Egg gathering? every day? but she gets mad......

[ohiofarmgirl]

i know that this guarantees me a spot on the 'lame list' but i'm asking anyway...

my lovely scovy hen, Dash, started laying again after she hatched 18 ducklings in the spring. yay for her but... we were chock full of ducklings and dont really want anymore.

when i realized she was laying i took up the 3 eggs she laid in the nest box. but when she came in for the night she went and looked and then absolutely pitched a fit, stamping her little feet and everything, that the nest had been raided.

the next morning she laid in a different spot but thats not working now because the full grown babies seem to be scattering her eggs and picking on her. . i've been 'sneaking' some, but not all, of the eggs out of the nest...

which isnt working for me b/c i really want some fresh eggs.

so

whats the best strategy for gathering up the eggs and not making her mad to the point where she lays down at the pond or somewhere i cant find them? do i just need tough duck love and not be gutted by her angry little displays? keep her in until she lays then let them out?

its all very distressing. she is so cute and such a good momma...

shamefully softhearted but really wanting a silky smooth egg custard,
OFG

 

[Soccer Mom]

Take the real eggs and leave some fake ones. I bet she'd be just as happy to sit on some golf balls.

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

I keep my girls in the pen in the mornings til they lay and then I let them out. My girls have to pay their rent in the form of yummy delicious eggs.

(Well I did let the broody sit on some, even tho we don't really need more ducklings, I couldn't resist, this is the first broody I've ever had. Now I'm missing her eggs and can't wait til those ducklings hatch and she's done raising them cause I want more eggs!!)

 

[Duck Keeper]

Continue to take all of the eggs DAILY, or she'll keep throwing a tantrum every time she thinks she's found a safe spot and then loses them. If the egg she's laid is taken away every day, she should soon forget that she wants to be broody, whereas if the eggs get to stay under her for a while, she'll freak out if they suddenly turn up missing.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

oh geez... this is going to be tough duck love!

seriously i'm not usually this weak! but she is so cute!

ok i'll be strong... but if you hear sad little weeping tomorrow morning its me trying to get her sad little face out of my mind!

 

[Duck Keeper]

Don't worry, you can send some of her eggs to me if you can't eat them fast enough!

Then you can have babies from her all over!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

oh no! no more babies!! hee hee hee

she had the most BEAUTIFUL ducklings... and she is just a dear. i didnt catch our other hen quick enough and before i knew it Miss Duck sat her little self down. we think there are about 8 eggs...sigh... ducks ducks and more ducks!

but i love to see them on the pond.

thanks for your help!

 

[cassie]

If it were me, I'd just give he some fake eggs and keep her happy. You can buy some really nice ones from some of the poultry supply places or just use golf balls or something. Reason being that I am not that fond of egg hunts on a daily basis. If she has eggs in her nest she will continue to lay there. If all the eggs are gone, she will keep finding another safer place to lay to the point she may eventually outsmart you. Then you will definitely have the babies you don't want.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

I could not have said it better than Cassie!

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
May I suggest that you mark 2 or three eggs so you don't take them by mistake and leave them in her nest. Then everyday you steal the fresh egg when she isn't right there. Most muskovies know the difference between 1 egg and 2 eggs, very few know the difference between 2 and 3 but a few wise old ducks do. Addle (shake hard) the eggs you are leaving so they won't hatch if she suddenly goes broody on you. After 3-4 weeks replace the nest eggs so they don't go rotten in the nest. If she should push one of the marked eggs out of the nest dispose of it carefully since she knows it is bad, that is why she pushed it out. Be warned that muscovies are known to steal eggs from other birds. Sooner or later most will go broody even if she doesn't have a full nest. Post and I will advise you how to break a broody. It upsets some people since they think it is cruel, but it is better than letting her set on eggs that won't hatch.