urgent runner duck on unprotected nest

[jdywntr]

Yesterday I could not find my black female runner. I finally found her sitting under some vines. She moved when I approached and there was nothing there. Todya, I again couldn't find her and went to the same spot and discovered sitting on a nest with 6 eggs. They must have been covered in leaves yesterday. I am excited as the breed is not known to go broody but very concerned as she located her nest outside of the run at the edge of the yard along the fence line. There is no protection at all there.

What should I do? Can you move duck nests? Should I let her set and see what happens? I'm in Florida and there are many predators though I have yet to find any evidence of anything other than fruit rats trying to get into the chicken coop or duck run.

I was thinking of covering the nest with an extra large dog crate without the floor. Any ideas would be welcome.

 

[AdamD77]

I think as great as it is that she's gone broody, your top priority should be to keep her safe. You don't want the possibility of having a few babies to compromise her safety. You may not have anything trying to get into the coop/run, but leaving her outside with no protection at all is sure to attract unwelcome visitors who would love a duck feast. You may possibly even get animals which are after her eggs and not her! You can move nests, and although I have not had anything to do with broody ducks yet, from what I've read, they may or may not be okay with it. Like I said, I think the risk of her being killed is more important than her abandoning the nest - if she accepts the move then it's happy days, if not, you could either incubate them yourself, or you can just be happy that she's alive and well

 

[Tbird84]

I've had minimal success in moving duck nests. Took about a week or two for my muscovies to accept where I put their nest. Where they wanted to be was not good. They did wind up brooding, but it took them a little longer b/c of the move. With the runner, if she refuses, you could try putting a dog kennel there or something of the sort to protect her while she's brooding. Just open in during the day. I've never had to do that though. If that doesn't work, just incubate the eggs. I have set runner eggs with success. Much easier to hatch than the Muscovey eggs.