Is this normal?

[Treehill Farm]

I have a Muscovy hen that laid 15 eggs. She kicked 4 of the eggs out of the nest and settled down. She has been an exemplary momma so far. I could sleep in her nest, it is so clean and full of down. She is always very careful to cover her eggs when she leaves to feed. Her drake helps her roll the eggs and stands guard over the nest when she is gone. With 6 days to go, she suddenly kicked two more eggs out yesterday.

Does she know that those eggs are not developing? Is it normal for a duck to cull during nesting? I've never had a duck hatch out a clutch before so I have no point of reference.

 

[Going Quackers]

How 'normal' it is I have no idea BUT to give you an idea.. my one hen started off with over a dozen eggs.. then it was down to 4 by the time hatching came.

Next hen? she also had a dozen + now she's down to 6.. they should hatch end of May...

So in my limited experience I think it's normal.. because that is what my hens have done, now as of this moment i have one with over 14-16? eggs..

Nothing has been booted out yet.. however she's not ready till June so time will tell.

 

[Amiga]

From anything I have read, it is not uncommon for eggs to get kicked out of the nest. I don't know of any studies, though, that prove that the eggs aren't viable, though I am sure (gut feeling) that is the case for at least some of them.

 

[Quackers08]

My duck has a nest and i noticed one of them were just outside the door so i thought maybe she just accidently knocked it when she got up so i put it back. Was this the wrong thig to do?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Most sitting birds will remove the eggs they deem not viable, be it no growth, rotten ect.

 

[thepregnantgod]

I agree with the thinking that the hens "think" the eggs aren't going to hatch and/or something is wrong with them.

However, in at least three instances for me, this has happened and I've either incubated the egg to full hatch or placed the egg in another nest for that hen to hatch. They are running around now!

Of course, I'd candle the egg and see if it is truly bad.

For that matter, just last week, one of my hens cracked open an egg 2 days before hatch and dragged him halfway across the yard to die. One of my boys found him, we put him in the incubator and now he runs around fine with the rest (albiet a little smaller).

 

[DuckLover3]

While they do knock out eggs that are rotten or otherwise abnormal, it can also result from a lazy mother. Sometimes when a mother duck or goose is sitting back down on her eggs from getting up to get a drink, food, etc, she may by mistake knock out an egg. While a good mother would role the egg back in with her bill, a lazy mother would just let it sit there. To avoid this, you can add a lip at the front of her nest that is low enough for mom to get in and out, but high enough to not let eggs role out.

 

[Treehill Farm]

That's not it. She has been anything but lazy. She dug a hole for her nest, Muscovies have huge claws. She has taken all of the eggs out several times for a little housekeeping, then rolled them all back in. The drake helps her do this. I have been amazed at her dedication and the drake's as well. She pushed one more out two days ago but since then all is well. 3 days to hatch if I counted right!

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's not it. She has been anything but lazy. She dug a hole for her nest, Muscovies have huge claws. She has taken all of the eggs out several times for a little housekeeping, then rolled them all back in. The drake helps her do this. I have been amazed at her dedication and the drake's as well. She pushed one more out two days ago but since then all is well. 3 days to hatch if I counted right!

We'll be waiting to hear..

 

[destinduck]

I always put em back in the nest also. Sometimes they are good as gold and just get knocked out. The only sure way to know is to candle them if you want to take out the guessing. Good mother bad mother makes no rhyme or reason to me. Im like ducklover and try to put up some kind of lip or barrier. Right now I have a wad of various eggs because the bators are full that a female mallard and a cuban treeduck share sitting duties.(they also both layed in the same box of course) Its the wildest thing Ive seen in a while. They are both aggressive enough that if one gets off the other immediately takes over.I need to video the changing of the guard as I call it.

Anyway the eggs should start hatching shortly. I am betting that they will hatch at various times because there is 20 eggs from at least 4 different species. And usually once the ducklings start out the mother will follow. But Im also pretty sure the way they are the other mother will take over the rest of the later hatch. I am very curious to see what will happen.