So ducks don’t nest huh?

[Jbently28]

Perhaps you're going to have a broody mama on your hands shortly. Mine typically will lay wherever until almost ready to go broody. Then eggs will pile up in a nest for a few weeks before setting.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Speaking of broody mamas How is your broody doing getting close? @Jbently28

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

I only have one that makes a nest; in the straw bedding or outside in a muddy ditch, and she carefully arranges one straw or one plant-branch at a time to create the perfect nest. Then the others often use it too and ruin it with their lack of finesse.
And then she starts one on a different place.
And so on and so on..

She is the only one that is half runner half wild duck. I wonder if that is the reason that she is more adapted to healthy duck behaviour. I think she probably will breed future eggs out as only one. The others probably won't nest/sit on their eggs, and she is due to half-breed not allowed to hatch eggs, so I guess she is going to be a surrogate mother.

Would you mind explaining why she is not allowed to hatch eggs? That made me curious.

 

[Jbently28]

Speaking of broody mamas How is your broody doing getting close? @Jbently28

She's still sitting and I'm still impatiently waiting lol. I've candled the few eggs that I could reach a couple of times over the past few weeks. All seem to be developing nicely. She isn't coming out as often ti eat anymore. This morning she didn't come out at all when I went out to feed everyone. I peaked in on her to make sure she was ok. She was very persistent that she wasn't coming off the nest, so I hoping she'll be introducing us to some little ducklings soon.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I bet she will.

 

[quackiemama]

She's still sitting and I'm still impatiently waiting lol. I've candled the few eggs that I could reach a couple of times over the past few weeks. All seem to be developing nicely. She isn't coming out as often ti eat anymore. This morning she didn't come out at all when I went out to feed everyone. I peaked in on her to make sure she was ok. She was very persistent that she wasn't coming off the nest, so I hoping she'll be introducing us to some little ducklings soon.

How exciting!

 

[Jbently28]

How exciting!

Yes I'm super excited! This is her first time going broody. She is a WH and dad is a KC. I've been super anxious since I have no idea what day they are on. But when I candled them last, about a week and a half ago, they looked like they were around day 14-16. I'm pretty sure at this point she has some wiggling going on underneath her. She was also making very strange sound this morning. It was almost like a whistle like chirp.

 

[quackiemama]

Keep us posted, that is awesome

 

[Loopeend]

Would you mind explaining why she is not allowed to hatch eggs? That made me curious.

She is half Indian runner, half wild duck. Sold to us as 'pure breed'. We breed Indian runners. She is really smart, fearless, stable, the leader of the group and a good leader, has tidy duck habbits (like nesting, NOT killing ducklings out of insecurity or whatever, she is selfsecure and has no aggresive streak), is not afraid of humans at all; she has a proven possitive effect on the group. She makes others less affraid of us, objects, hurdles, neighbourhood cats, etc. She tones down anxiety in the group. She is the one that gets others to go into the pond too when they think they can not step over a rock to get into the pond. So we have kept here in the hope she will keep teaching these good characteristics to the rest/future ducklings. But since she is not a full runner; she will not have biological offspring herself.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Got it. Thanks for the explanation and she sounds like a really cool.duck