Setting muscovy getting rid of bad eggs?

[Castlemaid]

Good day everyone! Just wanted to say I love this community of experienced, knowledgeable fowl people, LOL. Whenever I have a chicken or duck question, I know I can get help here, and I appreciate you all.

My question is, would a Muscovy carry a bad egg under her wing away from the nest to dispose of it? I have a young female that I suspect very strongly is sitting on eggs. I can't tell for sure, because she decided to make her nest under a shed. A big, BIG shed. So even with a flashlight, all I see is her form sitting in the middle area and can't tell if there are any eggs. She stays there all day and makes an appearance about twice a day, and during that time, her behaviour is so similar to that of a setting chicken coming off the nest to get food and water, that I'm 99% sure that she is on eggs. Plus her beak and carbuncles are a very light pink.

So this morning I was walking by the pond, and I saw her on the duck platform with an egg. This is a floating platform attached to the shore, and birds can get it directly from land. She pierced the egg, ate some of it, but then the egg rolled off into the water. She then had a little bath and went back to hide under the shed. I was curious about the egg and fished it out. Sure enough, it looks like a bad egg as far as I could see from what remained of it, considering it was in the water. The white looked slimy and coagulated, and there was a dark, dirty looking lump in the middle. I've seen my chickens sometimes hold eggs or chicks under their wings and so I wonder, would it be possible that she picked up the egg under her wing and carried it to the pond to dispose of it knowing that it was bad?

Looking forward to hearing everyone's opinion on this. Thanks!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Muscovy hens often kick bad eggs out of the nest. They can also carry one out, especially if cracked first by grabbing it in their bill. Carrying them away is good for keeping the nest clean.

 

[DukesDucks]

I have also had my Muscovy ducks discard an egg from the nest. Not sure how they know which ones are good, but I trust their judgement.

 

[Castlemaid]

Muscovy hens often kick bad eggs out of the nest. They can also carry one out, especially if cracked first by grabbing it in their bill. Carrying them away is good for keeping the nest clean.

Oh, didn’t think about her carrying the egg by her beak if it had a crack in it. That would make a lot more sense than carrying it under her wing, especially since the pond is a bit of a trek from her chosen nesting site. When I noticed her, she was working at enlarging a crack which I assumed she made, but it could very well have been an existing crack.
Here’s hoping for plenty of healthy ducklings soon.

 

[Mommaduck2021]

Just watched as momma muscovy in our yard flew off with the egg, went into the water and disposed of it, took a bath and came back and pecked out all the bad goo left over.

My question to everyone is...her eggs seem to be getting very dark. She had the eggs in an open planter with the florida sun beaming down. I would think this is a horrible spot to lay eggs, but that's where she is. How do I know if these dark eggs are bad?

She has been on them for close to 40 days and started with 15, down to 8 now.

 

[Mommaduck2021]

It's been. At least 40 days since she laid 15 eggs. She now has only 8 left. She is still sitting on them.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

In my experiences those with dark blotches are dead. At 40 days they won't hatch and could explode. I personally would carefully get rid of them.

 

[Newbie6789]

That is what our eggs looked like at 37 days. I disposed of them and broke them open to verify. All were VERY Gross and only 1 had a formed duckling. It was dead and the fluid around it gray and STINKY!!!! I wish our hen would get rid of the bad eggs . Time for her to get back to normal life. Out of 6 eggs we did get one little baby. He/she is 11 days old and fits in well with all the adult ducks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Muscovy doesn't seem to know when to quit. I have one now that is been broody on nothing for close to 2 months now.