Duck hatching questions

[Bevy326]

Hello. I recently went on vacation and came home to find that my duck sitter was not removing the eggs. I now have two very broody ducks and decided to allow them to try and hatch the eggs. I had numbered them so any new ones could be removed.
I have a few questions. One is they are different breeds of duck. The drake and one of the ducks are Khaki Campbell. The other duck is a Welsch Harlequin. Should the eggs still hatch at the same time? They are sharing one nest. I have candled the eggs and they seem to be around the same stage for the most part. If they do not hatch together should I remove the unhatched eggs? I do have an incubator which I used to unsuccessfully hatch duck eggs a few years back.
My other question is when they do hatch should I still move them to a brooder or will the mama ducks take care of them? And if I do leave them with her would my drake potentially attempt to harm them? Should I separate him?

 

[mcdze]

letting the mom try to hatch eggs in an urban/semi urban environment has alot of 'iffy' factors involved .. you risk losing some or most probably wont make it to maturity on their own .. way i see it, if i need baby birds, im doing it in the bator/brooder, im not babysitting them out in the yard .. if i let a mama bird do it its going to just be a novelty thing, if they make it they make it .. generally though a broody bird with a bunch of eggs usually winds up being a mess for me to clean up at some point, so i dont let them do it ..

 

[The Ranch Girl]

I'm not that good with duck breeds but they should hatch around the same time, the only breed that takes longer is muscovy ducks. You should wait a couple days after the babies hatch to remove the unhatched eggs. I use an egg candler which helps determine if they are alive or not. The mama ducks should take care of them out of instinct but you can move them to a brooder. I usually leave them with mom because she deserves her babies after all her hard work. Plus they are fun to watch running around with mom now I haven't had any of my drakes harm the babies but sometimes its not worth taking that chance. I would keep a close eye on them to see his behavior. Hope this helps!

 

[Bevy326]

I'm not that good with duck breeds but they should hatch around the same time, the only breed that takes longer is muscovy ducks. You should wait a couple days after the babies hatch to remove the unhatched eggs. I use an egg candler which helps determine if they are alive or not. The mama ducks should take care of them out of instinct but you can move them to a brooder. I usually leave them with mom because she deserves her babies after all her hard work. Plus they are fun to watch running around with mom now I haven't had any of my drakes harm the babies but sometimes its not worth taking that chance. I would keep a close eye on them to see his behavior. Hope this helps!

Thank you that is very helpful!

 

[The Ranch Girl]

Thank you that is very helpful!

No problem! Im happy to help

 

[Kelster65]

I'm watching this conversation. Funny, my post started the same way..I just got back from vacation and the eggs were not collected while I was gone. My 4 Rouens laid about 23 eggs which were laid in one spot (6 in another which I collected) and one of my girls started sitting 2 nights ago from what I can see on the security camera. I tried candeling today but wasn't really sure what to look for. I have an egg development chart but at the time I candled and marked the eggs, I hadn't checked the camera to find out when she started sitting. My drake makes her leave the best for food water and shenanigans for a period of time several times a day. I've read they won't sit other ducks eggs but she sure is. Is there an article on here about what to look for in natural incubation duck development/hen behavior? I understand the visual signs of development but I have a couple eggs where the yolk moves. Isn't that pretty normal? How long can she be off the nest before it affects the eggs development?