New to this, so helpful information is welcome! We have two runner ducks, male and female. The female has begun to lay eggs but does so wherever, has even laid some in their little pool. We have to clean the pool, so kind of made a pile. We haven't seen her lay on them. Someone said that they would lay over a period of time and then sit when she's done. Any truth to that, or do I need to toss these eggs? She's laid 9 over the last week or so.
From my experience, Ducks tend to show some modest signs before going broody.
Here’s some indicators a duck may show before going broody.
1. She’ll suddenly seem a bit obsessed with eggs.
The first clue I always have, that one of my ducks is going broody, is that she’ll suddenly start spending more time in the barn, and she’ll be on the hunt for eggs she can steal. One of the three nests will suddenly have ALL the eggs, and I’ll often even find a random chicken egg or two in there.
2. She’ll “fuss” with her nest, or even build a new one.
One of the nests will become the clear favorite. She’ll build up the sides, dig down deep in the center, even sometimes pull out some of her own feathers to line it, and just generally fuss over it, until it’s
just so. Only she knows when it’s finally perfect.
3. She’ll stop laying eggs
If you have many ducks, you might not notice your morning egg collection being a little on the light side. We have 15 girls, and while they lay almost every day, most girls do occasionally take a day off – so a missing egg is not necessarily my first clue that I have a broody duck. But if you only have 3 females, and suddenly you start seeing just two eggs for several mornings in a row, that’s a pretty good clue that someone might be thinking about nesting!
4. She’ll rebuff any romantic attention from the fellas
Spring is quite the amorous time in the duck yard, and usually the girls are
mostly amenable to the drakes’ advances. But if you notice that one of your girls is suddenly very determined to have
nothing to do with the usual courtship rituals…you might have a broody girl on your hands.
5. She won’t leave her nest
This is the real tell-tale sign. Those first four clues will probably let you know that she’s thinking about going broody, but suddenly one day, she just won’t leave her nest. She’s decided it’s time. And she’s settling in to stay.
Sometimes, she’ll work her way into this. You may see her leaving the duck house later and later each morning, until one morning, she won’t come out at All.
Welcome to BYC!
