she stopped

KrazyKZ08

Chirping
8 Years
Aug 2, 2011
121
3
89
Brevard, FL
my girl started laying an egg about 2 weeks ago and was laying one every day since, but for the past few days she has stopped...i noticed she dug herself a nest in the outdoor cage i had her and the male in, but an opossum broke into their cage that night and i had to bring them inside until i can build them a more secure cage i have been working on. but i keep getting interrupted because of work and the storm that just passed. she seems to be stressed out and i saw them mate for the first time (that ive seen) yesterday. so i dont know if she might be egg bound or if she will lay fertilized eggs. i give her crushed oyster shells and a higher protein diet now so i hope there is nothing wrong with her
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My guess is she's stressed, and that will stop a duck from laying for a while. Gently check her belly and look at her vent. I doubt she is eggbound but don't rule that out. A nice long swim in lukewarm water can help.
 
How many eggs does she have? What breed is she?
She may have laid out and ready to set. My Call Ducks lay from 6 to 15 eggs and then set.
The fact He tried to breed her is not unusual.
Put her back with the eggs and see what happens in the next few days. If she built the nest other than were she laid move the eggs.
Ducks are very hardy and all the moving and change may have stressed her out.

I keep mine in a 30' X 30' pen with nests under a shed 24/7 I started with 2 and have hatched at least 30 in the first 2 years I now have a trio for breeding and sell the rest.
Good food, a dry place to get and an inclosed space opened to the south or west for the winter is all they rally need.

If you are just keeping a few a kiddie pool is good for the bathing. They can live without it but they really love getting wet. We got a lot of rain yesterday and the geese and ducks were in it all day.!
 
yes she definitely seems stressed
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hopefully i can finish the new enclosure soon. she is a 6 month old pekin and until yesterday i havent seen any signs of them mating so i took all her eggs
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the male is only about 4 months old so i thought he was too young to mate.
 
My bella was so broody this Summer. Many of her eggs would get cracked due to our 2 boys running around playing alpha duck. It finally dawnwed on me that the girls needed a nesting box. I put some wood chips in a large rubber bowl from TSC & it made Bella & her sister very happy! Maybe try something like that & she'll relax because she has a place of her own to sit & lay eggs. Even if they don't have a house yet. Good Luck:)
 
i finished the new enclosure today! i will post some pictures tomorrow
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they are happy and safe duckies again! hopefully she will feel better
 
You will have mush better luck next spring.. They are a little young. She has just started to lay. You got plenty of time to get everything together. I use igloo dog houses for my nests. leave plenty of hay and grasses laying around . They like to build their own nests. They will also scatter eggs around not to worry. She will gather them up later. I've watched mine roll eggs all over the place and eventually put it in the nest.
Also after she does set "and you will know" about 15 or so days in She will cull bad eggs. If she throws it out at this time trow it away.
 
well thats a relief! last night they slept in the new enclosure and she dug out another nest and laid an egg, but it was cracked...the shell also seemed much thinner than usual and i have been adding crushed oyster shells to her food. it might have been from the stress or maybe she tried sitting on it? ive always feared they might crack inside her
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... other than that she is loving the extra space:

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thats Harley in there. Petrie (the girl) is right next to me when i took this picture lol
 
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