Muscovy hen on a nest..need advice

[Floridacharm]

I have a Muscovy hen setting on a nest on my porch, under bathroom window. I'm a Newbie at all this, I just helped her when she got attacked by an unknown animal. I fed her and gave her water, because she had an injured wing & leg. After all this, she decides to lay and set a nest on my porch! Now that the eggs are about ten days away from hatching, I'm having problems with raccoons wanting to eat on the porch as well..which makes me and the hen very nervous.I'm afraid the raccoons Will attack her and the eggs or chicks once hatched. I don't want to fench in anything. What can I do?? Someone suggested mothballs, but I think that would hurt the duck as well. Please help ....anyone in the group.

 

[DuckyGaze]

Oh my.. that is a real dilema. If you do not want to fence her in, I can only suggest you move her and her nest very carefully into a safe area. If you have a dog house or cage you can keep her in there for the hatching. My muskovy had her nest in an old dog house that we put a door on and each morning we opened the door but made sure to close it securely at night. She only left her nest for about 10 minutes each day. We made sure she had plenty of clean water and duck feed in the dog house.

If you use a cage, be sure to cover it and I would also put something on the sides at night to give her a secure feeling.

Hope this helps and I do hope you can find some way of helping her. Please let me know what happens.