Part time sitting

[billw]

A couple of our ducks have been acting like they want to sit (I think), so I have been letting them amass eggs. The problem is that they appear to be sitting on them at night, but not during the day. I assume that is going to cause a problem, right? The eggs will get warmed up at night to start developing and then chill during the day.

So, should I go back to taking the eggs for a while yet and see if they become more resolute?

 

[larkflying]

My geese did that as well -- their instinct is to keep the nest from freezing/getting too cold at night. The eggs won't start developing till they sit full time. They will keep doing that till they feel like they have enough eggs, and then they'll sit all day as well. When you notice them on the nest during the day as well as at night, that is when you start counting the days! Good luck . . . my two female geese hatched out 16 goslings, so it worked for them . . .

 

[Quackers08]

I'm no expert on this as i'm fairly new but i think as they're broody, They're just being like more maternal and protective over their eggs. How many have they got? When they get more you may find they are sitting on them briefly during the day, whether to lay or not. I dont know if this is the same for everyone so could be wrong. Hopefully someone with more experience pops up just didnt want to read and ignore

 

[PetesMom]

My muscovy is doing this, She has 9 eggs so far in the nest she built, nice and fluffed up with down lol And I usually find another egg in there each morning. She does sit on them at night but not during the day. I've heard what the above poster wrote....they will sit when they feel they have enough eggs. Sometimes it's not that many and sometimes its 20+

 

[Miss Lydia]

A couple of our ducks have been acting like they want to sit (I think), so I have been letting them amass eggs. The problem is that they appear to be sitting on them at night, but not during the day. I assume that is going to cause a problem, right? The eggs will get warmed up at night to start developing and then chill during the day.

So, should I go back to taking the eggs for a while yet and see if they become more resolute?

This is very normal for Muscovies and probably most ducks my Muscovies did the same thing before committing full time to the nest. So be patient she knows what she is doing.