The Broody Duck Thread for 2014

[lbrykowski2011]

Day 3 my Muscovy is sitting on her nest, yeah

What day should i expect her to start hatching? She shares a pen with dad and 2 female khaki campbell's. None of them seem to be bothering her, they free range in the pond during the day and come in at night. Should I separate them or as long as they are leaving her be, it's ok? She's in a doghouse, so i really can't see her well, I checked a few days ago and she had 16 eggs and she's been in ever since. If i can't get to candle the eggs, is it ok to just leave all the eggs be? Thanks for any advice, so nervous

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

I think its perfectly fine to leave her @lbrykowski2011 She might appreciate a little privacy from the others tho. Somebody in my flock (who? I never found out) wrecked up several of my KC's eggs toward the end of her brood last year That was very sad, and I wonder if she'd had the privacy divider if that would have helped. Maybe. Anyway, Scovies should brood 35 days, right? (No Scovies here, so I could be wrong) Count the 1st day she sat as Day One and start counting! Congrats!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Day 3 my Muscovy is sitting on her nest, yeah

What day should i expect her to start hatching? She shares a pen with dad and 2 female khaki campbell's. None of them seem to be bothering her, they free range in the pond during the day and come in at night. Should I separate them or as long as they are leaving her be, it's ok? She's in a doghouse, so i really can't see her well, I checked a few days ago and she had 16 eggs and she's been in ever since. If i can't get to candle the eggs, is it ok to just leave all the eggs be? Thanks for any advice, so nervous

so the count down is from day one of her brood which would have been yesterday so she has 33 days left. you have plenty of time to make her and duckling a safe place to be for a couple of weeks or make the rest a place to be for a couple of weeks, I really don't like adults around my mama and ducklings gives them time to form a strong bond and ducklings a chance to get their legs under them and be able to have enough strength to stay out of the adults way. What ever you decide keep it where everyone can see each other helps transition them into the flock. Congrats, look forward to seeing the ducklings. Unless you start to smell something strong no need to candle whats going to hatch will hatch regardless

 

[BC-NZ]

Ducklings just hatched they won't eat for 24 hrs so that will be sometime today, put food and water close by so mama doesn't have to go far she will probably stay on the rest of the eggs at least 2-3 days hopefully that will give you time to get the bator set up, I had one of my Scovy's hatch and stay on her nest 3 days after first duckling hatched with food and water close. I'd leave them to the last minute.

So far so good, we put food and water close by her of which see seemed most grateful for and penned he off from the others which also means she actually can't go far from her nest at all. We're keeping watch and hopefully with fingers crossed she'll hold out till Wednesday when the incubator should arrive but so far she seems to be sitting tight

 

[Miss Lydia]

So far so good, we put food and water close by her of which see seemed most grateful for and penned he off from the others which also means she actually can't go far from her nest at all. We're keeping watch and hopefully with fingers crossed she'll hold out till Wednesday when the incubator should arrive but so far she seems to be sitting tight

Keep us updated. How many have hatched so far?

 

[Kimarie411]

My broody is sitting on 6 eggs right now! This is the first time she's done this. She isn't even a year old yet. This is only day 1 so we'll see if she can stick it out.

 

[lbrykowski2011]

They start early for sure. Mine are not a yr old yet either. One of my chickens wandered over and stuck her head in the dog house (so nosey they are) and mama came out with her head stretched and down, almost like a lil bulldozer and ran the chicken off. She was making a lil noise and feathers all ruffled, so I know she wasn't happy. She is back on her nest, but I definitely today need to get some chicken wire or something and divide the run so she has her own privacy and no one can bother her. She came out for a lil while last night when I brought out some lettuce and mealworms, she sure was hungry.

35 days, really?

 

[Miss Lydia]

They start early for sure. Mine are not a yr old yet either. One of my chickens wandered over and stuck her head in the dog house (so nosey they are) and mama came out with her head stretched and down, almost like a lil bulldozer and ran the chicken off. She was making a lil noise and feathers all ruffled, so I know she wasn't happy. She is back on her nest, but I definitely today need to get some chicken wire or something and divide the run so she has her own privacy and no one can bother her. She came out for a lil while last night when I brought out some lettuce and mealworms, she sure was hungry.

35 days, really?

For Muscovy's yes.

My broody is sitting on 6 eggs right now! This is the first time she's done this. She isn't even a year old yet. This is only day 1 so we'll see if she can stick it out.

 

[Kimarie411]

We made a couple places for the ducks to go to feel safe. She decided those places weren't good enough and went into our shed where we do the laundry and laid 6 eggs on an old tap in the corner. Didn't bother to actuall make a nest. She pulled out some feathers that's it. Didn't take any straw or anything. She laid 6 eggs and hasn't come out yet. I put some barriers so my 3 y/o doesn't try to get nosey. We do our laundry in there so hopefully us doing laundry doesn't deter her from sitting. We had 2 eggs in an incubator. 1 hatched and 1 is still internally pipped. It will be great to watch her hatch her own and see how she does it.

 

[BC-NZ]

Keep us updated. How many have hatched so far?

5 out of 5 fertile eggs ( 1 was not fertile and we threw it out a while ago), there's 9 left out of 12 KC eggs, the other 3 were not fertile and also thrown out but I haven't been able to candle them all for a week or more now so not sure if all 9 are still going as some ended up kicked out of the nest for up to an hour when the others were hatching