Hi everyone! I'll give my background here so you know the story:
This year, I bought a couple of Cayuga mix ducklings because I've always loved ducks! For about ten months I had all four of my ducks out at my grandparent's ranch where I was working there this summer. I noticed though, when my ducklings reached adulthood, that three of the four were actually males, and I knew would that be really hard on my single female, Willow. While she was out at the farm, she laid one egg, but I think she was stressed because our male to female ratio was really imbalanced. My ducks are all Cayuga/Indian Runners, so I wasn't too surprised when she laid it just on the ground with no nest. Things worked out, though not in the way I wanted, I ended up losing two of my males to some sort of predator, but I knew Willow wouldn't have as much stress. Last month I brought Willow and her mate, Nox, home with me so that I could keep better watch of them, and save me the drive out to the country. They have my whole backyard to explore, along with lots of snacks and human interaction (Which they didn't have much of before). I noticed that they are both doing a lot better here with me than they did before, though I'm not sure why.
Since moving them back, Willow has laid another four eggs in their little coop, and I've been collecting them when she does. I noticed that she usually will lay "about" every other day for a week, then stop laying for a couple of weeks. Last week, she started laying again and I collected two eggs, but on the third day when I went to check on her, I noticed she had started making a little nest in the back of the coop, or I believe it is a nest. (I'll add a picture below). There was an egg inside where she broke down the straw, but no feathers or anything else, and she's not broody at all. She spends all day outside the coop, and only goes back at night when I put them away. I believe the eggs she has been laying have a high chance of being fertile, so I've been hoping to be able to hatch a couple, but she doesn't seem to have an interest in sitting on them despite building a nest. The last time I was cleaning their water and area, I put a bit of fresh straw around, but not in the nest, but I now realize it may have been a bad decision. She hasn't laid another egg for a few days now, and I'm noticing the little nest she built is looking trampled, so I'm afraid I may have messed something up by collecting her eggs maybe? (The last egg she laid is still in there, but they keep burying it so I doubt they even realize). I know the females don't generally incubate until they lay a couple more eggs, so it may have been my timing but I'm not too sure. Is this a normal duck behavior thing?
So my main questions are:
Since she is half Indian runner, will she want to sit on her eggs, or will she continue to simply lay? I know Cayugas are known for being likely to be broody, but obviously, runners are not. Both of my ducks take after the Cayuga side in size and shape, so I'm not too sure yet what behavior they'll pick up. I'm deciding on whether I should bring the eggs out to the farm again to be incubated by a broody hen, or possibly investing in an incubator.
And also, if my duck builds another nest in their coop, should I leave it completely alone? I added fresh straw only because the old stuff was beginning to look a bit, erm, matted by their poo, and I always try to keep their coop fresh.
Finally, next time she starts laying again if I don't collect any of the eggs and let them be, will that heighten the chances of her wanting to hatch them?
Thank you for reading my monster post! Any help is appreciated!
This year, I bought a couple of Cayuga mix ducklings because I've always loved ducks! For about ten months I had all four of my ducks out at my grandparent's ranch where I was working there this summer. I noticed though, when my ducklings reached adulthood, that three of the four were actually males, and I knew would that be really hard on my single female, Willow. While she was out at the farm, she laid one egg, but I think she was stressed because our male to female ratio was really imbalanced. My ducks are all Cayuga/Indian Runners, so I wasn't too surprised when she laid it just on the ground with no nest. Things worked out, though not in the way I wanted, I ended up losing two of my males to some sort of predator, but I knew Willow wouldn't have as much stress. Last month I brought Willow and her mate, Nox, home with me so that I could keep better watch of them, and save me the drive out to the country. They have my whole backyard to explore, along with lots of snacks and human interaction (Which they didn't have much of before). I noticed that they are both doing a lot better here with me than they did before, though I'm not sure why.
Since moving them back, Willow has laid another four eggs in their little coop, and I've been collecting them when she does. I noticed that she usually will lay "about" every other day for a week, then stop laying for a couple of weeks. Last week, she started laying again and I collected two eggs, but on the third day when I went to check on her, I noticed she had started making a little nest in the back of the coop, or I believe it is a nest. (I'll add a picture below). There was an egg inside where she broke down the straw, but no feathers or anything else, and she's not broody at all. She spends all day outside the coop, and only goes back at night when I put them away. I believe the eggs she has been laying have a high chance of being fertile, so I've been hoping to be able to hatch a couple, but she doesn't seem to have an interest in sitting on them despite building a nest. The last time I was cleaning their water and area, I put a bit of fresh straw around, but not in the nest, but I now realize it may have been a bad decision. She hasn't laid another egg for a few days now, and I'm noticing the little nest she built is looking trampled, so I'm afraid I may have messed something up by collecting her eggs maybe? (The last egg she laid is still in there, but they keep burying it so I doubt they even realize). I know the females don't generally incubate until they lay a couple more eggs, so it may have been my timing but I'm not too sure. Is this a normal duck behavior thing?
So my main questions are:
Since she is half Indian runner, will she want to sit on her eggs, or will she continue to simply lay? I know Cayugas are known for being likely to be broody, but obviously, runners are not. Both of my ducks take after the Cayuga side in size and shape, so I'm not too sure yet what behavior they'll pick up. I'm deciding on whether I should bring the eggs out to the farm again to be incubated by a broody hen, or possibly investing in an incubator.
And also, if my duck builds another nest in their coop, should I leave it completely alone? I added fresh straw only because the old stuff was beginning to look a bit, erm, matted by their poo, and I always try to keep their coop fresh.
Finally, next time she starts laying again if I don't collect any of the eggs and let them be, will that heighten the chances of her wanting to hatch them?
Thank you for reading my monster post! Any help is appreciated!
