The Duck Thread

[Krazyquilts]

Yesterday, my poor Cuddles was having a hard time laying her egg. She was trying hard, but nothing was coming out!! Then, I gave her a nice soak in water, and comforted her. I gave her lots of rest, water, and love. I was scared she might become egg bound the next day. But, thank goodness. Look what I found! I just gotta love my Saxony duck!

Wow! What an egg! I hope she got some extra treats for making that! Could you describe how you knew she was having trouble laying? My ducks have been laying eggs for a little while now, but I worry that I won't know what symptoms to look for if one of them has trouble. Also, pretty please, a photo of your duck? I keep thinking Saxonys would be fun to add to my flock ...

 

[NathanZee]

We are hatching duckz eggs for the first time, and trying to figure out what the right humidity is, any suggestions?

 

[Krazyquilts]

Here are some pictures of our 1 week old ducklings, Welsh Harlequins. This was their first swim and they seemed to love it. I will fill it a bit deeper next time, they did a lot of "diving." The other pictures are as they are getting ready to sleep. One kept falling asleep, then her head would fall to one side and she would snap back awake. I could watch them for hours.

What wonderful pictures! I loved watching my ducklings dive in the bathtub and swim underwater - so cute! I saw somewhere on here where somebody had a clear plastic (?) tub for their ducklings and they could watch their little webbies paddling under the water too! I must get one like that the next time we have ducklings. And the "head nodding, them snapping up" thing was always so sweet to watch! Ours liked to rest their heads on the bars of their brooder to avoid the "head drop."

 

[Krazyquilts]

We have 8 'lings!!!! She still has two eggs under her that I'm unsure about with candling.

How cute!!!!! What breed?

 

[Krazyquilts]

My little Mallard girl Amarra litteraly is out smarting me. I can't figure out where she and her eggs hide during half the day. Im super worried something will get her. Anyone have a top 10 list or something for where sassy ducks hide eggs. We have woods, creek, field, tall grass, brush, pond areas for her to choose from all about the same distance away.

Our ducks don't get let out of their house until around 8, 8:30 am because then they've usually laid their eggs. And in their nesting boxes too - thanks to some wooden dummy eggs a friend made for me on my husband's lathe.

 

[Krazyquilts]

Yeah, ok. It looks better than the chick waters because those tend to fill up with shavings quickly. I just need some lab ducklings to test this on...

Ooooo! I'll sign up to be a tester too! I can see it now: "Honey, the new ducklings aren't to feed my waterfowl addiction, they're for science!"

 

[Krazyquilts]

Hello. I'm new to this site. We had a duck last year that laid eggs next to our front porch and then abandoned them. We know this because my dad found the rotten eggs. She came back this year and we were very careful to leave her alone. We hadn't seen her all day and my mom peeked and noticed the eggs were broken. One of them was still intact. It's currently in an incubator with an auto turner. It's kind of dirty though and I was wondering if I should try to gently wash it with some water? I have no idea if it's alive or not but I want to try. Any info would be greatly appreciated as I have never done this before. tia

I've never incubated before, but have you candled it to make sure the egg is still alive?

Also,

 

[EmilyP]

How cute!!!!! What breed?

Thanks!! We think 3 are mallard and 5 are maybe welsh harlequin x Pekin crosses. The mallards could be welsh harlequin x mallard mixes too. All unknown!

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

Quote:
For the betterment of mankind!!

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Our ducks don't get let out of their house until around 8, 8:30 am because then they've usually laid their eggs. And in their nesting boxes too - thanks to some wooden dummy eggs a friend made for me on my husband's lathe.

Yeah normally 9 930 here to get them to lay first. This little girl is determined to wait. I waited till 1030 thinking shed have laid already but nope. Should have seen her running when I opened door though. Looked like someone that has to pee holding it four 4 hours then running to bathroom lol. I've never seen a duck run that fast. I'm guessing she was thinking "I have to lay this egg now!". Had to work this morning and she didnt go before I left but I'll follow tomorrow. She did look both ways before she crossed anyway. Going to give me a heart attack.