MALLARD THREAD...not rouens, Mallards!

[Amiga]

Does sound broody to me

 

[kada6305]

I am hoping so. Would make incubating eggs so much easier lol I plan on replacing the Duck eggs with the eggs I want incubated after she starts sitting on them. Last time our Mallard went broody she only sat on the nest of 3 days then just got up and went back to normal.

 

[nate1the1great1]

Ok i want to get some mallards from Metzer farms and they say that there too chunky and stuff for show but i need to know do i NEED to clip there wings bc i free range all animals so i absolutely need to know ahead of time!

 

[Amiga]

This morning my ducks were out as usual, and my little mallard didn't go out in a big group to get fed like the rest of the pekins and chickens. My father mentioned she seemed "off" since she wasn't pal-ing around with her best swedish duck friend, and when I went out this morning she is just totally hiding/missing. We have a massive garden and she frequently goes in there, so my thinking is she's quietly sitting in there under some lettuce or some crazy large plants.

She started laying in the last two weeks, but we haven't seen eggs from her for at least a week. Is she hiding because she's hiding a nest she's trying to brood? She's 5 months old, so she's newly laying, but I am a little worried by her new strange behavior. She is usually stuck like glue to the swedish, and if she's not right next to her, she's at least within eyesight.

@sunnyfishy , how is your little mallard? Sounds like she was starting to hide a nest. Is she okay?

 

[TheMallardMan]

I just ordered some mallards from them

If you know anything about duck incubation, could you maybe answer my questions on my other thread I started?

 

[sunnyfishy]

@Amiga turns out she was just sneaking around the house near a rock wall, looking for treats I suspect, because when I went back out before leaving for work, I heard her quacking her way towards the other ducks. That's the only scare I've had with her thankfully! She is trying to brood a nest right now, though we just moved them into their finally permanent duck/chicken coop, so she has a space special for her where hopefully she'll stay comfortably. And she seems calmer too, as in, now I can hold her without her fussing, so that's always good news. Her eggs are a gorgeous blue right now too.

 

[Amiga]

Nice!

 

[solarpup]

Ok i want to get some mallards from Metzer farms and they say that there too chunky and stuff for show but i need to know do i NEED to clip there wings bc i free range all animals so i absolutely need to know ahead of time!

We got our guys from Metzer, and we clipped their flight feathers (on one side) after about 6 weeks of letting them fly freely. They started out keeping to the yard (it's big, surrounded by trees), but one day they decided to keep going, down the driveway, and off down the street into oncoming traffic. Even after the first clipping, which kept them grounded for a month or so, we found out that if they *really* wanted, they could take off and make it over the roof. Before going on vacation last fall, we clipped them some more just so our duck sitter wouldn't have to worry about chasing some flying ducks.

So, you can always do it in stages, too. Clip them enough so they don't fly off, but still have some freedom to get off the ground and away from predators. And if it seems like they are going to bolt, clip some more.

 

[nate1the1great1]

We got our guys from Metzer, and we clipped their flight feathers (on one side) after about 6 weeks of letting them fly freely.  They started out keeping to the yard (it's big, surrounded by trees), but one day they decided to keep going, down the driveway, and off down the street into oncoming traffic.  Even after the first clipping, which kept them grounded for a month or so, we found out that if they *really* wanted, they could take off and make it over the roof.  Before going on vacation last fall, we clipped them some more just so our duck sitter wouldn't have to worry about chasing some flying ducks.

So, you can always do it in stages, too.  Clip them enough so they don't fly off, but still have some freedom to get off the ground and away from predators.  And if it seems like they are going to bolt, clip some more.

Ok thx

 

[sunnyfishy]

We only clipped one wing on our mallard, and she has never tried to fly since (this year). She clearly tried out flying with 1 unclipped wing and hated it, haha. Will a duck go broody without breeding? I'm just surprised that our little girl, Pteradactyl, is still laying every day.