The Broody Duck Thread for 2014

[Miss Lydia]

Is broodiness genetic?

Well I have Muscovy's who are about the broodiest ducks around so I'd say it is in their DNA to be broody but alot of domestic ducks that have been bred for egg production have had the broodiness bred out of them. Still there is always the exception to the rule and a domestic duck that wasn't made to brood will. Mallards and Muscovy's are seasonal layers and haven't been tampered with like other domestic breeds. So their desire to brood is very strong.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi all,

I am new to BYC and to owning ducks. I have three Muscovy hens and one Drake. They are actively breeding and have laid eggs. The first eggs of this nest were laid about 13 days ago. How long will eggs last in the nest?

I know mama duck sits them through the night and into the afternoon. But shell get off the nest for a few hours in the late afternoon. There are now about 18 eggs in one nest and another nest has 6. Shes also pulling out her feathers and putting them in the nests.

The weather has gone back and forth between in the 60s to in the 30s during the day and in the 30s at night.

Are my eggs still good? Will they hatch?

Thanks in advance for any answers

Welcome to BYC!

If she is pulling out down I'd say she is close to going broody you can go in and mark the dirtiest eggs and once she begins to sit 24/7 take those out or just leave them all and see how many hatch, are you wanting a large amount of ducklings? if not them remove as many eggs as you want after she has begin to sit they won't start developing until she is sitting on the nest 24/7 and only getting up to eat drink swim and poop. She won't care how many eggs she has once she is in full broody mode as long as she has some. You have to think about what your plans are for the ducklings once their hatched if all of them do hatch. As long as the eggs haven't frozen and cracked they should be okay and are usually still good for incubation up until day 10 so the oldest may not hatch or have a lower percent of hatching. Keep us updated.

 

[mamaduck1616]

Welcome to BYC!

If she is pulling out down I'd say she is close to going broody you can go in and mark the dirtiest eggs and once she begins to sit 24/7 take those out or just leave them all and see how many hatch, are you wanting a large amount of ducklings? if not them remove as many eggs as you want after she has begin to sit they won't start developing until she is sitting on the nest 24/7 and only getting up to eat drink swim and poop. She won't care how many eggs she has once she is in full broody mode as long as she has some. You have to think about what your plans are for the ducklings once their hatched if all of them do hatch. As long as the eggs haven't frozen and cracked they should be okay and are usually still good for incubation up until day 10 so the oldest may not hatch or have a lower percent of hatching. Keep us updated.

She covers the eggs with hay and they all seem to be intact. I also noticed the last two days there was originally one nest then two then back to one and now this morning there's two nests again. Two of my three hens are alternating sitting. Will one eventually take over? Mama duck gets aggressive toward me when I go in to check the eggs. If shes outside shell run in to see what im doing. Daisy (whose also sitting the eggs) hasnt seemed to really care if I look in there whether shes on the eggs or not. I will mark the newest eggs and see how it goes. Thank you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

She covers the eggs with hay and they all seem to be intact. I also noticed the last two days there was originally one nest then two then back to one and now this morning there's two nests again. Two of my three hens are alternating sitting. Will one eventually take over? Mama duck gets aggressive toward me when I go in to check the eggs. If shes outside shell run in to see what im doing. Daisy (whose also sitting the eggs) hasnt seemed to really care if I look in there whether shes on the eggs or not. I will mark the newest eggs and see how it goes. Thank you!

I have some pretty aggressive ducks[Muscovy] if I want to look under one and some pretty passive ones too so it is the personality of the duck. although my most aggressive duck is my sweetest when she isn't broody. so you just never know but they are fierce protectors of their nests. They just can't stand up to any predators because a duck bite even though it hurts us isn't going to do much to a predator with teeth. Keep us updated.

 

[Kathy farms]

Just used couple of days to read through the whole thread from the very first to the last one and I must say it's great. Very educative and tons of valuable information. One of my Muscovy started sitting about a week now so I'm excited about that as it is going to be the very first hatch. The other girls keep laying but none is showing any sign of broodiness and I'm worried the eggs (15 today) may go bad.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Just used couple of days to read through the whole thread from the very first to the last one and I must say it's great. Very educative and tons of valuable information. One of my Muscovy started sitting about a week now so I'm excited about that as it is going to be the very first hatch. The other girls keep laying but none is showing any sign of broodiness and I'm worried the eggs (15 today) may go bad.

We have to trust their instincts, they will brood when the hormones get going in that direction. there is plenty of time take out the oldest eggs and let them build up a new nest or leave the ones in there and mark them all and take out the nastiest ones once someone begins to brood. or buy a bator and take over for them. You have Scovy's your going to have a broody just give them time.

 

[DuckPan]

how do i get one of my khaki campbells go broody?

 

[Mrs.H]

how do i get one of my khaki campbells go broody?

I've read they rarely go broody

 

[mamaduck1616]

I have some pretty aggressive ducks[Muscovy] if I want to look under one and some pretty passive ones too so it is the personality of the duck. although my most aggressive duck is my sweetest when she isn't broody. so you just never know but they are fierce protectors of their nests. They just can't stand up to any predators because a duck bite even though it hurts us isn't going to do much to a predator with teeth. Keep us updated.

Ok so I have a bunch of questions! Mama duck is sitting and hasn't left the nest. There are two nests literally side by side. Mama and Daisy (whos not sitting 24/7) are alternating nests. Yesterday mama was on the front nest all day now today shes on the back nest. Will the eggs develop this way?

Daisy stays in the house from 6:30am -11:30am then is out most of the day shell occasionally check the nest but doesnt stay on it. What do I do? I was going to Try to remove some eggs from the back nest because Im pretty certain that nest has the oldest eggs (about 14 days old). When will I be able to candle them to see if theres actually something in the eggs? Is today considered day two? If I do remove eggs that seem unfertile can I put all fertile eggs in one nest and Mama will stay the only sitter? Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks,
Ashley

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Ok so I have a bunch of questions! Mama duck is sitting and hasn't left the nest. There are two nests literally side by side. Mama and Daisy (whos not sitting 24/7) are alternating nests. Yesterday mama was on the front nest all day now today shes on the back nest. Will the eggs develop this way?

Daisy stays in the house from 6:30am -11:30am then is out most of the day shell occasionally check the nest but doesnt stay on it. What do I do? I was going to Try to remove some eggs from the back nest because Im pretty certain that nest has the oldest eggs (about 14 days old). When will I be able to candle them to see if theres actually something in the eggs? Is today considered day two? If I do remove eggs that seem unfertile can I put all fertile eggs in one nest and Mama will stay the only sitter? Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks,
Ashley

You might have a successful hatch, but in my experience, when other mom's start showing up and dropping in their eggs randomly, all the eggs won't be developing at the same rate. But bonded girls do try to share nests. Candle at one week to see fertility, then later at about day 18-24, then leave the eggs alone. Less handling is better. Oh, right now your girl is still "counting" and arranging her eggs the way she wants them. I think that means she just is not fully committed yet.