Duck hiding nest

[Kmoreau]

Any advice on keeping a duck from hiding a nest. Last week I found her hiden nest of 16 eggs under my shed... I didnt even know she had started laying. Well now she wont lay in the same nest if i take her eggs... now she has anoter nest under my shed that I cant yet get to. I am asking for any advice on getting them to lay in the same spot or a nesting box?

any advice on getting to unreachable eggs would also be appreciated. lol

 

[newbyduckmom]

My ducks consistently lay in early in the morning. As long as I leave them inside until after 7 am I have all the eggs in one safe, secure place.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=609487

She still hides their eggs though!

 

[Kmoreau]

the only problem is right now they are free-ranging in a 2,500 sq foot back yard. We just got settled in and the duck house isnt built yet. Would a fake egg help keep her going to the same nest, or would it be best to leave atleast 1 egg in her nest?

 

[newbyduckmom]

I know people on BYC do use fake eggs to replace the real ones when they empty the nest. I think that is more for the sake of the stressed momma duck though. IF there is an egg in the nest, I think they tend to go back to it, so it might work. Have never tried it myself since mine are inside. Maybe someone else will know. Couldn't hurt - could only help!

 

[70%cocoa]

Yes, if you leave fake eggs in the nest they will tend to keep using it. Put some straw next to the nest that they can use to build it up and make it comfy and enticing and safe-feeling. Better to do that and have them use a nest you know about rather than making new ones all over the place that you then have to search for. Try not to disturb them while they are actually laying.

 

[zzGypsy]

I found mine booted the fake eggs if they didn't weigh enough... I filled some easter eggs (the plastic ones) with sand, and they apparently have the right weigh, so those stay in the nest. it does seem to help.
we gave them a large box turned on it's side to lay in, with the opening to the back of their pen... more secluded and that seems to help too.

but mostly, keep them in their night pen until past laying time does the trick. once they've been laying in the same spot for a couple of weeks, most will continue to use it. there are some sneaky ones though...

 

[70%cocoa]

Sometimes you can get ceramic eggs too, and they weigh more. Try to get fake eggs that are the same basic colour that your ducks' eggs are. That will reduce the chance of them rejecting the fake eggs.

 

[Kmoreau]

thanks for all the advice. I have built a temporary "pen" for them, by using board from our old fence and blocking them behind the house. Its kind of set up like a dog run. its about 5 feet by 52 feet. (they should be fine with that its not too small to make them angry lol. It is all mud though... but no where to hide eggs!!! I think I am going to keep them in there nights and morning, and hopefully that helps me find them better. I have heard pekins are very bad mothers, but she seems to really want to sit. (she disappered for 3 days when I found her under the shed with her 1st nest of 16 eggs). There has been some debate as to whether she is actually a pekin cause she is a bit smaller then she should be. It has been said she could be a Stainbridge white -magpie.... are they better mothers, would that explain her need to sit?

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

I totally have the same issues with duck nests. I've given up trying to tell the girls where to lay, and instead just check the "known" nesting spots daily, and weekly or so look for new nests. It's like Easter morning all year long!

I use old golf balls as fake eggs, which seem to do the job. I suspect pack rats got to the more-expensive ceramic eggs I put out previously - hope they broke their teeth on them!

I used to get bummed when I'd find a big clutch of hidden eggs, but now I either put them in the incubator or scramble them up for the birds (after a careful sniff test - no bad ones yet!).

I made everything "reachable" in the yard with a roll of poultry wire and a staple gun. In some spots, the poultry wire just rests on the dirt.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Any place my muscovy hens can crawl under I had to cover with hardware cloth, Now there are no secret places inside their yard where they can hide. The last place which I still don't see how she got under was the ramp going into their house but she managed to scoot under it and lay 7 eggs before I couldn't find her one night to put her up. Now I don't let them out to free range till afternoon so I know all eggs have been laid. They really are sneaky.