Ducklings hatched in October?

[hbozss]

Winter is hard for small ducks. I bought four Muscovy duck chicks last month and already lost two of them to cold.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Winter is hard for small ducks. I bought four Muscovy duck chicks last month and already lost two of them to cold.

Yes it is hard on them without a mama duck to keep them warm. I wouldn't want to put a bird that isn't feathered out yet outside in the cold without a broody or at least some kind of heat source.

 

[hbozss]

Yes it is hard on them without a mama duck to keep them warm. I wouldn't want to put a bird that isn't feathered out yet outside in the cold without a broody or at least some kind of heat source.

It needs a lot a effort to raise it without a mama duck.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Welcome to BYC! Good luck with your adventure and I hope that the eggs hatch.

 

[Jpat]

Winter is hard for small ducks. I bought four Muscovy duck chicks last month and already lost two of them to cold.

well your heat source sucks then!

 

[Alaskan]

Hello everyone! I am new to raising Pekin ducks and have gotten a lot of good information from this site. So, thank you! I actually did not plan on raising ducks but our Jill decided to go broody! I read that Pekin ducks are not good brooders, so when she started staying on her nest I told my husband she probably would not keep at it. Well, she has! It is getting cold now here in West Virginia so I am concerned about the ducklings - if the eggs should hatch. She is VERY touchy, actually quite mean, when it comes to her nest so I can only imagine what she would be like with ducklings. Since it is getting in the low 40's or upper 30's at night, I should take the ducklings from her when they hatch, right? How would you suggest I do that? Do ducks usually start sitting this late in the year? Thank you!

I am worried that she isn't brooding in a shelter that can be locked up.

The temperature.... eh, who cares. She will do fine.

But predators.

At this point .... I would panic, and see if I could put a temporary coop/ tractor like thing over her if I thought she wouldn't abandon the nest.

If that isn't possible... and the risk of her getting eaten is low enough.... I guess I would wait for all of the ducklings to hatch... then herd them into a protected area. Sleeping out in the weather is not good. Not just because ducklings shouldn't get rained or snowed on right after hatch.... but that pesky and super scary predator issue.

Other stuff...

she is a first time mom, so keep a close eye on her to make sure she figures it out.

Keep a close eye on the rest of the flock, make sure they are OK with ducklings.

Put rocks in all water dishes/ponds for the first month after hatch.

One of my Muscovy mamas with a set of ducklings... taking them on a walk through the snow. (And no, none died or got frostbite)

 

[CayugaJana]

I am worried that she isn't brooding in a shelter that can be locked up.

The temperature.... eh, who cares. She will do fine.

But predators.

At this point .... I would panic, and see if I could put a temporary coop/ tractor like thing over her if I thought she wouldn't abandon the nest.

If that isn't possible... and the risk of her getting eaten is low enough.... I guess I would wait for all of the ducklings to hatch... then herd them into a protected area. Sleeping out in the weather is not good. Not just because ducklings shouldn't get rained or snowed on right after hatch.... but that pesky and super scary predator issue.

Other stuff...

she is a first time mom, so keep a close eye on her to make sure she figures it out.

Keep a close eye on the rest of the flock, make sure they are OK with ducklings.

Put rocks in all water dishes/ponds for the first month after hatch.

One of my Muscovy mamas with a set of ducklings... taking them on a walk through the snow. (And no, none died or got frostbite)
View attachment 1562918

X2
I had a cayuga that had a nest in the rose bushes in the middle of my yard. Towards the end, I shooed her off the nest and I took the eggs out. I scooped her nest up with one of those huge snow shovels and moved it inside their shed. Put the eggs back in the nest then put my momma back in. I made sure she didn’t have far to go and had no choice but to sit back on the nest. She did just fine.

