Emily_VVV
Chirping
Hi all, I just made a post asking about when to separate ducklings from their mom but I have a second issue as well.
We have a very bad problem with crows and Ravens where I live and we have no tree coverage for our flock. The grown chickens and ducks take care of themselves well and I have seen Chase Ravens out of our yard on two occasions. A raven already attacked our ducks nest before anybody even hatched. What I left out of my other post is that there were crowd and Ravens gathering on our fence and swooping over the yard so we hustled to bring EVERYONE inside, including her remaining six eggs. (Also, we don't yet have a means of separating them from the Drakes so they are a big risk as well)
So far so good. We have everyone inside of a dog pen with an open dog crate at one end. The outside is covered in cardboard and a blanket so that they feel safe and covered, and the inside is covered in towels. We put her eggs inside the dog crate on a small pile of soft towels and she took her babies inside and is sitting on them.
Obviously this is a very temporary situation. I need to go to the store to buy tarping and hay to make a more permanent brooder.
So here's my dilemma: so far, moving the eggs once was okay. Mama duck is sitting on them, everyone is happy and comfortable inside. I don't want to move the eggs a second time but I don't know if it's okay to keep mama duck inside until they hatch. I could always let her out at night to go bathe (that was her routine. Sit all day, bathe at night) but I don't think shed like that.
Is it okay to leave her inside until the other 6 hatch and then put her outside so we can care for the little ones indoors? If so, do I need to make her a better nest? I'd like to give her nice hay but ours got rained on and moldy so I didn't have any on hand this morning hence the towel situation.
Thank you in advance for any help!
We have a very bad problem with crows and Ravens where I live and we have no tree coverage for our flock. The grown chickens and ducks take care of themselves well and I have seen Chase Ravens out of our yard on two occasions. A raven already attacked our ducks nest before anybody even hatched. What I left out of my other post is that there were crowd and Ravens gathering on our fence and swooping over the yard so we hustled to bring EVERYONE inside, including her remaining six eggs. (Also, we don't yet have a means of separating them from the Drakes so they are a big risk as well)
So far so good. We have everyone inside of a dog pen with an open dog crate at one end. The outside is covered in cardboard and a blanket so that they feel safe and covered, and the inside is covered in towels. We put her eggs inside the dog crate on a small pile of soft towels and she took her babies inside and is sitting on them.
Obviously this is a very temporary situation. I need to go to the store to buy tarping and hay to make a more permanent brooder.
So here's my dilemma: so far, moving the eggs once was okay. Mama duck is sitting on them, everyone is happy and comfortable inside. I don't want to move the eggs a second time but I don't know if it's okay to keep mama duck inside until they hatch. I could always let her out at night to go bathe (that was her routine. Sit all day, bathe at night) but I don't think shed like that.
Is it okay to leave her inside until the other 6 hatch and then put her outside so we can care for the little ones indoors? If so, do I need to make her a better nest? I'd like to give her nice hay but ours got rained on and moldy so I didn't have any on hand this morning hence the towel situation.
Thank you in advance for any help!
