Laying in the open

trapper175

In the Brooder
Nov 20, 2020
27
20
46
Good morning! Brought some new ducks home this weekend bringing our total to 29. We had some khaki campbells for awhile and just recently brought home some Harlequins, Rouens, Mallards, and Swedish. Currently they reside in a large outdoor pen (we'll let them free range once they establish this as their home) with about 8 run-in shelters; the last 2 mornings we found 2 eggs (greenish/white) laying right inside the gate on the bare ground. It doesnt appear that they've even gone in the shelters. Is it normal to not use the nesting boxes/shelters and just lay in an open area on the ground? I'm relatively new to ducks. Thanks
 
Good morning! Brought some new ducks home this weekend bringing our total to 29. We had some khaki campbells for awhile and just recently brought home some Harlequins, Rouens, Mallards, and Swedish. Currently they reside in a large outdoor pen (we'll let them free range once they establish this as their home) with about 8 run-in shelters; the last 2 mornings we found 2 eggs (greenish/white) laying right inside the gate on the bare ground. It doesnt appear that they've even gone in the shelters. Is it normal to not use the nesting boxes/shelters and just lay in an open area on the ground? I'm relatively new to ducks. Thanks


Ducks need a low ground nest area to go for laying. Make sure you have a defined space easily reachable in a shelter for them to use. Straw is a good litter for the nest. Just straw in a corner of the shelter is ok. If want to correct them block the ground laying area and make sure they have easy access to the correct one. Sometimes other flock members may be a little intimidating to them which forces them to find another lay site. Keep correcting undesired behaviors and eventually they will catch on. Good Luck! :)
 
Ducks need a low ground nest area to go for laying. Make sure you have a defined space easily reachable in a shelter for them to use. Straw is a good litter for the nest. Just straw in a corner of the shelter is ok. If want to correct them block the ground laying area and make sure they have easy access to the correct one. Sometimes other flock members may be a little intimidating to them which forces them to find another lay site. Keep correcting undesired behaviors and eventually they will catch on. Good Luck! :)

Thanks. Yeah I have straw spread out in all the shelters I made so maybe I'll just pile it up in the corners. I have the shelters spread throughout the pen as well.
 
Good morning, congratulations on your new ducks.

You have some good advice already. In addition I have found that my ducks lay in the very early mornings, and so locking them inside their coop until they are finished laying can help. Also I have found dummy eggs to be extremely helpful. Even after 6 years my ducks still don't know where to lay without dummy eggs. I drop a couple in the corner I want them to lay in, they make a big nest around them, and add in their eggs. Ducks seem to have a strong preference for laying where there are already eggs.
 
Good morning, congratulations on your new ducks.

You have some good advice already. In addition I have found that my ducks lay in the very early mornings, and so locking them inside their coop until they are finished laying can help. Also I have found dummy eggs to be extremely helpful. Even after 6 years my ducks still don't know where to lay without dummy eggs. I drop a couple in the corner I want them to lay in, they make a big nest around them, and add in their eggs. Ducks seem to have a strong preference for laying where there are already eggs.

Thanks! I do actually have dummy eggs in these shelters but theyre just thrown in there; I'll pile straw up in the corner of each and place the fake eggs there. Thanks again
 
another 3 this morning, all on the bare ground right in front of the gate . . they must lay early too because I got them at about 620am and they cold already
 

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