

 

[Teach97]

they tried to be! I took the babies away...it was all an accident. Don't always do a head count so I didn't notice I was missing the duck...then one day I look out and there she comes with a string of duckling sbehind her! Another one did it to me about a month later...never did figure out where they were hiding!

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

we had one little white hen that would go broody, but that is it.

 

[Special Agent Husak]

I have several that go broodie. My favorite white hen, who just recently passed away, was the best mother ever. She took forever building her nest and would be evil to other birds around her and would leave bruises on you if you tried to check how many eggs she had. She did however try to kill anyone elses ducklings who happened to get to near. She even tried drowning one in the pool who got confused about who it's mother was.

I've had others who would adopt and take any babies that you hatched for it. I've had one hen who likes to sit and hatch them, but as soon as the babies hatched, she would run from them as fast and as far as she could.

Some eggs I hatch and give to them, some babies I have to rescue and raise myself.

Ducks are so much like people.

 

[the duck whisperer]

If the eggs are fertile yes they will be broody. my calls are great moms. hatched every one of their eggs. Awfuly protective!

 

[keeperofthehearth]

Tks for all the great feedback! I took Peppers eggs away fm her two days ago because I was afaid they were going to freeze in our lows temps. I noticed for the last two days she has laid an egg outside just where ever she happened to be.

That's been sooo unlike her so I'm hoping if I put her eggs back in the nest box where she will be for the night she will decide to lay there once more. Our temps still keep dropping down into the low 20's or high teens and todays high of 38 never appeared.

(I am SOOO ready for Spring.) We finally made it to a whopping 30 but I don't know if that is high enough to keep her eggs viable while she's off them for the better part of the day.

 

[Special Agent Husak]

I've got a little chocolate hen that is collecting eggs right now and she spends enough time sitting and messing with them to keep them from freezing but not starting. She's a nut anyway though. I worry more about when she does sit and hatches them that there will still be snow on the ground.

I can only hope she knows what she is doing.