Duck Nest hopping?

[Goat_Walker]

I have a cayuga cross hen who has been faithfully setting on a clutch of eggs for about two - three weeks now.

Yesterday I caught her off the nest and checked it for rottwn eggs, pulled out three.


She hopped right back on the nest and started up again.

Well this morning i go out and she is on a different nest!

Now the nest she has hopped to has about ten eggs in it, but they have been sitting in there for so long im pretty sure they are all bad. Ive been hopping someone would set but my buffxmallard hens just dont seem up for it. So they left it.


What should i do? Wait till she gets off and combine the two nests, taking out the bad ones? I dont want any good eggs to go bad.

Has anyone else had this happen? Ive had hens quite on nests, ive had double nesters, and ive even had girls who like to bury themselves in the nests, but ive never had a hen go from one nest to another.

 

[DuckLady]

You can gather the eggs and only leave out what you want her to set on.

If she is broody, all those eggs laying around is like a candy store to her.

 

[Goat_Walker]

This is her first time nesting. i know my magpie will horde any and all eggs with in neck distance of her nest.

I think the next time i catch her off the nest ill go ahead and go through all the eggs.

 

[L0rraine]

Guess I had a similar experience. I had two nesting and moved the second one and her eggs into the broody pen with the first and my first duck decided she should incubate the new eggs instead. It all worked out in the end, because the other duck took over the original eggs (but it was a little worrisome for a day or two and I think a couple of the eggs went bad in the process).

 

[Goat_Walker]

Well I heard her causing a commotion earlier today. Went out and opened the "box" and there she was, all puffed up and trying to fight off a 5 1/2 ft long chicken snake that was up and hissing at her in her nest. Needless to say there is one more snake body on the burn pile and my poor mama duck is shaken up.