Duck hatching advice

[Pookiebutt]

Hatching ducks the old fashion way. Mamma duck has been sitting on her eggs for a little over 3 weeks. She is still in the same pen as the male. Should I separate the male from the female and the nest? He doesn't seem to bother the nest and he is taken out from the pen everyday, leaving the female in the pen on her own. Also wondering if the male will need to be separated when the eggs hatch?

 

[GitaBooks]

I've never owned ducks, but I have worked with chickens. The roosters leave hens alone that are broody, and they are generally nice towards the chicks as well. However, there were some wild ducks that were trying to breed with a female so much that they kept separating her from her babies over and over again.
I wouldn't worry about him bullying the ducklings, but he might bully the mom!
You could play it on the safe side and separate them the first few days, until the babies get their legs.

Best of luck!

 

[Pookiebutt]

I heard the male ducks will break the eggs and eat them. So far there haven't been any issues but I've been keeping an eye on them.