EGG # 2 Just Arrived!!

[FunnyBunnies12]

My duck has to be brooding, I posted on my previous post about the possibility by her behavior that she was going to lay #2, and sure enough she did about 1/2hr ago. She molded a big bowl shaped with her body, she looked like she was digging with her beak, but I went and looked and she actually moved egg # 1 to that bowl shape nest she made and then she started wiggling raising her butt up in the air, and after about 5min she was still, she came out eventually and there is egg #2 next to egg # 1, I am taking colored pencil and making them as they come, then I am coming inside and writing what egg # came on what date. I think she knows what she is doing, she's not sitting right now, but I know she probably isn't done she is like clock work from what I read, every 1-2 days a new egg. We'll see what happens and how many. But I don't turn them I just lightly pick the egg up and make them with the #, and gently place them back as they were laying and leave them alone. I can't help it, I think I'm more excited then my kids! LOL!! I think we might have success. The wonderful "Wait & See Game."

 

[bemba]

How eggciting LOL, what breed is she?

 

[Airplaneguy57]

How old was she when she laid her first egg.

 

[FunnyBunnies12]

well, I'm guessing she has to be 20wks(5mths) because I got her and my Indian Runner March 30 & April 1st. She is I believe a Roun(sp) Duck, she looks like a female mallard in the wild but domestic. And from what I saw online she points to a Roun. And the male, which I thought was a female is actually a male, is a Indian Runner from pics I read, he is a fawn/white. Will there will a problem with a mixed breed? I heard ducks will breed with any duck. Getting these 2 ducks were not my intentions on breeding. The female has a leg that was born up, and my son wanted to "Save" her from someone buying her and getting her for snake food so the farm/fleet store gave her to him for free, and I was told they do better in pairs, so I got the Indian runner the next day not knowing the sexes. I heard ducks can start mating/laying as early as 17wks. At 1st I thought it was a dominence trate. LOL, looking out at my dog igloo in the straw, it was no dominence. Also is it typical for a male to be more aggressive when he's protecting his mate and territory?? Man my Indian Runner is gettin very nippy, chasing me and the boys and even our cats away from his nestin grounds. I thought the female was the one to be that one. BTW~ both eggs have been laid between 8am-10am. I'm hopin something comes of this, but I'm trying to be realistic.

 

[ejctm]

Hey FB - congrats on your eggs!

It sounds like you are planning on letting your duck sit on them to hatch? I have read that the first few eggs are not the best quality (certainly the case for my chickens) and that you would be better using eggs laid after a few months when her reproductive system has got any mistakes out of the way first. You are far more likely to get all fertilised eggs this way (also since your drake will have got better with the practising!) and eggs with nice healthy and genetically stronger ducklings. The first few weeks of eggs can produce some really large ones, really small ones, non-fertile ones, double-yolkers (twins rarely survive) and some mutant ones (no yolk or all yolk for example). You can always eat the early eggs (you might be surprised at the variety of sizes and shapes you get at first).

Also, particularly since she is so very young, you might want to test out her broodiness on a few fake eggs at first to test her staying power. You do this by collecting as many of her eggs as you want to hatch , say 10 eggs over 10 days, and keep them cool (not in the fridge). Then you put the dummy eggs underneath her and when she has sat on these for about a week showing her commitment and dedication, you then secretly swap these for the real eggs at night and she will hopefully continue to sit until they hatch (28 days later).

Only my opinion, but I would wait for spring until you let her sit and try and brood some babies. I am in the UK so not sure what season it is where you are (we are in late summer).

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[FunnyBunnies12]

I'm seeing if she lays any more again tomorrow, it's been 2 days from her 2cd egg being laid. She has a nice little bowl shape nest in her dog igloo. No funny or different shapes yet. They have been mating like pro's that is for sure. No sooner does she lay and egg leave the igloo go in the pool he's on her immediately. He will also try to get on my leg if I have it bent, reminds me of a little dog getting on a leg. But WOW, is he ever protective of those eggs/igloo. He wants no one near it, where as she hasn't shown any concern for them, do females get more aggressive or territorial/protective of their nests/egg while laying or when they finally sit? Also, do you candle when females start sitting full time? I honestly want to see what happens until after labor day and my kids go to school. I may do the test if she lays any more and will sit before I take them away. Should I get a incubator w/egg turner? Then candle those after 10 days to see if there is anything in there?

 

[ejctm]

Sounds like your drake is very keen!

Your duck though is still just starting to manufacture eggs, so if you do decide to let her hatch these early ones, I think that you might be disappointed with the number that might hatch out of the number she eventually sits on. That's because there is a lot of scope for the eggs to be "not quite right" to start with, and also if they do hatch, then the babies might have more chance of not being strong, healthy or formed correctly. Just my thoughts.

To answer your question, once/if she does decide to brood, then she may become quite protective of the nest. Depending on how tame she is, she might just make growling noises when you go near, or she might attack you! My chickens were hand-reared so are more than happy for me to mess about with the eggs with just a few clucking sounds of disapproval. You know your duck best and if she is generally very friendly, then she will probably tolerate you coming close.

Unless you are desperate to have ducklings indoors (when you have to buy a brooder, light, etc and put up with an enormous mess and terrible smell!) then Mummy duck is the best one to hatch and raise her own ducklings, in my view. You also save on the cost of an incubator. Even as a novice, she will have a better hatch rate than an incubator if she stays the course, i.e. doesn't abandon them half way through, and you won't have to worry about temperature/humidity etc before or after they hatch. You might need to separate the drake for a bit though until they are grown.

If you are worried she might not commit to brooding, then it would be a good idea to find someone local from whom you could borrow an incubator if you needed to, but I would not go and buy one unless you wanted to incubate eggs regularly.

I would repeat however, that to avoid disappointment, it is a good idea to test out her commitment first on some dummy eggs. If you are determined to try and hatch her eggs now, then you can still collect the eggs she lays over the next week or so and keep them cool for now, replacing them with the dummies (which you can buy on ebay or from the feed store) until you are sure she is sitting on them full-time for at least 5 days, then put back the real eggs. This way, if she does not commit to sitting, you can at least eat the unbrooded eggs and they are not wasted. Once she has her full clutch, if she sits for a few days or weeks on the real ones and then abandons them, (and you don't have any alternative arangements) then you might feel worse about losing the contents.

Anyway, you can candle them after 10 days whether in an incubator or underneath her to see what is happening. I have never had much luck candling though, as it is not always easy to see/interpret the contents inside as duck egg shells tends to be quite thick. I have always just left them all under the mum until 30 days to make sure that any that are going to hatch have hatched. There was a thread a few months ago where someone put some brooded eggs she had discovered in a nest in a bucket of water to see which floated and which sank, and then threw away the ones which she thought were bad, only to find them on the compost heap cheeping the next day! I can't remember whether they were the floating or the sinking ones though! I think she managed to save some of them.

I can tell you are very excited. I know, it is almost like having your own children again! It is also very hard to be patient, believe me, I know! It is good that this forum has loads of really experienced duck-keepers who can give you great advice, wihch I have had the benefit of myself. I can only give you my views, so I am sure others with more experience will contribute, and I am sure you will take all that on board.

Best of luck and do keep us updated on your progress!