Swedish hen; new to raising ducks and need some questions answered.

[1chicken4ducks]

Hey everyone. Recently we got a male mallard and I female, however the lady did not know the breed. She said that she had ordered two pekins, but obviously it didn't turn out like that. After looking at a ton of pics of ducks, it would seem that the female is a blue Swedish hen. She has just began to lay and has laid one egg per day for the past 6 days. My questions are: will she continue to lay for the whole year (on exception to molting); is there something special that she will need to feel safe to continue laying; will the mallard fertilize her eggs, and if so, when; my chicken lives amongst them is that a problem? The pen is a former chicken coop that has access to an outdoor area and there is a pool out there for them. I have noticed that half of the time she had laid outside and the other half she has laid right next to my hen's egg (literally the eggs are touching; my chicken didn't figure out that she could fly so she lays on the ground). Is that because she doesn't have a true place to lay? We do want to keep one batch of ducklings but if she does lay every day how many will she keep to nest on?
Sorry for all of the questions, it's difficult to find info on the Swedish ducks! I just want for them to be healthy and happy and not feel like they aren't in their natural environment.
Thanks for any input!

 

[Amiga]

Welcome!

Take a look at the Stickies index at the top of the Duck Forum. In there is all kinds of information.

Be careful with a drake and a chicken. If he tries to mate with her - this sounds rough but it's true - it could kill her because their mating equipment is mismatched.

It is nice to read how much you care about them all. Very encouraging!

Blue Swedish are to the heaviest layers - I don't remember the statistics, - but you'll get a good number of eggs. I hope a Blue Swedish person will come in and talk about what you can expect.

You do need to provide a secure place for all of them. Predators find ducks and they are brutal and determined. They need very secure housing especially at night. Some will reach right through a chicken wire fence and grab the ducks, who sleep on the ground and are very susceptible to predators.

Ducks tend to lay where they feel like laying. And at first, our ducks seemed surprised when an egg came out.

Please keep in touch - there is much to share and we all learn from each other.

 

[1chicken4ducks]

Thanks for the response! The coop that they sleep in is secure, it has four walls, one being for the door, the other is only a half wall with chicken wire as a "window". The outside area is enclosed with chicken wire as well. Thanks for the advise with the drake and the chicken. The chicken has been laying for about two months now and we introduced the new ducks about three weeks ago and haven't seen any problems but I will keep that in mind most definitely.

 

[Amiga]

Would you as a favor to me consider covering the chicken wire on the house with half inch metal hardware cloth?

I worry that a determined critter could get past that.

I think I have seen too many real-life horror stories. Or maybe just enough.