Too many eggs!

[SaTex]

Hello all, I was just wondering what the best way to control how many ducks hatch from the mother. She has about 14 eggs but I only want two ducks to hatch. I live in a neighborhood so I don't what my bread to get out of hand. I don't know if they will hatch at all since this is the mother's first nest and from what I hear domestic ducks don't really know how to. However she has bee sitting and keeping her best tidy diligently so now I want to take steps to getting only to number of sucks I can handle. Any advice? Will it disturb the mother too much if I simply take 12 of the eggs away? How do I know which eggs are good?

 

[Halloweengirl13]

How long has mama duck been sitting on them? If it has been at least a week you should be able to candle them and see some veins developing. Looks kinda like a spider. It's best to check at night or when she gets up to eat. Otherwise you may get bitten or she could possibly abandon the nest.

 

[Orca5094]

It's very easy to control the number that will hatch out by simply shaking each egg really REALLY good as they are laid. Then mark the ones you have shaken with a big X so you know they've been done. I even shake them all again for a few days to be sure. Shaken eggs will never develop into ducklings. This way they can keep more of their eggs to sit on, but not have them all hatch out. If they go from 14 down to 2 eggs suddenly, she might abandon the nest.

Now, since she's already been sitting on them, you'll need to candle them all first to check for development. You don't want to shake any that have babies in them already! As already said, it's best to do this at night because it needs to be dark and it'll be easier for you to get to the eggs when momma is sleepy. Take a small, strong flashlight and hold the egg up to it. You should see red veins in there if they are developing.

 

[SaTex]

Thanks for the responses. Halloweengirl, I believe she has been sitting for about two weeks, I have been picking loose eggs for months now but I noticed one day she built a nest and had an egg there so I left it alone and she just started building from there but she only started sitting a couple of weeks ago. Lol yes she hissed and puffed up her feathers when I got close to bring her her own food and water dish near the nest. Orca I will try to shake them next time time she gets up and hopefully they are not too developed. I tried the flashlight method to check them but there must have been too much daylight out because I didn't see anything. I will try again tonight. It worries me that you all say that she may abandon if she gets scared away too much because she set up her nest literally right next to my backdoor. She has gotten spook a couple times when I went out there and she will run crying around the yard but she will eventually come back. Maybe that's a good sign that she unfortunately is used to me coming outside and might not abandon it?

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Just be careful with shaking them if she's been sitting for weeks, the ducklings will be somewhat developed and any dead ones will rot... you don't want that! Just check frequently and if any smell chuck them. I took a dud egg away from my broody duck and she quacked really loud but didn't leave the nest.

 

[SaTex]

That's her btw.

 

[SaTex]

Ok will do Heritage, I will check tonight. And yeah I would feel bad if I shook a nearly developed one.