new here and wondering

[donkeywoman]

hi there... i just love this forum and have learned sooo much. my duck just hatched 12 babies. my question is , if it took 15 days to get them all layed-3 didn't hatch-why wouldn't they hatch at different times? the 1st one should be way more hatchable or ready than the last one. how does this happen??? thank you so much for any answers yall can share with me...

 

[sheila3935]

They dont start developing til she starts sitting making them warm. She will stop laying once she is sitting. Does that make sense? For example you starting gathering eggs to put in an incubator, so long as they are not at 99 degrees they will not start developing. Same as in broodies. Until she sets full time they will not start to develope. Candle the last 3 see if you can see any movement. Is it possible when she left her nest to eat and drink someone else deposited an egg? Had that happen with my chicken. I had to fininsh that little rooster in the incubator.

 

[donkeywoman]

oh! i get it!! that makes total sense, now...as for those 3, she cracked and moved them away from the box. they were really gross. now, i'm waitin' to see if the papa will try to hurt'em. i'm hopin' she'll protect'em... thank you for answering me...mell

 

[desertdarlene]

Yes, most precocial birds' eggs begin developing after the parents sets. It helps them so that they can all move away from the nesting area at once rather than having some babies running around while the mother is still waiting for other eggs to hatch.

I would watch your drake closely as domestic drakes sometimes hurt little babies. One of the biggest problems moms have in the wild is the drakes harassing her after she makes an appearance with her babies.