My Indian Runner is sitting on her nest!!!

[sourland]

I've moved a couple but none that were nesting outside just in someone else's stall. I would never let one of my ducks keep a nest outside though.

I can understand that if you can 'duplicate' the nest site it might work, but in general I think that waterfowl bond as strongly to the nest site as to the eggs.

I've been watching a nesting Canada goose on a neighbors pond. She was nesting between the road and the pond right at the pond edge. 3 days ago the neighbor ran over and destroyed her nest with his lawn mower.

As of today she is still standing over the nest site rearranging her nest - sad.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC.

Glad you joined us!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I can understand that if you can 'duplicate' the nest site it might work, but in general I think that waterfowl bond as strongly to the nest site as to the eggs.

I've been watching a nesting Canada goose on a neighbors pond. She was nesting between the road and the pond right at the pond edge. 3 days ago the neighbor ran over and destroyed her nest with his lawn mower.

As of today she is still standing over the nest site rearranging her nest - sad.

That is pitiful did the neighbor not know the nest was there?

My Muscovy's usually once they begin to brood are pretty good about letting me move them if i have to, I have even moved them more than once. But they go from a large dog crate to a smaller one at end of brooding and then to the small coop where i keep them to hatch and have their time with their ducklings. so they still have their same nest just moved around a bit. I've never had one get up and leave their eggs once started. Heck I have some brooding now and they don't even have any real eggs. But when the Canada geese lost their nest at the river from flooding they stayed around for about a week afterward like they just couldn't figure it out. That was heartbreaking to watch too.

 

[gander007]

Hi everyone . My names Aimi and I live in England. Last year I hatched for the first time 3 Indian Runner ducks - I haven't owned any ducks previously so was very pleased when my little babies hatched!

I have two girls and one boy, they roam free around our garden during the day live in a duck house at night. All the ducks are let out at 6am ish in the morning.

Normally I have two duck eggs in the duck house which I remove every morning because I was led to believe that Indian Runners don't hatch their own eggs. Well this morning around 10.30am I could only find two if my ducks so I went on the hunt for the third one, when I found her she was in a bush sat on 4 eggs!! I really don't know what to do now? If there's 4 eggs she must have been going to lay them once she's let out at 6am in the morning for the last 4 days and now I'm worried that because I've been putting her in her house at night then at least one of the eggs has been left for three nights without my duck sitting on it. If I do leave her out over night she's at risk of the fox. The weather here at the moment is around 21degrees during the day and 8degrees at night.

Can someone please advise if these eggs have any change of hatching and if so what should I do? Do I move her best somewhere safe or wo that make her abandon them?

Thanks in advance

When you 8 degrees that is Celsiuses if that is the case you are good to go as 0 is freezing out in the open but a Indiain Runner is exlecent at hatching ess's as my little gal some 15 years ago hatched out 18 little ones ot one time and they only get better as time goes on ....

 

[aimiburkitt]

Oh my gosh sourland that is awful!! Did your neighbour not know she was nesting?

So the general advise is to move the nest into the duck house and hope for the best?

I just have a couple more questions though....why would she be laying eggs in a nest and sorting on it occasionally - by occasionally I've lost her 3 or 4 times so that's where she must have been so I'm guessing that she only sits there once a day, twice at the most. Is that normal?

Also because my ducks roam around the garden 16 hours if the day and are only in their house for 8 they just share a small duck house which is just 4 walls and a roof. They don't have 'stalls' or anything so I'm guessing that's why she's decided to lay outside? For some privacy?

if I do hatch some more ducks from her eggs and she does reject them, if I raise them until they are big enough to go out with the others would they accept them into their house and group?

I would love her to sit and hatch her own babies xx

 

[Miss Lydia]

can you make a little privacy wall?

thats Peggy Sue sitting on her nest. just a scrap piece of wood nailed.


when they first start to lay they will build their cluutch before they go broody and sometimes will sit on it for a while during the day once they get the amount of eggs they are happy with then they will start sitting full time and only come off to eat drink bathe and poop. all done in fast motion with lots of chirping.

If you hatch the eggs you would introduce the ducklings to the resident flock just like you would if you had gone and gotten them from the outside. It always takes time for the flock to accept newbies but they usually do.

and since she hasn't committed 24/7 yest she may just start using where you place the eggs. Lets hope so. yes move the nest and as much material as you can.

 

[411fjb]

First time Indian Runer owner... So I wanted to ask some of you 'old timer' runner owners.... My Indian runner has been on a clutch of 16 eggs it is her first time... Friday was 28 days plus or minus a day or two... Nothing has happened yet. She has the nest in a tight spot behind the coop where I can't reach (totally fenced yard, never had a predator come in). She moves the nest every few days from the middle to a foot or so more then back again. I was able to get my hand on the nest yesterday and was able to candle one and saw movement into the air sac! So now begins the 24-48hrs of when they should hstch. But then this AM she moved the nest to the middle spot again and I can't reach... She sees me look at her daily. She comes out for food. She doesn't seem overly mean. But I'm worried that I stressed her out and since she moved them again did she arrange them in a way that's safe for them in the egg? Someone told me last night that if I try again I have to be cautious how I move the egg because I could do damage to their membrane? Ugh!
Any wise runner owners thoughts please!

 

[aimiburkitt]

Hi, I'm new to this too but I have hatched two lots of runner eggs. 4 of my own and 3 for a friend and each time they have hatched on day 25 or that night xx

 

[411fjb]

;(... If my count is right she started to really sit on May 4th so she's def over 25 days.

 

[aimiburkitt]

Have you candled the egg and compared it to photos of other candled eggs? Can you tell what day the egg is on? X