Question about my duck and her nest.

[Angel9_999]

I have a female duck that i found she had a nest of about 10 eggs. I really didn’t want more ducks so I took the eggs but candled them right away and found 3 had veining and tiny movement. So I gave the 3 back to her. She continued to sit on those for a day but my other ducks were keeping her from eating and drinking so I moved her and her nest into one of my other pens with another one of my females. These two are inseparable. Well I moved her eggs and she sat on them some but not like I think she should. Now when I check on her she’s sitting next to the eggs but not on them. I’m worried she’s decided to not be a mom. I will find her not on her nest but if I get near the pen she’ll run over to her nest and play around in the straw. Earlier today my other gal with her was sitting on half. Any idea if it’s too late for these eggs and if moving the eggs made her not really want them. I adopted the two about 4 months ago so not sure if either have had babies before. This is my first time with this and I’m very worried about the little embryos and that they’ve gotten too cold. Any help or advice would really help me a lot. Thank you.

 

[WVduckchick]

Ducks amaze me. I removed eggs from a broody Call duck's nest after we had sub-zero temperatures overnight. I put them in my incubator and 15 of 18 developed. Some developed faster and I suspect my hatch will be a little staggered because apparently she had pre-incubated some of them. We're on day 17 today.
So really, you don't have anything to lose by putting them in your incubator and seeing what happens, right? Just do it!

 

[WVduckchick]

If the incubator has a fan, you'll want it around 99.5-100°, if it doesn't have a fan then around 101-102° is a good range. This is measured at the top height of the eggs.
If you are laying them down, remember they will need to be rolled/turned at least 3 times a day. Try running it without adding any water. Your humidity will still probably read 20-30% which is fine. If it drops lower than that, then maybe add a wet sponge in a small bowl.
Candle whenever you want (candle-aholic here!) but I would expect within 3-5 days you should see some veins if it is going to happen.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sounds like she may have given up, I'd candle again and see if there is still movement if there is you'll either have to incubate yourself or leave them and hope she'll commit to them.

What breed ?

 

[Angel9_999]

She did give up on them and I ended up candling late last night and found they had the blood ring so they didn’t survive. I’ve been doing some reading and found that it said that poor nutrition can lead to embryos dying. I found before I moved the two gals into my other pen that the other 3 I have weren’t really letting them eat or drink much. Figured that out with the way they were eating and drinking once on their own. So I believe that’s why the embryos didn’t make it.
Would she try to lay new eggs and nest again this year?

 

[Angel9_999]

Thank you so much for the advice.

 

[Miss Lydia]

CR I use fake eggs to train my ducks to lay inside when they begin laying it does work for here. Even works on my female goose.

I have also moved many broody ducks just have to know when to move and know your own ducks.

There are no set in stone rules when it comes to poultry.

 

[WVduckchick]

I've also found that removing eggs from ducks before they are ready to commit to sitting will make them want to "replace" the eggs and start laying again. Wait until she is fully committed before removing any. Mark them every few days, and once she has decided to sit all night, then after a couple days, it will be safe to remove the oldest eggs. They partially incubate each day, to keep each egg on track.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It does look like something is going on but if they don't brood them they won't continue on to hatch. Unless you use an incubator.

@WVduckchick have a look at the candling pics hopefully her eyes are better than mine.

 

[WVduckchick]

Some do look like they may have had some development, but I really can't tell for sure. I would expect veins to be more prominent at this point, and your light looks bright enough. Are there others that you are sure are growing?