- Mar 29, 2011
- 30
- 2
- 24
We have
7 female mallards
1 male mallard
1 female pekin
2 male pekins
They 'free range' over our large property all day, and have access to 3 creeks and a pond. Luckily they have chosen to lay eggs in their pen...
Over the past 7-10 days we have found 15 eggs. My daughter brought the first 4 in the house and said she found them burried in the pen, so we got rid of them, and the next day there were 2 more...
We are now up to 11 eggs, and even though I want to eat them, my mountain man wants to leave them and see if the mallards will sit on them, as he hopes that having little ones will prevent them from flying away this fall.
I am inclined to think that the mallards won't leave because the pekins cant fly and they are a happy little family (I might just be wishing and dreaming).
What I was curious about was:
whether or not mallards are usually good mamas?
The eggs have a greenish blue tint- is this normal?
Will one duck sit on all the eggs ( I assume they have been laid by multiple ducks)... take turns? ...fight?
and how long should I let them accumulate eggs before I give up on a broody mama. (im hoping to avoid rotten eggs... and I dont want to attract snakes)
7 female mallards
1 male mallard
1 female pekin
2 male pekins
They 'free range' over our large property all day, and have access to 3 creeks and a pond. Luckily they have chosen to lay eggs in their pen...
Over the past 7-10 days we have found 15 eggs. My daughter brought the first 4 in the house and said she found them burried in the pen, so we got rid of them, and the next day there were 2 more...
We are now up to 11 eggs, and even though I want to eat them, my mountain man wants to leave them and see if the mallards will sit on them, as he hopes that having little ones will prevent them from flying away this fall.
I am inclined to think that the mallards won't leave because the pekins cant fly and they are a happy little family (I might just be wishing and dreaming).
What I was curious about was:
whether or not mallards are usually good mamas?
The eggs have a greenish blue tint- is this normal?
Will one duck sit on all the eggs ( I assume they have been laid by multiple ducks)... take turns? ...fight?
and how long should I let them accumulate eggs before I give up on a broody mama. (im hoping to avoid rotten eggs... and I dont want to attract snakes)
