Nesting Behavior

[Mashallaharabia]

I have eight Muscovy hens and one drake. All but one are about ten months old. Three or four are laying, and giving us five or six eggs each day. Now there is a feather lined nest in the corner with one of the pied ducks sitting on eleven eggs. So far, so normal, BUT: husband says he has seen another duck sitting on the same nest ( I haven't), and today I saw a third duck turning the eggs and adding feathers to the nest. The three are one dark chocolate with a white head, one chocolate and white pied ( the usual sitter) and one light chocolate/cappuchino, so there's no mistaking them. There were originally ten eggs, but there was a single egg in a nearby nest that we hadn't collected yet, and one of the ducks rolled that egg into the nest with the others. It's possible that those eleven eggs are not all from the same female. I'm curious as to whether they will do communal nest duty, or just what is going on here. This is my first time with breeding ducks instead of just getting day-olds and butchering them in the fall. I plan to keep these nine as a breeding/garden bug squad/free range egg producing flock.

 

[Mashallaharabia]

There are several nests in that duckhouse, but we're taking eggs from the others and leaving that one nest to see how well they can raise young. Sweet corn quiche with Swiss cheese and duck eggs, OMG. They are laying so well I'm starting to wonder if it would be possible to have a business marketing duck eggs.