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The exit from my highest nest box is a six foot drop, I have boxes situated in different directions at different heights. It is my experience that the highest box has always been the most popular, most likely the hen feels the most safe in this box. I have never had a duckling get injured (that I know of) from the fall. I have read that in the wild nests have been found close to 200 feet up. I will also note that I have never noticed the Wood hen helping the ducklings leave the nest boxes. Most times she calls them out of the box within 24 hours from the hatch. By this time they have been clearly imprinted by the mother and you can see them begin to perk up and leave as soon as she calls.
Years ago I was watching the monitor as they left and noticed one did not make the climb to leave. Hours later the duckling was still in the nest and that time I removed the duckling and dropped it from the opening into the grass below...........I too had read the suggestion that Wood ducks must go through a series of beginning events which included the drop. The mother had taken her ducklings to the other end of the pen, I left the pen after helping the duckling out. The next morning I did find one duckling that had died, my guess is that it is the one that I had helped.
I know there are breeders that have successfully incubated Wood ducklings without having to drop them as the theory suggests but I will say that getting them to eat correctly is also a challenge. My best success (when I have taken them a few days after hatching) has been keeping them with domestic ducklings around the same age, they seem to teach the Woodies on what to do.
I never incubate the Wood or Mandarin eggs, the mother does a far better job than I could. Once they leave the nest she leads them to both the water and food.
A little long winded in the reply to your question, but I believe it is just a theory that they need "the drop."
giffy
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