I have a broody mallard duck and lots of questions...please help

[Paintedhorsegirl]

Ive never had a broody duck, so this is all new to me. Therefore I have some questions...
Shirley is a mallard, my only mallard, I also have 3 pekins, 2 Rouens, 10 hens and 1 rooster. Shirley is my first to ever go broody..I noticed about a week ago she made a nest and only leaves to eat and she goes outside maybe once a day for 3 minutes...All my birds are free range, and they all share a big coop in my barn with a little door to the yard.. Im wondering if i should move Shirley away from the rest of the flock? Also Ive also noticed even though she hasnt left the nest for about a week, shes still laying eggs in it everyday, will she eventually stop laying? Should I stop feeding her layer pellets? There is now 7 eggs under her, does this mean they will all hatch out on different days? Im worried that after the first few hatch, she might abandon the nest and not hatch the rest. If she continues to lay eggs while on her nest at some point should I start removing all the new eggs so she dosnt have so many? Im just not sure how to go about handeling my broody mallard...Also she is obviously bred by the pekin drake and the rouen drake, does that mean she will have a variety of mixed duck breeds? If shes on the nest all day long, the drakes probably cant breed her anymore so are the new eggs even fertile to hatch? I apoligize for so many questions, Im just new to having a broody bird. This is a whole new experience for me and Id like to have as much knowledge on the subject as i could..Thank you for any help anyone can give me with some of these questions.....

 

[Borncountry419]

I'll try answer in the order asked. Lol. First, she should be fine with the other birds as long as they don't bother her. It's really odd that she would continue to lay when she's broody. Are you sure the new eggs appearing are hers? A different bird could be dumping in her nest. If that happens, you'd need to separate her or put a fence around her or something. If they are hers, yes, they would all be hatching on different days. If this were the case, I'd suggest giving her 6 Pekin eggs (or whatever ones you want), and each day remove the eggs that she lays. That way you'd probably end up with 6 ducklings that hatch on the same day.

Don't worry about the layer feed, layer feed doesn't literally turn them into a laying machine. Lol. Their bodies are in control. If you have a Pekin drake and a Rouen drake you'll probably end up with some mostly black ducklings (from the Pekin, don't ask why. Lol), and then mallard looking ducklings from the Rouen. They would be a bit smaller than the Pekin and Rouen, but not as small as the mallard. The sperm can stay in the hen for up to a month with chickens (I've heard cases of it being longer), but I'm not sure how long with ducks. Although it's a very safe bet that the eggs would be fertile for at LEAST two weeks of laying.

Hope this helps!

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

Thank you so much for the information. She got up from her nest a little while ago and I peeked at her eggs, I think 2 of the 7 are chicken eggs....So Im gonna keep an eye out to see if more chickens eggs are being put in the nest or if its duck eggs..Im thinking about marking them tomorrow with an pencil and removing all new if it continues so she dont have too many...This weekend Im going to put up some chciken wire to separate her from the flock but she will still get to be in the coop.. I hope she has some beautiful babies Im excited!

 

[Borncountry419]

Glad I could help! Hope all goes well, and take plenty of "family pictures" when they hatch!