Need duck expert advice

[TJAnonymous]

I have 4 ducks currently (1 drake, 3 females) who are 2 yrs old. The duck hens have tried for 2 years to brood eggs with no success... I currently have 1 Pekin who has been sitting on eggs since May. She FINALLY hatched out a baby duckling about a week ago...but she still wouldn't get off the nest. A few days later, the new duckling disappeared. I thought a predator got it which confused me because it would have had to happen in the daytime when I was out by the coops. Bummed that she lost her baby, I gave her 4 more eggs to sit on as a consolation. Needless to say, I found the baby duckling today. It was dead and squashed in the corner of the playhouse where the mama duck hen has her nest. Also, on the day the duckling went missing, I went ahead and ordered 4 baby ducklings from an online breeder. I was initially hoping to give them to the mama duck hen and see if she would adopt them.


Now that I've found the baby dead in her nest, I'm not sure I should give her the new babies when they arrive next week. And what to do about the 4 eggs she is sitting on? I'm wondering if the baby died because she refused to leave the nest? I never saw it eat or drink even though I brought food and water to the playhouse since she wouldn't leave it.

What would you do?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Rarely will a duck accept ducklings that aren't hers you can try it but I'd get her outside then place the ducklings in her nest and stand and what her response. She may attack. Does she come out to eat bathe and wash? If not she has to be worn down health-wise. If she doesn't accept these ducklings you need to take the eggs and get her out of where she is brooding destroy the nest too so she can't go back to it. How long has she been on the eggs you gave her? They maybe viable.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Rarely will a duck accept ducklings that aren't hers you can try it but I'd get her outside then place the ducklings in her nest and stand and what her response. She may attack. Does she come out to eat bathe and wash? If not she has to be worn down health-wise. If she doesn't accept these ducklings you need to take the eggs and get her out of where she is brooding destroy the nest too so she can't go back to it. How long has she been on the eggs you gave her? They maybe viable.

Thank you for responding! I appreciate your feedback!

There was a game hen who was sitting on the eggs inside my duck coop for at least a few days, maybe a week? They are duck eggs...but a broody is gonna brood. Of course I can candle the eggs to see if they are viable.

The mama duck hen rarely ever leaves her nest... Even to bathe, eat, or drink. She has lost several eggs to snakes. We've got a bad snake problem this year... Caught and killed at least 3 in the last 30 days. I've put down snake repellent so I'm hoping that is a deterrent. Anyway, I have a brooder I can put the baby ducklings in. Should I put her in it with them (away from her current nest) and see what happens? Should I just break her from being broody altogether and hand raise the babies myself? They would be accepted more readily if she raised them but I don't want them to die from her attacking them or neglect.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If you take her away from her nest before you try to get her to accept them she def won't accept them. If her eggs are viable I wouldn't give her the ducklings You brood and raise them until time to go out with the ducks. I sure know about broodies I have 4 hens and 2 Muscovy going at it and I have taken all eggs so they are sitting on nothing.
I can't imagine your ducks is not in very good shape from sitting so long and not coming out much.
You can try and get her to accept the ducklings then move her and them to a safer place away from snakes because they will kill and eat the ducklings.

 

[TJAnonymous]

If you take her away from her nest before you try to get her to accept them she def won't accept them. If her eggs are viable I wouldn't give her the ducklings You brood and raise them until time to go out with the ducks. I sure know about broodies I have 4 hens and 2 Muscovy going at it and I have taken all eggs so they are sitting on nothing.
I can't imagine your ducks is not in very good shape from sitting so long and not coming out much.
You can try and get her to accept the ducklings then move her and them to a safer place away from snakes because they will kill and eat the ducklings.

I'll try to get a picture of her, if that helps. She doesn't look terribly dirty or anything... And I moved food and water this week into the area she is in because she wasn't taking the duckling to eat or drink. She does eat if she can reach it from her nest. The water is placed so she has to get up and go to it but it's still within a foot and a half of her nest.

Anyway, it sounds like I should just hand raise the new ducklings and wait to see if her eggs are viable. I do have an incubator. So the next question is whether to let her keep sitting or break her broodiness because she has been at it so long and just put the eggs in the incubator (if they are actively growing)....?

 

[Miss Lydia]

If mine I would get her out and destroy her nest if eggs are viable put them in your bator. Bless her heart she really needs to get over it before she declines even more.
I'm letting my girls run it's course they come out many times a day so they aren't sitting continually they are taking breaks. Of course it's your decision to make.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Just a quick update... This morning the mama duck did leave her nest BRIEFLY to eat and drink. I'm going to let her stay on her eggs a little longer but I will probably hand raise the new ducklings

 

[Miss Lydia]

Keep us updated!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Update - this morning I heard mama duck carrying on. I ran out to the coop to find, as expected, another snake invading her nest. After running the snake off (it got away under my Silkie coop! ), I went back to look closer at her nest. Only ONE duck egg. I gave her FOUR just a few days ago. That's the last straw.... I took her lone egg to the incubator and destroyed her nest. Even completely knocked down the playhouse where she built it. Hopefully it will break her broodiness. I candled the egg to confirm it is alive. No clue how old it is... Somewhere between 1 - 2 weeks, I'm guessing? The new ducklings are expected to arrive in the mail on Wednesday. I hope they will accept this lone egg once it hatches?

 

[TJAnonymous]

I'm watching poor mama duck from the window. After taking a long bath in the kiddie pool, she keeps going through the remains of the playhouse and the spot where her nest used to be. Poor thing....she looks very confused.