Not sure what to do or expect.........

[HickoryHollow]

Ok, I screwed up, and would do things differently if I could but that ship sailed. I was getting out of chickens and into ducks. I got my first ducks but hadn't moved the nest boxes down to floor level yet. Several of the ducks started a clutch. I didn't want to discourage that, so I just started letting them do their thing.

Long story short, I ended up with a pile of about 60 eggs. 7 different ducks are sitting in a group on the pile. Due to the eggs being laid over a period of time, 3 hatched a few days ago and all 7 ducks are still sitting on the pile of eggs. It is hilarious to see, but not at all the best situation.

The 3 that have hatched can be seen peeking out from under a different mother duck every time I look. Nobody seems to mind, but nobody is laying claim to them either. I put a small peep feeder and waterer next to them, but is anybody going to teach them to eat or drink? Will mother nature handle this? All of the mothers hiss and go crazy if I go near them to attempt to collect the babies.....it is like one big daycare center in there..........lol

What should I do?

 

[sourland]

I would consider moving one of the mothers and the ducklings to another location. Preferably the hen that has been setting the longest.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Main thing I'd be concerned about is the possiblity of some duck continuing to lay eggs in the nest.

 

[sourland]

Main thing I'd be concerned about is the possiblity of some duck continuing to lay eggs in the nest.

Too late for that worry this round. There are already 7 hens setting on approximately 60 eggs at varying points of incubation. In the future it would be better to arrange so that each hen had a separate nest site. In my experience communal nests result in very low % hatch rates.

 

[HickoryHollow]

Too late for that worry this round. There are already 7 hens setting on approximately 60 eggs at varying points of incubation. In the future it would be better to arrange so that each hen had a separate nest site. In my experience communal nests result in very low % hatch rates.

Oh, I know all of the above. In the future, I will have nest boxes and pull any eggs that aren't in a nest box. But like you said....too late this time. Should I just leave the ones that have already hatched with the mothers's though?