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Two questions for you...

Discussion in 'Ducks' started by secuono, Jul 13, 2011.

Most Liked Posts
  1. Jul 13, 2011 #1
    secuono

    secuono Chillin' With My Peeps

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    May 29, 2010
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    I've had a hen lay an egg every day for a week, until yesterday. No egg today either. She just started laying, others will soon start too. Nothing has changed, same food, water, ext. Where did the eggs go??


    Also, I have a Pekin hen who likes to dominate one or both of the Khaki hens. She is a week older, doesn't bother the Mallard hen who is 5wks younger. Peking hen will grab feathers on the other's back, under a wing and poke her over and over, won'[t let go. She does it in the water and out of it. She is 100% female, crisp quacks all the time, flat tail feathers, has bobbed her head to the Khaki drake for weeks. He doesn't like her though, he likes the Mallard, doesn't even notice the Khaki hens.
    What is the Pekin hen doing and why?
     
  3. Jul 13, 2011 #2
    ZoeS95423

    ZoeS95423 Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Quote:She may have moved where she lays... I have a cayuga female, and she will lay in one spot for a week and I will collect the egg everyday, and then eventually she will move and lay somewhere else.. Then I have to go on an egg hunt to find them! Its terrible, and kind of irritating, because they free range, and there is alot of places she can hide the eggs...
     
  5. Jul 13, 2011 #3
    iamcuriositycat

    iamcuriositycat Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Ducks will frequently stop laying for a while, and then go back to it. Especially when they're new at it. I wouldn't worry, although it's also possible she's hiding them somewhere.

    As for the bullying behavior, it's just dominance. Hens aren't usually too cruel to each other, so I wouldn't worry about it unless she's causing damage (bleeding or worse). A few plucked feathers is just them working out the pecking order. There's a reason it's called the pecking order. [​IMG]
     
  7. Jul 13, 2011 #4
    secuono

    secuono Chillin' With My Peeps

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    May 29, 2010
    Virginia
    She did change her laying spot the day b4 yesterday, but it wasn't at the new spot yesterday or today. It's a small pen they live in, 30x30ft or so. But I didn't see any egg or anything white anywhere. They have stomped down he tall grasses already, so nowhere to hide.
    They can't free range because of the main road on a fast blind turn. Then the neighbors fence is just barbed wire, so they can waddle under and live in their large pond...

    I thought it was dominance, too. But it's a lot like the drake trying to mate, so I had to ask to be sure. [​IMG]
     

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