Newbie Here

[quackiemama]

Awwww they are adorable. I have a rouen that look very similar. My female is pretty anti-social with me unless I have treats. But Leonard is a lover! You can see my dog was pretty intrigued with ducklings too. I had her out to watch them so I could clean out their brooder that day. That was in the spring.

 

[WVduckchick]

Beautiful pair you have there!! And Welcome to BYC!!

Not all hens want to brood. Sometimes leaving the eggs will entice them to sit, but if she hasn't yet, she just isn't in the mood yet. Not sure where you are located, but ducklings in winter can do ok, but I'd wait until spring to try to entice her to brood. So enjoy the eggs! Duck eggs make the best cakes and brownies!

If you want her to sit - you can continue to leave some eggs, and maybe she will decide to sit. Just always have a few fresh ones on hand inside, to swap out the ones outside. You can mark the eggs daily, or every few days. Leave the older ones until she decides to sit (wait till she spends overnight sleeping on the eggs), then swap out those old ones with the freshest ones. If she's your only hen, then 30 eggs would include several that are over a week old, and would be less viable. The freshest eggs will have the best chance of survival.

On the swirled eggs -- duck eggs are naturally swirled. The drake's penis is corkscrew shaped, and the duck's passageway is also a corkscrew, so when the eggs come out, they look swirly. Nothing wrong with that! And most duck eggs are much thicker than chicken eggs, in general. I agree with an "all flock" feed without so much calcium as layer feed, but it won't hurt the drakes on occasion. If you still have some, you can finish it off before you switch.

Best of luck with your beautiful pair!!

 

[quackiemama]

Beautiful pair you have there!! And Welcome to BYC!!

Not all hens want to brood. Sometimes leaving the eggs will entice them to sit, but if she hasn't yet, she just isn't in the mood yet. Not sure where you are located, but ducklings in winter can do ok, but I'd wait until spring to try to entice her to brood. So enjoy the eggs! Duck eggs make the best cakes and brownies!

If you want her to sit - you can continue to leave some eggs, and maybe she will decide to sit. Just always have a few fresh ones on hand inside, to swap out the ones outside. You can mark the eggs daily, or every few days. Leave the older ones until she decides to sit (wait till she spends overnight sleeping on the eggs), then swap out those old ones with the freshest ones. If she's your only hen, then 30 eggs would include several that are over a week old, and would be less viable. The freshest eggs will have the best chance of survival.

On the swirled eggs -- duck eggs are naturally swirled. The drake's penis is corkscrew shaped, and the duck's passageway is also a corkscrew, so when the eggs come out, they look swirly. Nothing wrong with that! And most duck eggs are much thicker than chicken eggs, in general. I agree with an "all flock" feed without so much calcium as layer feed, but it won't hurt the drakes on occasion. If you still have some, you can finish it off before you switch.

Best of luck with your beautiful pair!!

 

[lomine]

The distinctive double eye stripe on the ducklings and larger size of the adults means you have Rouens, not Mallards. That might help explain why your hen is laying so well and why they aren't flying away.

An added bonus of switching to an all flock type food is that they will have more niacin. Though it's critical with growing ducklings, it's also important for adult ducks. The higher protein level is good, too.

 

[Ratchnick]

The distinctive double eye stripe on the ducklings and larger size of the adults means you have Rouens, not Mallards. That might help explain why your hen is laying so well and why they aren't flying away.



An added bonus of switching to an all flock type food is that they will have more niacin. Though it's critical with growing ducklings, it's also important for adult ducks. The higher protein level is good, too.

This is an important distinction because actual mallards are federaly regulated and required to be marked. I have found that Rouens come in shades of grey, some are massive birds, and my dad has some that actually fly a little.

 

[AlexandElizasmom]

Awwww they are adorable. I have a rouen that look very similar. My female is pretty anti-social with me unless I have treats. But Leonard is a lover! You can see my dog was pretty intrigued with ducklings too. I had her out to watch them so I could clean out their brooder that day. That was in the spring.

Awesome pics!!! Thank you for sharing!

 

[AlexandElizasmom]

Beautiful pair you have there!! And Welcome to BYC!!

Not all hens want to brood. Sometimes leaving the eggs will entice them to sit, but if she hasn't yet, she just isn't in the mood yet. Not sure where you are located, but ducklings in winter can do ok, but I'd wait until spring to try to entice her to brood. So enjoy the eggs! Duck eggs make the best cakes and brownies!

If you want her to sit - you can continue to leave some eggs, and maybe she will decide to sit. Just always have a few fresh ones on hand inside, to swap out the ones outside. You can mark the eggs daily, or every few days. Leave the older ones until she decides to sit (wait till she spends overnight sleeping on the eggs), then swap out those old ones with the freshest ones. If she's your only hen, then 30 eggs would include several that are over a week old, and would be less viable. The freshest eggs will have the best chance of survival.

On the swirled eggs -- duck eggs are naturally swirled. The drake's penis is corkscrew shaped, and the duck's passageway is also a corkscrew, so when the eggs come out, they look swirly. Nothing wrong with that! And most duck eggs are much thicker than chicken eggs, in general. I agree with an "all flock" feed without so much calcium as layer feed, but it won't hurt the drakes on occasion. If you still have some, you can finish it off before you switch.

Best of luck with your beautiful pair!!

I think I am going to be making some cheesecakes with the eggs! 2 ducks are enough, so if she doesn't want to brood, I am ok with that

 

[AlexandElizasmom]

This is an important distinction because actual mallards are federaly regulated and required to be marked. I have found that Rouens come in shades of grey, some are massive birds, and my dad has some that actually fly a little.

OMG!!! You are right! I knew something was off with them because they wouldn't fly higher than 3ft off the ground and the egg laying was insane. TSC sold them as Mallards- LOL. I am finding that they really don't know much about ducks. I went there today for organic flock feed and they kept telling me the organic layer is just as good They don't have the organic flock, so hopefully I can find some on line.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If you have a feed store besides TSC they might carry All flock.

 

[AlexandElizasmom]

If you have a feed store besides TSC they might carry All flock.

I just looked on line and I can't even find organic flock feed- just the non organic