Is she broody?

[arrowti]

Never had a duck go broody but I'm pretty sure... one of our females went missing before I went to work this morning - drake and other females acted normally so I didn't suspect a predator. Came home from work and saw her in the pool splashing around. She's quacking loudly, hissing at anything non-duck that approaches her, and runs everywhere she goes. She's wolfing food like a mad duck and her feathers are puffed up.

Second question: if broody, best advice on finding her nest? I want to make sure she's safe!

 

[Hybridchucks]

sounds like she's broody.....they are always SO LOUD!!!

 

[PD-Riverman]

Second question: if broody, best advice on finding her nest? I want to make sure she's safe!

Follow her from a distance----like a Private Investigator----she will lead you to it.

 

[arrowti]

She didn't go back to the nest yesterday. This morning she took off while I was letting out the chickens (I turned around and she was gone). grrr!

Hopefully I'll find it, I walked around looking in all the old pig houses, under all the branch piles, behind logs, under fallen trees. No duck to be seen. She's probably found a really good spot!

 

[PD-Riverman]

She didn't go back to the nest yesterday. This morning she took off while I was letting out the chickens (I turned around and she was gone). grrr!

Hopefully I'll find it, I walked around looking in all the old pig houses, under all the branch piles, behind logs, under fallen trees. No duck to be seen. She's probably found a really good spot!

If she had a choice and Did Not Go back to the nest yesterday----she is Not broody. She is probably laying a nest of eggs---so she can set on them once she goes broody in a few days??

 

[arrowti]

Alright, she's back! Same time as yesterday (or about the time I got home). I'm assuming since ducks are pretty routine she'll keep that 'schedule' for coming back. I'll keep an eye on her and see if she runs off. If she's building a nest I hope to find it before she starts setting at night - we have a LOT of owls, and I want to make sure it's a secure location.

If she doesn't go back tonight then hopefully I'll have time before work tomorrow to follow her.

 

[arrowti]

No progress today. I had to leave early and didn't get to follow her. I got home late and didn't see from where she came back from. Although she did get really irritated when I said 'go nunights' to the ducks (the codeword for them to start heading to their coop), and took off, quacking loudly, in the direction of the woods. She stopped after a few moments and just stood there, looking at me, then slowly turned and went back to the coop.

She's extremely moody, always hissing and quacking and puffing her feathers out. What a grump! (But it's also rather cute)

 

[arrowti]

Okay, no idea what is going on!

No luck on finding the nest, she seems to know when I'm waiting for her and only leaves when I go to work! And when I wait for her to return she must know and stays away until I go. She's gone one moment, there the next!

However, we have ANOTHER female now showing the same behaviour, however, she's interested in sitting on eggs in the coop. Our drake wants no part of having little ducklings and he chases her out when he notices she's not with him.

Anyway... where on earth are all these eggs coming from? We have 4 females - just 4. One is still going out in the woods for 8-12 hours a day and unless she found a cool place and is throwing a quacker party I'm assuming she's laying out there. But every single day I pull 5-6 eggs out of the coop. It's not like I missed a day. It's been a consistent 5-6 eggs for the past 4 days! Does a duck preparing to nest lay extra eggs? I haven't heard of that.

I'm really not sure what's going on. They're eating and drinking normally and playing in the water. No unusual activity. Behaviour changes only consist of quacking loudly when I approach, hissing, and getting aggressive with pesky chickens who won't move out of their way.