 

[WVduckchick]

Hello!! When she started setting she would leave her next for several hours in the evening. That's why I didn't think she was really serious. So I marked four eggs to leave in the nest and I would take her newly laid egg out each evening - trying to control the number of ducklings if they should hatch! I don't know what I would do with a lot of ducklings! So now I'm not sure how many she has because she hasn't left her nest for several days. I have a water bowl and a small bowl of food in front of her. She is so touchy she bit me when I was placing the bowl beside of her nest! Her nest is in my flower bed up against a rock wall so it is somewhat protected. We have a pen that our 3 other ducks go in at night but they are totally free range thru the day. So Jill, the momma, is free range as well. So if the eggs should hatch, should I keep her and her babies in the pen all the time? According to the calendar, I would think the four eggs would hatch sometime next week. So how does that work with the new eggs that she has been laying? I was considering "candleing" the eggs but I have missed my chance now - I can't get near her!

A broody will stop laying eggs herself, once she gets “enough” eggs, so she may or may not have added any, but if she did, it would have been soon after she stopped leaving the nest. Do any other hens have access to have added more eggs?
It would be nice if you could catch her off the nest and enable you to check the eggs real quick. They normally still leave the nest for a few minutes each day to get a quick bite of food, and drop a big poop! Lol. Mine usually did it just before dusk, so I was able to sneak and check eggs.
If she has some that are delayed, you could remove them now, or just leave them and toss after the others hatch. She may stay on them though, and not take care of the hatchlings, so you’ll have to watch and maybe step in at some point.

My ducks have a covered run/pen but get to free range my yard on weekends and evenings. several have laid out in the open yard too. I’ve done the makeshift temporary fence around them, mainly just to keep them corralled together for the first week or so. I agree with Alaskan, that depends a lot on your predator threat. At minimum, I’d try to give them some type of wind break, especially for the first couple of weeks.

My call duck hen hatched 12 this past April. She brought them outside their house the day the last one hatched and never went back inside. It snowed the next day! We lost one to the cold.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I am worried that she isn't brooding in a shelter that can be locked up.

The temperature.... eh, who cares. She will do fine.

But predators.

At this point .... I would panic, and see if I could put a temporary coop/ tractor like thing over her if I thought she wouldn't abandon the nest.

If that isn't possible... and the risk of her getting eaten is low enough.... I guess I would wait for all of the ducklings to hatch... then herd them into a protected area. Sleeping out in the weather is not good. Not just because ducklings shouldn't get rained or snowed on right after hatch.... but that pesky and super scary predator issue.

Other stuff...

she is a first time mom, so keep a close eye on her to make sure she figures it out.

Keep a close eye on the rest of the flock, make sure they are OK with ducklings.

Put rocks in all water dishes/ponds for the first month after hatch.

One of my Muscovy mamas with a set of ducklings... taking them on a walk through the snow. (And no, none died or got frostbite)
View attachment 1562918

A broody will stop laying eggs herself, once she gets “enough” eggs, so she may or may not have added any, but if she did, it would have been soon after she stopped leaving the nest. Do any other hens have access to have added more eggs?
It would be nice if you could catch her off the nest and enable you to check the eggs real quick. They normally still leave the nest for a few minutes each day to get a quick bite of food, and drop a big poop! Lol. Mine usually did it just before dusk, so I was able to sneak and check eggs.
If she has some that are delayed, you could remove them now, or just leave them and toss after the others hatch. She may stay on them though, and not take care of the hatchlings, so you’ll have to watch and maybe step in at some point.

My ducks have a covered run/pen but get to free range my yard on weekends and evenings. several have laid out in the open yard too. I’ve done the makeshift temporary fence around them, mainly just to keep them corralled together for the first week or so. I agree with Alaskan, that depends a lot on your predator threat. At minimum, I’d try to give them some type of wind break, especially for the first couple of weeks.

My call duck hen hatched 12 this past April. She brought them outside their house the day the last one hatched and never went back inside. It snowed the next day! We lost one to the cold.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

 

[chickens really]

Winter is hard for small ducks. I bought four Muscovy duck chicks last month and already lost two of them to cold.

Then you should be brooding them with additional heat ..