Population explosion countdown...

[Mom 2em All]

If the comment was meant for Caprice Acres (Donna), I think that her signature line says it all!

 

[Caprice_Acres]

Good to hear your ladies are broody, Mom2emAll!

I would bet that the not-so-broody hen isn't quite ready to set. Normally they will amass at LEAST 12 eggs (most of mine like to hit around 18 or so at least), So she just may not be there yet. Also, if she was laying in the other hen's nest (communal nests are common with 'scovies) she may be behind and still going broody... leave the eggs there, she may still set. Alternately, she could have decided to move her nest spot - I had one do that midway through lay, once.

Well, turns out I have 8 eggs under the hen I thought had 6. The other hen has I think 18, the one in the barn has 10... and I took 13 eggs from the broody with a huge nest and put them in the incubator along with my goose eggs (except for 2 that were just too dirty)... leaving her with a whopping 21 eggs. Today another muscovy hen dug out a nest in the coop, so I bedded it with nice clean straw and put a cover over it, to keep any future eggs clean - the one that was in there were GROSS because the nest was under the chicken perches.

As for how I will care for them - easy! Well fed, free ranged, and well cared for until they are sold or butchered. I usually have NO trouble selling all the ducklings I can produce at 4.00 apeice. I can offer a nice variety of colors, so that helps Otherwise, any extras - we usually keep a few for ourselves anyways - go in our freezer. I almost always I keep more than what I 'need' and sell some as juveniles. Adults can be harder to sell, but if they don't sell as planned there is always the freezer.

If it turns out supply is exceeding demand, I have no trouble with picking up future eggs and selling them for eating eggs.

Oh, and trust me - if I didn't sell any ducks, with my approximately 15 adult hens I would have WAY more than 100 muscovies within a few years. Probably more like several hundreds, considering each hen will hatch about 2 nests of 20 eggs per SEASON... So potentially I guess I could have about 600 ducklings just this year. If they sell, I'll hatch - if they don't, I'll collect eggs instead.

 

[Mom 2em All]

She had seventeen- I candled them when I noticed she was out swimming and forgetting to go sit. Thats how I ended up with five in the incubator. She sat wonderfully for the two weeks, but then decided it was more fun to wander the yard and swim- I threw out the infertile eggs, took 5, left her with four. If she hatches those, I will give her what hatches in my incubator. Maybe she will be better next time around.

 

[Caprice_Acres]

Weird! I've never had one do that before. Any drakes chasing her around? Sometimes if there's a drake harassing her, she'll break from the nest.

 

[Bleenie]

My Zoli is hatching hers today! She started with 10 but is down to 7 now. I removed a stinky one but i don't know what happened to the other 2, she is nested outside the coop though. I'm excited but glad I'm not having hundreds of babies like last year!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I had 2 ducklings hatch under a golden laced Wyandotte the other day, 2 Silkies sitting on duck eggs and a Muscovy on eggs.
And I just got in my order of Saxony ducklings from Holderreads.

I feel just ducky!

 

[Mom 2em All]

Quote:
nope- she tucked away in an awesome location- and I only have one drake who has the company of the non-broody.

I will just chalk it up to first-time motherhood. Im actually curious to see how she responds to the eggs under her, and the other broody's babies. The funny part about her is- I will watch her spend extended time away from her nest, swimming and foraging, etc...but when I walk out there to where she is at, she starts chirping and puts all her feathers back and runs to her nest. its like she is saying, "okay, okay...Im going ..."

 

[Caprice_Acres]

See, the chirping and protecting the nest sounds like a bird that's ALMOST broody... weird that she quit setting! I would probably mark those eggs and use them as 'dummy' eggs. That way if they're old, you'll know to remove them from the nest once she starts laying again, but they'll help her lay in the good spot again next time if she sees eggs there. Hope she does better next time! I wonder if it's the springtime hormones raging in her, making her all confused.

 

[Mom 2em All]

She's locked down tight now. She has about a week to go. Weird duck.

The other one that hasnt left her nest at all- well, i expected hers to hatch two days ago- so I went looking. She tried to remove my hands from my body.

(honestly, those bites hurt).
I held one egg up to my ear and heard peeping and tapping. So I put it back and left her alone.

I guess I wait.

 

[Caprice_Acres]

Be sure to post pics! If I remember correctly you just got ladies from me, right? Which means, I would like to see pictures of the male, too.