Muscovy laying

[Kporter]

I have 5 Muscovy females and 1 drake. They have been mating enthusiastically.
This morning I found 1 egg in the middle of the barn stall. Is that it? All the ducks are in the pond and the egg feels cold. Is it rejected? It looks fine. What do I do with it?

 

[Kessel23]

Muscovy hens like to pick a spot to lay their eggs, they will lay in that spot until they have reached between 10 - 20 eggs, sometimes more and sometimes a little less, once they have completed their clutch they will go broody and hatch the eggs. The muscovy is a perching duck and will nest in tree hollows in the wild. Domestic Muscovy hens will nest in chicken nesting boxes off the ground, in the corners of the coop, in other shelters in the coop, or in the tall grass or brush outside the coop. That egg may have just slipped out on accident. If your Muscovies are free range the others could already be laying their clutches in the brush or somewhere else.

You should try to find out if the other hens are laying somewhere, if they are, try to find the nest, you do not want them going broody outside. You can do whatever you want with the egg, it is fine in the cold as long as it has not started to develop. If you want the hen to set it then I would recommend waiting for one to start building its clutch and just add the egg to the clutch. Or, if one has already started their clutch then add it to that. The egg should be good for over a week as long as you do not wash it. I like to use dog or cat cages/crates for the hens to lay in.

 

[Kporter]

Thank you for replying. I was so confused. This is a first for me and I’m very excited for ducklings!
None of the other hens are laying yet. I moved the egg into one of the nests built in the corner of her stall. Is this OK? It was laying right in the middle. How long does it take for her to lay enough eggs to sit on? I guess I’ve always assumed they just lay them all in one go

 

[Miss Lydia]

Moving the nest will encourage them to lay there you did great!

 

[Kporter]

Phew!

 

[jofanx]

You can eat it unless you wish to hatch them. I'm going to have my muscovy hens brood their own this year, but to prevent too many eggs, I'm going to use fake eggs to get one or more broody first, then stick the number of eggs I want hatched under them after. I keep them locked in their coop until around 11am, and most if not all will be done laying by then. They get wooden crates as nests.