mallard and pekin breeding

[elmofarm]

so my mallard male has decided to breed one if not both of my female pekins. i need insight and advice on when to collect the eggs, incubation periods etc.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

so my mallard male has decided to breed one if not both of my female pekins. i need insight and advice on when to collect the eggs, incubation periods etc.

Are you wanting to hatch ducklings?

 

[elmofarm]

Are you wanting to hatch ducklings?

yes very much. my female for about a month now has been making a nest away from the house. but she just covers the daily egg with leaves and then leaves it all day until she lays another the next.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

yes very much. my female for about a month now has been making a nest away from the house. but she just covers the daily egg with leaves and then leaves it all day until she lays another the next.

That is what ducks do.
They like to collect a number of eggs before they start sitting on them.
If you want to let her go broody,
Just leave the eggs and when she gets the amount she wants she may decide to sit on them.
One thing you could do is Mark on the eggs each day with a permanent marker so you can keep track of and remove the oldest eggs if it takes her a while to go broody.

 

[elmofarm]

That is what ducks do.
They like to collect a number of eggs before they start sitting on them.
If you want to let her go broody,
Just leave the eggs and when she gets the amount she wants she may decide to sit on them.
One thing you could do is Mark on the eggs each day with a permanent marker so you can keep track of and remove the oldest eggs if it takes her a while to go broody.

Wouldn't it still be too cold currently with the eggs being in 19-32 degrees at night without her sitting them?

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Wouldn't it still be too cold currently with the eggs being in 19-32 degrees at night without her sitting them?

It may be.
I probably wouldn't want to let her try to sit and hatch anything until it warmed up a bit.
If you are wanting to gather eggs to incubate then I would try to determine around what time each day she is laying her eggs and gather them right away.
You can do a search on here to find the best way to store eggs for incubation.
I believe if my memory serves correct they can start losing viability after about 10 days.. but don't quote me on that.
If it were me I would rather wait until spring and try and let her sit and hatch them herself.

 

[Yardmom]

Pekins can go broody, but there is no guarantee that they will. They may also start and not finish the job. I would give her sometime to mature and the temperature to rise. Then decide if you want to leave her eggs to see if she will set, or give incubating a try.