Oodles of babies...hopefully!

[MamaLynn23]

I have a very mixed flock. I have eight or nine RIRs, three PR, one Speckled Sussex, two Silkies(rooster and hen), one Rooster of probable game mix, two Khaki Campbells(drake and hen) three Rouens(1 drake and 2hens) one Pekin hen, one Pekin mix hen, four Cayuga mixes(1 drake and 3 hens, all of which are probably from my Pekin hen), and 3 turkey hens, one SB and two Narragansett. I also have four Blue PR pullets, three Cochins, one White Brahma, one Appenzeller Spitzhauben and one slash Silkie of undetermined sex.

Anyway, I don't keep any of them separate so all my hatchlings will more than likely be barnyard mixes. Right now my Khaki hen is setting on a mix of duck and chicken eggs. She just started sitting on one of our community nests one day and I left her be. Last time I looked there were around 10 eggs. I noticed soon after that I was gathering less eggs from the other nests and was wondering where all the hens were laying. Well today while letting everyone out of the coop for the day I noticed my Pekin sitting right next to the Khaki presumably laying an egg. Later I popped my head in and noticed that there was an entirely separate nest with like 6-8 eggs that I could see right next to the Khaki in the excess hay. When I came back with the gathering basket she had positioned herself over ALL the eggs, hers and the extra nest! I don't know how that's going to work, but I will have LOTS of babies in a few weeks if it does. I am going close up the nest today so that no one else lays anymore for her to take possession of.

I also discovered our Spanish Black turkey sitting on a clutch behind the barn in a corner of the covered area where we store wood and tin scraps, about a week and a half ago. She currently has 6 eggs so we may have a little flock of turkeys soon too!

I will definitely post pictures and soon as we get any hatchlings!

 

[sourland]

Have a plan B in mind. It is very likely that at least the initial setting duck hen will leave the nest within 24 to 36 hours after the first egg hatches. You may need an incubator. I have had great luck with chicken hens raising ducklings but very poor luck with ducks raising chicks. Good luck. Do you have an incubator?

 

[MamaLynn23]

Have a plan B in mind. It is very likely that at least the initial setting duck hen will leave the nest within 24 to 36 hours after the first egg hatches. You may need an incubator. I have had great luck with chicken hens raising ducklings but very poor luck with ducks raising chicks. Good luck. Do you have an incubator?

Yes, I have an incubator. We have had varying success with it, but that is my plan B. We have had a chicken hen hatch duck eggs for us but we weren't sure how she'd do raising them so we put them inside with a brooding warmer. They are now grown up and just starting to lay! (they are the Cayuga mixes I mentioned in the post) I had kinda figured that any chicks that hatch would need to be put in the brooder like we did with the 4 ducklings last year. I am learning as we go and this site has been a wealth of support and info!

 

[MamaLynn23]

I have a question. Do ducks usually kick the bad eggs out of the nest as they sit? The last duck we had go broody seemed to be doing just that, she started with 10 eggs and ended up with none. I kept finding egg shells in her nesting area, and at the end I found one dead, very small but fully formed duckling on the ground near the nest. This time around is a different hen but I see two egg shells on the ground near the nest. One is duck, one is chicken. Is this normal?

 

[casportpony]

Sometimes the do eject bad eggs, sometimes they eject good eggs.