Mallard Hen Behaviour Change

[duckking]

One of my mallard hens (do you call them hens?) the oldest of my 3 (30 weeks), has suddenly stopped wanting to go in her pool, preferring to splash around in the mud behind it. She was always the first in and often the only one in there after the others were out preening. She is also being quiet, which is not like her and going in and out of the duck house. She has been laying every day, a good sized perfect egg, she is drinking and eating well. She was apart from the rest of the gang and was in the duck house. I poked my head in to see if she was OK and she hissed at me. She has NEVER done that before. She is my lap duck. All 4 of my ducks are laying and they all lay in the same spot in the duck house, covering them up after.

I am wondering if she is wanting to sit on all those eggs she has laid which I have removed dutifully every day. Do ducks keep count of number of eggs and then decide it's now time to sit on them...but wait! They are all gone! Now I'm upset?

Not going in the pool because that darn drake mates all the ducks who come into the pool and I don't want to mate anymore, I want to sit on eggs!

Sorry about the anthropomorphizing, but I'm worried about this sudden change from my normally quacky, friendly sweetie. She is our very first duck......

 

[DuckLover179]

Yes, you call the females hens, and the males drakes. My best guess is that she is broody, and just upset that her eggs keep leaving her. She probably doesn't want to swim, because she is looking for some eggs to hatch (And/or she just isn't into other ducks while she's broody, just eggs). I would leave some plastic easter eggs for her to sit on, so she can fulfill her desire to brood, and get back to her lap duck lifestyle!