Hen on duck eggs

[dragonlair]

I have a broody hen who is driving me crazy. She has been trying to set on her eggs and those of the rest of the flock for quite a while now. Every morning I remove her from her nest, take the eggs and boot her out of the coop. I don't need more chickens.

Today i went to buy a pair of clippers. The people, in desperation, included 2 dozen duck eggs with the purchase of the clippers. So, I got to thinking. I was planning on getting some ducks next year, I have 24 duck eggs that are no dount fertile, so I warmed them up and put them under my broody hen after I removed the chicken eggs from todays lay.

How well will she do setting on 6 duck eggs? What are the odds of them hatching? I do have an incubator if she decides to quit after a while, so that much is covered. Do they really know how long their eggs take to hatch? What are the odds of her setting on them for 28 -36 days? (mixed flock of ducks-Khaki's, Swedes, Pekins and Muskovies)

 

[tdhenson86]

Well, there is no easy answer here. Honestly, it all depends on the chicken. A larger chicken is going to be able to turn the duck eggs on her own just fine. Larger bantams shouldn't have a problem either. If she's a smaller bantam, you will want to turn them yourself to make sure they are getting turned. You might want to spritz the eggs with water once a day or so to make sure they have enough humidity. Ducklings love humidity in the shell. Momma ducks know this, so they get wet and go sit back on the nest from time to time. Now, the question of whether or not she will set that long depends on the bird. I have had some chickens set duck eggs to the very end and others get bored and leave them after a few weeks. But, if you have an incubator handy, that shouldn't be a problem. Best of luck!

Hope you post pictures of the babies if/when they hatch!

 

[redmouse]

I've had two banties hatch duck eggs this year, they did just fine I dripped a little bit of water on every three days or so, turned them once a day to be sure they had at least a bit of a turn, and then left mama banty to it.

I'm lucky that I have such long suffering mamas, they grumble a bit and give me the odd pinch but do let me faff about with their eggs One raised three runners, and the other two muscovies. The runners took 28 days, the muskies 35 and they both sat tight all the way through. Good thing is if they do get bored you can fish the eggs out and set them in the bator to finish up. Sounds like a good set up to me