Nest boxes

[rgn87]

I am reading this book about raising ducks, and I read that if the ducks have nesting boxes it is easier to keep track of their eggs. Also it says if I put a fake egg in the nest it may help the duck to start to lay their eggs there. Is this true?

Also it says that drakes don't become fertile until 6 months old, which means the eggs won't be fertile, resulting in no babies. And I do so wanna see some baby ducks following their mama around. Is that true too.

Anyone who has ANY advice, tips, tricks, or answers for ducks laying and hatching eggs PLEASE respond asap.

 

[katharinad]

You should not use the first eggs from any duck to get babies out of. Some may be fertile, but they are usually not the best egg quality to start with. You should toss the first 2 weeks or eat them. That is not considering the drakes age. The drakes sperm is good as soon as the bird produces it. Now his inexperience may cause temporary in issue, and he may only favor one duck. As for him being sperm ready, that depends on the drake's breed, his genes and his feed. Even the weather can have an impact as to when he starts to produce.

 

[Becky89*]

I have nesting boxes for my duckie girls but they don't use them. They lay their eggs wherever they are at the time, unless they are in the mood to be mommies. If they decide to sit on a nest then they lay them in the very back corner of the coop where they know me and the other birds can't get close enough, thanks to the way my husband put the new guinea hen roosts.

 

[Amiga]

We are just starting to get eggs from our runners this week. A friend sent two cheese boxes which I filled with straw yesterday. This morning we had two eggs. One was in a nest, one was not. It will be interesting to see how it goes. We have eleven ducks. Storey's Guide recommends one nest box per five or six ducks if I recall correctly, so two nest boxes seems right. We shall see . . . .

By the way, I had not yet gotten around to finding a fake egg to put in the boxes.

 

[duckyfromoz]

My ducks are all laying in the nesting boxes provided now. They have been laying for about two months- and I havent found an egg out of a nest for quite a while. Some girls always use the same box- whereas other swap and change which box they use. I have some single size boxes- and others that can easily fit 2 ducks at the same time- I some times find three eggs in the larger boxes- so they are obviously fine with sharing. I always find that the boxes that have the deepest shavings and hay in them are the ones that get used the most.

 

[EileenNW]

What do you put in your nest boxes? We just got some, and my choices are straw and pine shavings. So far, my ducks prefer goat poop

but I am trying to reform them.

 

[Amiga]

I put straw in the nest boxes, shavings in the rest of their house. They love to play with straw.