Female duck sitting on a clutch and still laying daily in it. What to do?

[casslarrabee225]

My female started sitting on 14 eggs. She has laid one a day every morning into that clutch (and a couple times while she was up another female must have laid one in it as well) She is now at 19 eggs and keeps laying every morning. Will she stop? Should I mark the eggs she has in her clutch now then remove the new one she lays or just let her go?? She is a big hefty Khaki and is sitting on them all just fine. This is my first time with a duck who is broody.

 

[mandelyn]

Yes, mark all the eggs so that you can keep track.

Mark them as soon as you can on future nests, or separate the broody if need be.

Here in a week you'll want to candle them if she'll let you. For the eggs still there after she started setting, you'll need an incubator or another broody to finish them, she'll likely leave the nest when the first eggs hatch. The older eggs will hatch first since she started setting while someone was still laying, and those babies will need food and water, prompting her to leave while the other eggs still need to finish. If you want to save them, you'll need somewhere to put them. She won't wait 3 days for that 19th egg. She might wait on number 16, but then she'll leave.

When/if you candle, that's when you'll be able to tell the newer eggs from the older eggs, by looking at the different stages of development inside.

Another hen must be sneaking eggs in if she's been diligently setting.