The Broody Duck Thread for 2014

[Miss Lydia]

My little girl is finally Broody!! She is almost a year old. It's great to watch her being so concerned for all 10 of her eggs. Just moved her into the duck house. I hope all goes well.

Beautiful duck, all the best for some ducklings!!

 

[ringaring]

If you want good maternal instincts you'll be looking for a chicken hen not a duck hen!
Ducks are far more relaxed about their young; one of mine gets very aggressive when she has babies - she's not bothered about me handling her young (she left them asleep on my hand for an hour on day 1 while she went foraging..), she's only bothered about me touching anything she thinks is food!
As long as they're not constantly standing on or attacking their babies - then you have a "good" duck mum

Well then I have one 'good' Mom so far - one out of four. That's not too bad. Funny that the good Mom is the runt of the flock and has weak legs. Even her babies were dwarfing her at 6 weeks old but she sticks with them. I try to give all the Moms a chance to prove themselves but with each clutch, I am getting quicker to intervene. I have Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks which I read often. It's the little things like ducklings as stepping stones and how long a duck would be off the nest before it's considered abandoned, I need to learn about. My last setting duck returned to her nest after 1 hour of foraging and the latest new Mom returned to her 10 day old ducklings after 2 hours of foraging. I turned the heat lamp back on thinking she might not come back - it's was a cold morning. Nothing replaces experience so thank God all of you are here for me to learn from. Thanks!

 

[121zues]

Your lad doesn't sound too bad to be fair. Over time I imagine things will settle down and he'll have to chase less and less - whether he likes it or not!

I hope so lol

 

[smonkeySK]

Ducks really are some of the worst parents; my crispy is one of these so called good mums and her most endearing trait has been giving up her favourite spot in the duck house for her babies now they're too big to squeeze under her!
Oh and she's very good at randomly laying down the law with all the other birds when there's absolutely no need to!
Beyond that she's been next to useless 3 days post hatch!
IIt's bad that the defining feature of a good duck mum is the ability to not kill her own babies thru stupidity and/or apathy!

Still, you've gotta love em

 

[ringaring]

Ducks really are some of the worst parents; my crispy is one of these so called good mums and her most endearing trait has been giving up her favourite spot in the duck house for her babies now they're too big to squeeze under her!
Oh and she's very good at randomly laying down the law with all the other birds when there's absolutely no need to!
Beyond that she's been next to useless 3 days post hatch!
IIt's bad that the defining feature of a good duck mum is the ability to not kill her own babies thru stupidity and/or apathy!

Still, you've gotta love em

and we do

 

[roseschickies]

Anyone have any or recommend where to get peking duck hatching eggs, my girl went broody and is hissing and wagging her tail at me, not sure how many infertile eggs she has or where they all came from all of a sudden , but I wouldn't mind letting her hatch a few.

 

[MarysAviaryHeartAndZoo]

Hello!

So my little hen has been sitting on her eggs for a little over two weeks. I have never had a broody hen and I'm not quite sure what to do when the eggs begin to hatch.
Butterscotch is sharing the duck house with two of my other girls.
- what should I provide when they start hatching?
- should I help the ducklings out of the egg if they take more than a day of trying?
- will butterscotch need clean/ new nesting material?
- advise?
Thanks in advance!!

e

 

[121zues]

I went outside today and my little broody was out in the pen fussing so I decided to check her nest while she was out. She always covers her eggs when she leaves but they weren't covered this time and one of the eggs were missing I have no idea what happened to it I searched high and low for it and didn't even see any sign of it no shell or anything. I looked for snakes no clue what happened to my egg

 

[lbrykowski2011]

I went outside today and my little broody was out in the pen fussing so I decided to check her nest while she was out. She always covers her eggs when she leaves but they weren't covered this time and one of the eggs were missing

I have no idea what happened to it I searched high and low for it and didn't even see any sign of it no shell or anything. I looked for snakes no clue what happened to my egg

Maybe she didn't cover them up because it's so warm out and she knows they will be ok. Not sure on the missing egg.

 

[121zues]

Maybe she didn't cover them up because it's so warm out and she knows they will be ok. Not sure on the missing egg.

I don't know either but I lost another one today went and checked on them and one had a hairline Crack and stunk to high heaven now I'm down to 9