Sad :(

[lovinlife]

On August 27, I put six duck eggs under a broody hen. She sat on them diligently and then two days ago kicked four of the eggs out of the nest. I held them up to a flashlight and three of them were black inside and had one end that the light shined through. They were obviously rotten. The fourth one was more clear, the light could shine through it and I could see a small dark area. Yesterday, she kicked another one out and the sixth egg had disappeared. The fifth one was also clear, but got dark after a while.

Not sure what's going on. I'm fairly certain I have a drake, his quack is definitely a boy rasp compared to the females' squawking. I checked some eggs I cracked open to see if there was a halo, but it wasn't blantantly obvious like my chicken eggs. I've never seen the ducks mate.

I'd really like to get some eggs to hatch, but maybe my drake is shooting blanks.... or isn't interested in the girls....

Any thoughts, suggestions, tips???

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

How old are your ducks? What breeds? What is your male female ratio? What kind of hen were you useing and how old is she?

 

[cracking up]

The three that were black with light at one end could have been developing normally. That's what duck eggs look like at that stage.

 

[lovinlife]

Thanks for responding. I'm not sure how old the ducks are, they were given to me. I'm pretty sure they are young, but they've been laying for me since May (at least three months).

Not sure on the breeds, but the girls are probably a blue swedish and a buff something. The boy is solid black with a greenish tint to his wing feathes. There are just the three of them. The girls lay eggs daily. One of them lays a slightly smaller egg, but I'm not sure which one it is.

If the eggs were developing normally, why would my hen kick them out of the nest?

 

[lovinlife]

I have another broody hen, should I try again?

 

[jdywntr]

Are your ducks not going broody? You may want to give them a chance but depending on your location, it may be a bit late in the season to have ducklings hatching. There are no guarantees when you use a foster hen. I tried with pipped eggs after the duck left the nest (after 4 days of hatching) and the ducklings died under the broody hen (humidity issue).

 

[lovinlife]

My ducks are not broody at all. They lay their eggs before dawn and then walk away.

I don't have an incubator other than a few broody hens. I've heard of hens hatching out duck eggs and I thought I'd give it a try. The hen I used sat on the eggs diligently and they were covered under her. No reason to think she wasn't doing her job.

I'm in central Texas. It won't get cold here until December and it won't freeze until January or February. I would think there would be plenty of time for young ducks to mature before the cold sets in.

Thoughts and advice?

 

[becky3086]

Got a picture that shows the black ones tail?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
sure go for it. lots of folks use ducks to hatch chicks and chickens to hatch ducks.

 

[lovinlife]

Another shot of the black one that shows his tail.

He has no drake feather at this point. He does have the raspy drake quack, very different from the girls' quack. The previous owners said they saw him mating the girls, but I haven't witnessed it.

I'd like to hatch out some chicks, but it doesn't appear that it'll happen this season. I cracked open three eggs and there is no sign that they are fertile. Two didn't even have a white spot, and definitely no halo. Bummer.