Duck Eggs, and Laying, Questions

[2txmedics]

I have 2 Pekins, 1 Blue Swedish and 1 Mallard...I believe that 3 are females, maybe but for sure 2....So they have been laying eggs now since July...They were born March 9th I know for sure when they were born, so that means they started laying at 4mos old.....some eggs at first were like they are suppose to be, after they laid for about 3wks they laid some that were very soft...left like a water balloon. Now we are back to reg. eggs.

But my question is this:

They lay eggs and not in the duck house which is nice, but in a nest they made...I DID NOT know they had this nest!!! I thought maybe they had stopped laying, and then one day I moved some leafs and there was a bunch of eggs!!! and I mean like 12eggs. They had made a hole, and had the eggs in it, covered by leafs. Only once have I seen a pekin sitting on them one night when I went out. She saw me and got up I was not near the nest. Thats been 2wks and I have not seen anyone sitting again...I moved them into the duck house and the nest day...they had laid again in the hole....and rolled about 2-3 from the coop to the nest. So I moved them all back to the hole.

Do ducks not sit on eggs? Do they just cover them with leafs??? When I found them I had only 12, I now have like 23 eggs!!!

ANY HELP ON THIS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

DUCK EGGS HIDING HERE:

The TREASURE!!

THE CULPRITS: (they were young in these pics)

DUCK HOUSE: (found free on CL)

 

[zzGypsy]

in order to hatch, duck eggs need to be brooded by the mom, just like with other birds. that said, not all ducks are interested in brooding, and some breeds are broodier than others. Pekins are not particularly broody, and rouens may or may not be, we've had some that were broody, and many that were not. Not sure how the black/blue sweedish are on the subject.

Ducks can be convinced to lay in a nest box, just like chickens, but they do have their own ideas on what a good laying spot is. they like areas that are hidden or hard to get to. yours seem to be especially good at camoflage!

are you interested in eating the eggs? hatching them? how do you want this to go?

 

[2txmedics]

NO, not interested in eating them....I have my flocks for that...just thought it would be nice to hatch a few....I dont know how long the eggs have been there, and Id hate to just throw them out!!!!

 

[zzGypsy]

if you've got an incubator or a broody hen you can try to see if they'll hatch... if they're fertile, and they've been neatly covered without too much temperature variation for some time, some of them may still be viable. if you figure they normally lay one egg a day, and then set when they get a dozen or so, the oldest eggs have to keep about two weeks before she starts brooding. if you've got fertile eggs in there less than 2 weeks old, they might hatch, if incubated or brooded.

 

[zzGypsy]

you can check them for cracks, discoloration, and obvious signs of spoiling too... toss (carefully!) any like that, but you never know, you might have ducklings!

 

[secuono]

Mine have 10+ dug out dirt nests in their pen. I get the joy of running around every day looking for them. Then I have to count and make sure I found the right # of eggs, if not, there is a NEW nest somewhere...lol.