Duck nesting for first time--questions!

[CarrieM]

Hi everyone, I have been a lurker here for quite a while, but this is my first post.

We have a pair of Swedish Blue ducks that we got for free along with some chickens last year. We think they are around a year old, maybe a little older. Anyway, we just discovered this morning that the female has made a little nest in some brush. I haven't tried to move her so I don't know how many eggs she has in there--but they are quite likely fertile, so we are hoping for some ducklings! We were thinking about moving her and the nest into the duck house because we have a lot of foxes and coons around, and she's not in a very well-protected location, although she is fairly near the house. But after reading some other posts on here, it sounds like it may not be a good idea to move the nest since she might abandon it. Maybe we should just try to fence around and over her? What about food? Do we need to put food and water near her, or will she get off the nest now and then to eat and drink? We are total newbies to this--none of our chickens have gone broody yet, so we have no experience with hatching anything. Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[AnDrEw&Cole]

If your duck mother is not in a safe place it would not be a good idea to move the nest so i would advise putting somefencing around heror you can get a dog kennel and gently mover the nest to the kennel and then put some chain link around the kennel this will provide her and the babies protection also put her some feed and water in the fence good luck!

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15,chickens, 2 mallard ducks, 2 White pekin ducks, 1 Black Swedish duck, 2 chow dogs, 1 Teacup chihauhau

 

[dumb_cluck]

If she is close to the house, you may want to put out some night lights (solar) near her nest but not too close to expose her or her nest.

Most night predators will avoid any lighting that would expose their approach. Also, if possible without disturbing her, put some hardware cloth around her nest large enough that she doesn't spook, but enough to discourage an encounter.
Good Luck!

 

[Oregon Blues]

She's going to need some protection. She's a "sitting duck" while she is on the nest. That expression came about for a reason. She can't defend herself.

I've never tried to move a duck nest. I've moved geese, but they are such fierce parents. Ducks lack that toughness. So my suggestion, since you really want those ducklings, is to figure out how to put a secure fence around her and over the top of her.

Yes, she will need food and water inside her pen. She will come off the nest once a day to eat and drink.

If you can arrange it, give her a shallow pan of water that she can get into and get her belly wet. She takes that moisture back to the nest for the eggs.

 

[CarrieM]

Thanks so much for all the help! She sat on the nest all morning, only to leave it around lunchtime and head for the pond, where she spent the rest of the day.

So I guess maybe she is just not ready to do the whole mama thing yet. I had brought food and water down and put it near her, but I guess the pond was more alluring. The kids tried to encourage her to move back onto the nest but she wasn't having any of that! Hopefully she will try again soon. I was honestly a little relieved, because the timing wasn't great--we are going to be leaving for a week's vacation in about a month, probably just about the time the eggs would have hatched, so I was worried about how that was all going to work out. We collected the eggs (there were 8)--I assume they will be OK to eat? We did the water test for freshness and none of them floated. We think today was the first day she actually spent any time on the nest, so I don't know if they would have started developing yet--any thoughts on that? Thanks again!!

 

[pirtykitty]

one of my ducks has been setting on her nest now for a week.. she spent several day only on it for a few hours, then 8 hours, then all day and off in the evening, then off in morning and again in evening..
so yours may still go back for a few days and then start setting permanately