Old fashioned Broody thread for ducks 2013 edition

[keirys]

Who ruffled your feathers

.....

 

[Miss Lydia]

Who ruffled your feathers

.....

You forgot to turn up the sound.

 

[EdenCamp]

Whoooooooo let the Duuuuuuuuucks Out!?! Huufff Huufff Huuffff

 

[Snownoir]

Haa haaa... I do enjoy this thread.

The Final Countdown!!!!!

(for one of my girls on 15 eggs) She's not on lockdown yet, but I expect her to be within the week.

One of my girls that went to a friend's, she went broody on 8 eggs.

Congrats on recent hatches and broods.

 

[DaytonDuckMom]

Haa haaa... I do enjoy this thread.

The Final Countdown!!!!!

(for one of my girls on 15 eggs) She's not on lockdown yet, but I expect her to be within the week.

One of my girls that went to a friend's, she went broody on 8 eggs.

Congrats on recent hatches and broods.

What is lockdown? I've got 2 broody....almost 15 days now........but they stay in. They can get out but they only get up to eat and drink..they don't even pond anymore. I think they've locked themselves down. LOL....We're building bigger today.....dont know how many babies we'll have out of this double hatch.

Good luck on your hatch!

 

[DawnB]

Here's my little Alice. She's not quite 3yrs, but this is her first sitting. I'm not sure how many eggs she has...will they all be in one layer or will she stack them? Her nest is fairly thick. I know she has at least 3 (that I can see when she gets up)...but I thought she had 5-6...so, just not sure.

Since this is her first she's been allowed to sit on (we got her last fall)...is there anything special that I should be on the lookout for? She'll get up for 10-20min a day right now to eat and bathe.

I'm not candling or anything mainly because getting into the back of that cage to her nest is a pain. So, I figure...I'll just let her be and let nature take it's course.

Now, once she hatches out this batch (hopefully), will she begin to lay again or do they only lay up until they go broody once a season?

Thanks!

 

[Snownoir]

What is lockdown? I've got 2 broody....almost 15 days now........but they stay in. They can get out but they only get up to eat and drink..they don't even pond anymore. I think they've locked themselves down. LOL....We're building bigger today.....dont know how many babies we'll have out of this double hatch.

Good luck on your hatch!

I call it lockdown, its a term used in incubation where you don't open it anymore the last few days, or turn. My girl who's hatched so far, didn't leave the nest at all the final few days before pipping began. I'm assuming (and this could be incorrect) that all hens will do this when the ducklings/chicks begin to pip, when they're making all sorts of noises in their eggs to synchronize.

Thanks for the well wishes!

What kind of ducks are sitting right now for you? How many days total are you watching for?

Here's my little Alice. She's not quite 3yrs, but this is her first sitting. I'm not sure how many eggs she has...will they all be in one layer or will she stack them? Her nest is fairly thick. I know she has at least 3 (that I can see when she gets up)...but I thought she had 5-6...so, just not sure.

Since this is her first she's been allowed to sit on (we got her last fall)...is there anything special that I should be on the lookout for? She'll get up for 10-20min a day right now to eat and bathe.

I'm not candling or anything mainly because getting into the back of that cage to her nest is a pain. So, I figure...I'll just let her be and let nature take it's course.

Now, once she hatches out this batch (hopefully), will she begin to lay again or do they only lay up until they go broody once a season?

Thanks!

Alice is pretty, she looks like one of my girls. From the 4 nests I've been able to look at, they all have laid them out to 1 layer. Now, my girls haven't gone over 18 eggs either, so I don't know what happens when the number of eggs exceeds their body size.

How old is she? Regardless of if its her first clutch, I wouldn't worry about anything. Nature and instinct is pretty amazing. The first clutch for all my girls, they gave up on. But now they're all on their second (one on her third) and they've got it. But messing with them is really unnecessary, especially with the muscovy breed. Daily exercise is preferred, but if she's not feeling it that day, I wouldn't worry or force her. That may actually encourage her to either give up or not want to leave even more, because of your intervention. Place the food and drinking water close to her if she isn't wanting to get off for more than 2 days.

She may give you a few more clutches before winter. Depends on the girl, her age, the region, and how soon the ducklings leave.

 

[EdenCamp]

Just wanted to add they can nest as much as 3-4 times a season. Depends.
Sure if you take thier eggs or babies away they'd go through the cycle on the more frequent side.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And if after this hatch you don't want anymore ducklings you just take the eggs away daily.

 

[farmer boy]

i forget what day im on with my broody duck but my female duck goes outside like every 2 days and she stays out for a bit to forage and then she will go back a little later .. im not sure if something got 2 of her eggs or she just tossed them out .. mine had 20 at first now theres 18