What do do after broody eggs hatch (or not)

[ChickenMom04]

My khaki Campbell who is going broody for the first time has been sitting on her eggs around the 20 day mark. She started with 6, one rotted and was removed, one is underdeveloped and looks like an early quitter, and one is questionable (air sac looks a bit deformed)

my question is, assuming the 3 eggs with for sure movement hatch (or dont), what’s the next step? We have one drake in her pen with her and he is pretty submissive and I’m not concerned about him hurting any babies that hatch. Will she get off her nest on hatch day? How often should I be candling her eggs to ensure they are healthy and developing correctly as they get closer to hatch day?

 

[Yardmom]

I only have had one successful hatching with a duck, but hope for another this week. My duck stayed close to the nest site for a few days after hatching. (I regularly let broody chickens hatch their own. ) Candleing won't change how well the ducklings develop. It will just give you clues about how they are doing. It is up to you how much you need to know and how much your duck will tolerate. It might be best to leave her be while hatching takes place.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I dont keep ducks any more but any broody (chicken or duck) i leave alone and let nature take its course. If the eggs hatch, within 3-4 days of hatch day, the mothers have almost always done an excellent jop of protecting them.
I separate my broodies early so that they are undisturbed and away from the main flock. They are kept in a coop and run (main flock is free ranged) until 6wks. Then the hen is removed and the chicks remain until 4mos of age.

 

[ChickenMom04]

I only have had one successful hatching with a duck, but hope for another this week. My duck stayed close to the nest site for a few days after hatching. (I regularly let broody chickens hatch their own. ) Candleing won't change how well the ducklings develop. It will just give you clues about how they are doing. It is up to you how much you need to know and how much your duck will tolerate. It might be best to leave her be while hatching takes place.

Good news! One egg externally pipped tonight and the duckling is peeping lightly. I’m not sure how long ago it pipped as I was out of the house all day, but the hole it made is about a little less than half of an inch wide. It’s open enough to see her little beak. Broody duck was feisty and quickly rolled her eggs under her as soon as I got any closer but it seems like none of the other eggs have externally pipped yet. We’re expecting a thunderstorm and rain tomorrow, and my concern is if she will be able to keep her eggs dry since they are out in the open, and if the size of the egg’s pip will determine how fast the membrane dries out, or if water can get into the egg. I’m going to assume she knows what she’s doing, but I want to know if there are any precautions to take in order to make sure at least this one duckling makes it out. We also have cats, and although the duck pen is closed in, I’m worried they may climb it when they see fuzzy baby ducklings as they have killed mice and baby rabbits before. Should I keep them in a kennel while the ducklings hatch?

 

[Mtnboomer]

Remember that ducks in the wild keep their hatching eggs safe and dry during adverse weather conditions so i wouldn't worry about that. I would definitely keep them in the dog kennel until all the eggs have hatched and the mamma can then concentrate on showing them around.

Protective ducks can be ferocious and can usually do more than enough to intimidate the avg cat but ferrell cats are destructive predators and should be removed at every opportunity.