Have kept chickens & ducks for 27 years

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I would section off a corner of the pen at first

If not, how could I possibly know which hen(s) to seclude with chicks or not?

I think- The ones have been faithfully brooding them, and who want to raise them and don’t injure them


I would welcome any advice experienced duck keeps have about this.

I have not yet allowed any ducks to hatch eggs I had one of my chickens hatch some duck eggs, and I hatched eggs in a incubator, and I allowed my goose mama to hatch her own eggs.

@Miss Lydia has Muscovy ducks that hatched her runner ducklings and so I’ll tag her here.


Thank you. I think I'll X-pen off a large section around the 2 coop boxes that they lay in the most - tho confining them in that space won't allow them access to the baby pools areas. But that likely will be preferable when duckling first hatch, right? Babies ought not have access to baby pools until. . . until when?
 
Welcome to BYC
None of my non muscovy ducks have ever shown an interest in brooding. So I used my Muscovy and they have a separate coop from the other ducks.I did mark the eggs so when I decided to give them to my girls I new the freshest from the older ones. They never had more than 6-8 eggs to sit on. In the coop I had pens so when one would go broody she had her own space to brood. When hatch day came she and her ducklings were protected [but the door to their pen was covered with poultry netting so everyone could still see them]then in the mornings when I let everyone out for the day and cleaned up the poop I would let mama and ducklings have the run of the coop this was for their first week so they were good and bonded with their mama, after the first week they could come outside with fencing between them and the rest of the flock this way everyone got to meet and still ducklings were safe. Week three everyone gets to be together and they are accilmated without incident. It probably sounds like I am over protective but when I used to let my chickens hatch and didn't protect them at first I had chicks killed off every once in a while so I decided to go this route with both my ducks and chickens. My goose of course didn't have this problem; no one was stupid enough to mess with goslings with both parents watching. lol

I also used a cement mixing tub for mama and ducklings and place a large rock inside and outside for the ducklings to use. IMG_2169.jpeg IMG_2376.jpeg
I never figured out who killed the chicks but I knew it wasn't my rooster he loved his hens and any chicks hatched.
 
Welcome to BYC. I think it will be necessary to section off the setting ducks from the rest of the flock. Whether or not you mark the eggs, the constant interference of that many ducks laying in the same nest will likely result in failed incubation.
 

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