Old fashioned Broody thread for ducks 2013 edition

[Miss Lydia]

no I guess I know the answer!

I'll wait some and see for my own piece of mind

I probably would too, how many more do you have ready to hatch?

 

[DaytonDuckMom]

Not very good news at all. I covered the crate and the biatchy (meanies!) got their heads right in under the cover and began to fight through the crate!! In the meantime, Daisy is fully abandoned. She just walks all over the eggs and when she lays down she lays off of them. She may get one or two under her but not on purpose.

I checked a few eggs last night and the babies were dead. I would imagine from the cold night. They were the 2 cold eggs I pulled. I gotta tell ya...I think i'm as done as Daisy. This past few months has been one great lesson after another. I'm grateful for them.....but pretty burned out. I'm going after the remainders today as a friend of mine who has a broody Muscovy said she would try to put the good eggs under her and see if she will take. It's my last effort at keeping these eggs to hatch.

I find it simply amazing. The whole system. The way they behave, the poop, the eating patterns.....the mood swings. It's like I don't even have the same 3 hens anymore. They don't even act like they know who I am and before broody they would all 3 follow me everywhere. I don't know.

Maybe I will get me a Muscovy hen and drake and start all over!!

Because i'm as crazy as you all are!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Not very good news at all. I covered the crate and the biatchy (meanies!) got their heads right in under the cover and began to fight through the crate!! In the meantime, Daisy is fully abandoned. She just walks all over the eggs and when she lays down she lays off of them. She may get one or two under her but not on purpose.

I checked a few eggs last night and the babies were dead. I would imagine from the cold night. They were the 2 cold eggs I pulled. I gotta tell ya...I think i'm as done as Daisy. This past few months has been one great lesson after another. I'm grateful for them.....but pretty burned out. I'm going after the remainders today as a friend of mine who has a broody Muscovy said she would try to put the good eggs under her and see if she will take. It's my last effort at keeping these eggs to hatch.

I find it simply amazing. The whole system. The way they behave, the poop, the eating patterns.....the mood swings. It's like I don't even have the same 3 hens anymore. They don't even act like they know who I am and before broody they would all 3 follow me everywhere. I don't know.

Maybe I will get me a Muscovy hen and drake and start all over!!

Because i'm as crazy as you all are!!

I am sorry about the eggs, and the experience hasn't been a good one either, Hopefully the rest will hatch under the Muscovy, these girls do go through some strange times during brooding and you just never know who's going to be a great broody or mother for that matter, When the laying mating hatching season is over your girls will get back to normal. 2year ago one of my Scovy girls went broody and was a great brooder, but when the ducklings started hatching [during the night] she killed one and was on her way to kill another when I found the poor thing outside of her nest with bite marks on it's head so I had to take the duckling and raise it myself, last year she was first to go broody again, I was determined to take all the eggs away as they stated hatching, she was an awesome mama , hard to figure them out. Let us know what happens with the eggs, and enjoy those new ducklings. How are they doing.?

 

[keirys]

A lil update I had to take the 3 ducklings away. Mama rejected one of them so I went ahead to took the 3 new ones away. I am okay with it at least she's still taking care of the other 2. I really didn't want to deal with having ducklings in the house but o well.. They are really cute. They are coming with me to chicken stock tomorrow lol......

 

[marie000]

update from me: we still haven't seen any trace of the missing mom and ducklings. I'm afraid she's probably not coming back. I keep going outside every time I hear peeping, but it's just the older ducklings.
We have found two of the missing chicks, dead. The other 28 are nowhere to be seen. The dead chicks we fond near the road, quite far from the coop. So I think it might have been a cat or a dog. A wild animal would probably have gone towards the woods instead of towards houses and roads.

 

[Miss Lydia]

update from me: we still haven't seen any trace of the missing mom and ducklings. I'm afraid she's probably not coming back. I keep going outside every time I hear peeping, but it's just the older ducklings.
We have found two of the missing chicks, dead. The other 28 are nowhere to be seen. The dead chicks we fond near the road, quite far from the coop. So I think it might have been a cat or a dog. A wild animal would probably have gone towards the woods instead of towards houses and roads.

That's too bad, Working on securing your coop and run needs to be top priority now as I'm sure you know, what ever got that free meal will most likely come back. So sorry this happened

 

[DaytonDuckMom]

I am sorry about the eggs, and the experience hasn't been a good one either, Hopefully the rest will hatch under the Muscovy, these girls do go through some strange times during brooding and you just never know who's going to be a great broody or mother for that matter, When the laying mating hatching season is over your girls will get back to normal. 2year ago one of my Scovy girls went broody and was a great brooder, but when the ducklings started hatching [during the night] she killed one and was on her way to kill another when I found the poor thing outside of her nest with bite marks on it's head so I had to take the duckling and raise it myself, last year she was first to go broody again, I was determined to take all the eggs away as they stated hatching, she was an awesome mama , hard to figure them out. Let us know what happens with the eggs, and enjoy those new ducklings. How are they doing.?

The 2 babies are growing like weeds! Very attached to daddy, who by the way is in a full on moult. Poor thing..he's a hot mess!

All the eggs but one are dead. They were all dead when I candled to take to the scovy. Just wasn't meant to be. I left the one and it looks like she is sitting on it. Though, she is only sitting 'around' it. It is getting enough heat. I check it throughout the day.

Women. LOL

 

[Miss Lydia]

The 2 babies are growing like weeds! Very attached to daddy, who by the way is in a full on moult. Poor thing..he's a hot mess!

All the eggs but one are dead. They were all dead when I candled to take to the scovy. Just wasn't meant to be. I left the one and it looks like she is sitting on it. Though, she is only sitting 'around' it. It is getting enough heat. I check it throughout the day.

Women. LOL

Thanks for posting update, happy to hear about your 2 lil ones doing so well be sure to post some pics. and so sorry about the other eggs, hopefully she'll hatch this one.

When is hatch day?

 

[Peeko]

Update on our MSAs:

4 of 6 eggs hatched on day 28. The last one to hatch was having seizures through its first day, but pulled out of it this afternoon. I came home with nutritional yeast, thinking it may help, but it looks like food and time was all it needed! Now I can't tell any of them apart. Here's a couple very fuzzy webcam pictures.

Sitting in the food while mom eats.



Right now, the debate at our house is whether we let dad sleep in with them, like he is right now. We're afraid he might be too rough with the ducklings. But he sure is lonely, always calling for his family. He's taken to standing watch near them whenever he can and defending the brooder.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Update on our MSAs:

4 of 6 eggs hatched on day 28. The last one to hatch was having seizures through its first day, but pulled out of it this afternoon. I came home with nutritional yeast, thinking it may help, but it looks like food and time was all it needed! Now I can't tell any of them apart. Here's a couple very fuzzy webcam pictures.

Sitting in the food while mom eats.



Right now, the debate at our house is whether we let dad sleep in with them, like he is right now. We're afraid he might be too rough with the ducklings. But he sure is lonely, always calling for his family. He's taken to standing watch near them whenever he can and defending the brooder.

My drake would miss his girl but he can and has been rough on the lil ones when they get to close so having them confined with him probably wouldn't be a good idea, but you know your drake the best. Congrats on the hatch and I would still go ahead with the brewers yeast added to their feed till 10 weeks old. especially if one was already showing symptoms of neurological issues. They sure are cute.