Lucky broody duck! Get's to adopt eggs!

[WriterofWords]

My mom just called me to tell me a man was at the gate with a basket of 10 duck eggs his hen had been sitting on and got off of last night. When they found the eggs they were still warm but she was sitting in the middle of the pen with the other ducks. They watched for about half an hour and she didn't go back to the nest so they picked up the eggs and took them in the house and put them in the oven with the pilot light over night. They brought them to me to see if I could either put them under one of my ducks or in the incubator for them. Since the bator isn't plugged in and I have no intentions of hatching,, Hershey the perennially broody Runner duck is now happily sitting on those eggs! I've been taking hers and the ones she keeps stealing away for the last two months, so now she is a happy duck!

 

[Chicken Chat]

That's great. Do you know how long the hen had been sitting on the eggs before she got off of them?

 

[WriterofWords]

No, I'll check them when I get home, candle and all that to see if it's worth letting her sit on them.

 

[Chicken Chat]

I hope that they are good. It sounds like your mama duck will be so happy to have some babies.

 

[WriterofWords]

Hershey and Quack are willing to kill to hatch lol!

 

[WriterofWords]

I checked the eggs, 6 are doing good, 2 were empty, 2 had blood rings, so if she manages to get them through the next cold snap I think they are just about 10 days from hatching. I let the fellow know that 4 were no good and I was taking them out. He stopped by with a bag of feed for my ducks services and asked if they hatched if I wanted them, I said NO! I have enough right now, I didn't want any more to hatch. He said if any hatch he'll pick them up right away that he has a brooder all set up in the bathroom for them.

 

[Chicken Chat]

I'm glad that there are at least 6 for Hershey to sit on. Has she been a mom before?

 

[WriterofWords]

OH yeah,, Hershey has hatched well over 100 little quackers! Quack hatched 19 at once a few months ago.

 

[Chicken Chat]

I didn't realize they could get 19 under them at once. I thought it was nice of the guy to bring you feed for your sitting service, and at least it soulnds like they will go to a good home (If these people worried enough to put them in an over over night.)

 

[WriterofWords]

They are really nice people, and I'm not sure but I think these might be Whitey's grand-ducks and if they are I want one, she's the Pekin I lost to being egg bound! You would be surprised at how many eggs these quackers can sit on!