Its day 29 and I havent seen any ducklings:(

[Paintedhorsegirl]

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I never did candle them, the mother duck wont let me close enough to the nest, I can get down near the nest and look but if I reach or get to close, the mother duck hisses and panics. I dont want to upset her...

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

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That makes me feel better, knowing your hatched in this cold spring weather.... I was hoping to have some hatch today, its pouring rain outside and none of my hens or ducks want to go outside today. Normally they free range all day and I was hoping mother duck would have the coop to her self today so she wouldnt be stressed..I do have chicken wire seperating her in the coop but I worry what the others will do if they see a newbie...Wish me luck in some hatching soon

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

I still have no ducklings, Im going to give her until the end of this weekend but then Im gonna have to try and get her to give it up. But when I was counting days, I started when she first started sitting on her nest but If I start counting from the day the last egg was put in her nest then day 28 is tomorrow. This is why I will give her the weekend. I did notice she kicked an egg out of the nest a few days ago, It was a bad egg. Also 2 days ago she moved her nest to directly under the heating lamp. Im not sure if this means she is preparing for the hatch or if it was just random. I will be very suprised if no ducklings hatch , only because she dosnt ever leave the nest..Just to eat and drink like once a day for 2 minutes....Anybody have an opinion?

 

[flocksalot]

When they start standing over the eggs it means they are spiking in temp which they do just before a hatch. She wants to keep them warm, but not too warm.

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

Thats interesting, I didnt know that. Does that mean she wont sit on them at all, just stand over them...How long does this part last?

 

[flocksalot]

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She will alternate standing just over them and sitting on them. She can regulated the temp better than we could imagine. Now if she left the nest and wandered off there you would have trouble, but she's doing what she needs to do to keep them at the right temp and all. She should also be doing a bit of panting as it may get too warm for her. That's why she will hang her wings down a bit. She's regulating her own body temp too. Can't wait to see pics.

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

Oh I really hope they hatch...

 

[Emmalion]

Ohhhhh I hope so too. The wait is killer and under a broody you can't get near it has to be awful.

 

[sandracollins]

Can you not candle them at night when she is quite

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

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I cant go near the nest, she hisses and gets overly stressed. Shes ok with me being in the coop but if i reach towards her she starts to panic, hisses, and so I just leave her alone. I dont want to cause her any added stress..