UPDATE- Broody Muscovy question*pic*

[learycow]

I just got 2 hens and a drake, all muscovy. They were raised together and are definately mated. How will I know when a hen will go broody? So far one has 3 eggs in her nest, but she hasn't been sitting on them. Will she lay a bunch and then sit on them? Or should I collect the eggs?

It's been getting down into the high 50s-low 60s at night. I'm afraid that if I leave the eggs, they will go bad since she's not sitting on them.

I am new to the broody duck thing, so any help or advice would be great!

 

[kuntrygirl]

She will continue to lay eggs until she is ready to set on them. In my case, my girls will lay 8 - 10 eggs before they become broody and set. I think that my girls know when the nights will be chilly because I will see them setting on the eggs and "I assume" they are keeping the chill off of them. If it were me, I would leave the eggs.

Do you have an incubator to put the eggs in if you were to collect them?

 

[RavenStorm]

With only three eggs in the clutch, give her some time. Once she realizes that this is a safe place to nest and the urge to go broody really kicks in she will start building the nest. Make sure that she has plenty of near-by material to start doing this. If you don't she'll make her own nest material like mine all seem to do: they start pulling out their own feathers from the fluffy down layer to make their nest.

She will know when to start sitting on them, don't worry about them going 'bad'. Just try not to bother her as much as possible or else she will abandon the eggs.

Good luck, I just went through what you are going through! My first (well ... first successful anyway, we've had two unsuccessful attempts this year) broody Muscovy sitting experience ended with a great hatching today so of course now I feel like a battle-hardened vet!

 

[satay]

If she is going to go broody it will be when she has finished laying. it's up to you whether you leave the eggs there and see what happens or you could collect them up and store no more than 7 days worth in an egg carton (unrefrigerated)you can always swap out the older eggs for newwer ones if it takes her a while to want to sit. If you see her go broody you can give her the 7 freshest eggs you have. You will know when she is broody and she will not move from the nest and tell you off if you go near.

 

[Luvs chickens]

I have 4 broody muscovies. leave the eggs , she will continue to lay her eggs and either sit on them at night until she has the amount that she is happy with . you will know when she is ready to set when she is on them all the time and has added feathers to the nest. then it will be 35 days until the little cuties hatch. I just had 9 hatch yesterday to a proud moma.

 

[learycow]

Thanks so much for all of the replies! I am going to leave the eggs and see what happens. She seems to be adding an egg everyday, sometimes 2 (the other hens lays in there some days too).
I hope she goes broody!

I do have an incubator that is currently empty, so if she doesn't end up sitting on them I'll see if I can hatch them.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Good Luck!

Keep us posted!

 

[learycow]

She ended up going broody for me! She has been on the nest for a while now. I'm thinking her 35 days are up in a week and a half now. Here's a pic of her in her blue barrel. Her nest is made of hay and feathers. Last time I checked, she was sitting on 15 eggs : )

 

[lovin my birds]

Yay! You need to post pics when the little cuttie's hatch. I love Muscovies! I bought two females one week and one of them started laying imediately. So I thought I would leave her eggs for her. And she went broody. She was sitting on unfertile eggs so I bought her a bunch of fertile eggs. She is now currently sitting on 22 eggs. I forgot that people send extras. Lol! Good Luck with your hatch!

 

[satay]

Excellant. Can't wait to see pics of your new babies.