What’s wrong with my ducks’ feet?

[KittyIsQuackers]

Okay, it’s been several days, and I got some pictures of her feet as I was putting the flock up for the night.

 

[KittyIsQuackers]

I don’t have anymore pictures, but I think she’s all better! (She’s even gone broody: I bet the babies are gonna be so cute, with the dad being a Cayuga and her a Welsh Harlequin!!) She’s acting like normal, other than trying to hiss at me when I got close to her nest, which I think she might’ve learned from my geese. The other ducks feet are perfectly normal, and none of them drag behind the flock now.

 

[KittyIsQuackers]

And with her being broody, is there anything extra I should do for her? Should I give her a small bowl with her share of peas? (I feed the flock one can every day, and if not, than mealworms.) When I did that yesterday, maybe the day before, she did her little duck-honk and wagged her tail, then gobbled them all up.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Of course spoil her rotten along with fresh feed and water close by!

 

[KittyIsQuackers]

I gave her her bowl of peas about an hour ago, and when I came back, she was in the river, so I was able to candle some of her eggs. Here's one of them. They’re going nicely! (And a picture of Dragon after she got out of the river)

 

[Miss Lydia]

Awesome!!

 

[KittyIsQuackers]

Okay, I candled her eggs again and... I think she might’ve laid too many eggs before sitting and shoved that egg off to the side, only recently moving it to the center. I took five eggs out (three I hadn't seen before were spoiled, and one very pale, no chance of a duckling hatching at all, and one with a blood ring), so I think that egg is only about two weeks into incubation. I’ve seen her nudge the eggs with her bill a few times, and I think that might be all she’s doing. I put some crayon on the egg with veins so I could keep track of her turning that egg.

 

[KittyIsQuackers]

Okay, it’s been much too long and she has officially lost the egg that was due to hatch any day now. I’ve taken all of the eggs out of the nest and I’m going to only feed her peas when she’s off the nest. Any suggestions?

 

[Miss Lydia]

If she is still sitting you can try messing up the nest and putting something over it so she can't sit there any longer. It's not something they get over quickly the hormones have to subside. I am sorry the eggs didn't hatch.