Here are the Cliff Notes of the situation...
Had a pair of Pekins... the drake unexpectedly died (cause unknown)... the hen, who had not started laying again since going broody in spring, began laying again. I let the eggs accumulate, hoping that she would go broody. At 15 eggs, she did. She was set up in a secure pen, since her spring nest was raided shortly before the hatch date. Day 2 of setting, 3 of the eggs were gone, goo on the remaining eggs, and she abandoned the nest. One of the RIR hens went broody about the same time, so I cleaned up the soiled duck eggs and swapped them with the chicken eggs last night. The Red hen is still on them. The plan is to candle them this Friday(day 6) to see if they're even fertile/viable.
First question: They were not set on for most of a (warm) day... after being set on for 2 days - is that likely to cause a problem? Second question: Assuming they are ok, are there any special precautions to take with a not-a-duck hen setting on duck eggs?? Do they need misted with water or anything?
Had a pair of Pekins... the drake unexpectedly died (cause unknown)... the hen, who had not started laying again since going broody in spring, began laying again. I let the eggs accumulate, hoping that she would go broody. At 15 eggs, she did. She was set up in a secure pen, since her spring nest was raided shortly before the hatch date. Day 2 of setting, 3 of the eggs were gone, goo on the remaining eggs, and she abandoned the nest. One of the RIR hens went broody about the same time, so I cleaned up the soiled duck eggs and swapped them with the chicken eggs last night. The Red hen is still on them. The plan is to candle them this Friday(day 6) to see if they're even fertile/viable.
First question: They were not set on for most of a (warm) day... after being set on for 2 days - is that likely to cause a problem? Second question: Assuming they are ok, are there any special precautions to take with a not-a-duck hen setting on duck eggs?? Do they need misted with water or anything?
