HELP!!! found another dead duckling, would a mother do that?

[sandcat]

I have just found another dead duckling away from the nest right next to the tray of water i put out for them(when they hatch) there is egg shell on the ramp in the tray. My drake is not able to get anywhere near the ducks and the ducks cant get out, would a mother duck kill her own young, one of the ducks is being forced to sit on her nest(she was always off with the darke) and the other duck happily sat on her nest most of the time other than feeding

 

[duckyfromoz]

Some first time mothers are fine to just sit on the eggs- but when the babies start to hatch they get confused. They dont recognise the babies as such- and will attack them or push them out of the nest. There are other reasons as to why the baby may have been dead- but in answer to your question directly- yes- sometimes a mother will kill a baby.

 

[sandcat]

im so upset this is happening and dont know what to do, ive locked the duck in and it seems she is the one killing them, i want to snatch the nest but i know i cant look after it i have no equipment for incubating

 

[duckyfromoz]

You mentioned another duck sitting...do you have two with nests at the moment...or has the other one you were referring to already hatched her babies?? I just ask as if you have another duck sitting but with not alot of eggs- you could place the eggs hatching now under the other mother and just take the babies away as they hatch so she will continue to sit on her own eggs.

 

[sandcat]

I have 2 ducks and their nests are right next to each other, I think that while one of the ducks was having a great time out and about away from her nest the good mummy was sitting over both nests because i peeked at her one day. they are out in the yard and i have no idea when they are hatching as i cant actually see the nest very well, its hidden in blackberry bushes,I have put up a fence around the nests so nothing can get in or out, but if i see a duckling i will just grab it, poor little things. I think one of my ducks will be a good mum as she doing everything she supposed to be doing

 

[duckyfromoz]

They do pick the worst ( for us - but good for them ) places to nest. Being in the blackberry bush would make it very difficult to know what is going on. Hopefully the second mother will sit tight and maybe protect any others that do hatch. Apart from cutting down the bush to get to them ( which would more than likely scare the mothers from the nests- so not a good idea ) there isnt really anything else that you can really do but keep an eye on them and hope mother #2 is sitting on the majority of the eggs.

 

[sandcat]

we call the bad mummy duck "little brown" as she is a little brown mallard, if i hadnt locked her in the fenced area i dont think she would sit on the eggs at all, she more interested in the drake. The nests are lovely and dry and very fluffy with down feathers so she knows how to build a nest, just wish she knew how to look after her babes

 

[desertdarlene]

Is it possible that the "bad mama" is the one killing the duckling? Also, is there any way you can set up an incubator to hatch the eggs yourself?

 

[sandcat]

Yes i do think its her doing it as i never see the other duck away from the nest at all, only to eat. what do i need to hatch them myself? I dont have an incubator but luckily i am an at home mum that is always home so if i had the equipment i could do it,

 

[desertdarlene]

I'm still learning about incubating eggs, but there are several people who are doing it or have just finished doing it here on BYC in the duck forum. I'm sure you can search through their threads to see how they did it. I think you would need an incubator, at least.

Maybe you can let the "bad mama" go off on her own and the other mama take care of all the eggs by herself.