My runner duck has just hatched 3 ducklings but left the other eggs

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quiver

quiver

Hatching
5 Years
Jul 27, 2014
3
0
7
Surrey, uk
Hi, my duck Quiver was sitting on 9 eggs, 3 have hatched and she has come off the other 6 to so to look after the 3 who are now over 24 hours.

I think they have been fertilised and added to the nest as the other two ducks laid in the coop near her and she kept adding them to the pile.

She has been so good, but I noticed 3 were away from her so I did a quick candle and one is alive in there, with a beak in the air space, but the egg is cold.

The question is shall I leave her to do her own thing and let the other eggs go cold or shall I start up the incubator or shall I pop them under my broody bantam that has started sitting on her eggs (not fertilised) for the last day or so.

Would love some quick answers as not sure how long I can leave it until they get too cold.
Thanks!
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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If she has abandoned them and they are cold, I would slip them under another broody. I doubt she will come back at this point. If she is not back on them in 30 mins, I would put them under a broody.

You can also post this in our Ducks section for more duck expert advice...https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/42/ducks

Good luck and keep us posted!
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

X2 either slip the babies under another broody or get a brooder ready and raise them yourself. It's always smart to have a broody or brooder back up in case the mama abandons her babies.

Good luck and welcome to the community!:)
 
Thanks for the quick replies, she is still sitting near the eggs but not on top of them, shall I still get them out?
 
Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. You've been given some a good link by TwoCrows and some good advice by other BYC members. I'm a chicken person and don't know much about ducks (although I've had a few), but I have to admit that ducklings are the ultimate in cute. Good luck with your duck eggs.
 
Well, I took 3 eggs and popped under the broody chicken, one hatched but took 48 hours to do so helped by the chicken to remove the membrane that was starting to dry around the duck, but the pecking was a little too rough and the duckling had a wound on her tummy. She survived a day tweeting away but was just too weak and sadly died. After a week I discarded the other 2 eggs under the broody chicken. Sadly it didn't work for us!
My broody chicken is sitting on an empty nest at the moment! Not sure what to do with her!
 

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