Mallard Duck - Breeding Habits

[vydrew]

They are domestic mallard ducks. It is possible that I got the date wrong as to when she started sitting. She only gets off her nest twice a day and it's for a very short amount of time. Should I get her off of it to do the candling? When I candle how do I tell if the ducks are alive?

 

[JadeComputerGal]

They are domestic mallard ducks. It is possible that I got the date wrong as to when she started sitting. She only gets off her nest twice a day and it's for a very short amount of time. Should I get her off of it to do the candling? When I candle how do I tell if the ducks are alive?

Hmm. I hope you did get the date wrong because Mallard eggs typically take only 26-27 days to hatch. Eggs from ducks in the Bantam weight class hatch a little earlier than those of larger ducks.

I wouldn't scoot her off the nest since she's already getting up. I would watch very closely today and wait until she gets off the nest on her own, then collect the eggs to candle them. I recommend that you go ahead and read about candling so you know what you're looking for, and you have your light, egg carton, etc., ready to go so you can get them back to her as soon as possible. We lock our ducks out of the pen when they get up and we take them out for candling. That way the duck never knows the eggs were gone. Any eggs that are obviously bad, have an offensive smell, or are completely clear should not be returned to the nest.

Here is a general guide to candling, but there's tons of other info about it on BYC. http://www.metzerfarms.com/Candling.cfm