What was that about runners and sitting and broodiness??

[TLWR]

Now Cadbury is sitting on eggs.
I let them out this morning and she ran out, ate breakfast and ran back upstairs into the house and sat, right next to Blue.
Poor Ally is running around screaming because she's all alone because Cadbury and Blue are sitting on eggs.
So I brought out some snacks and Cad ran down to snack on them with Ally.
DH said she's been in the house most of the day. Blue left though and hung with Ally.

I'm sure if these were fertile eggs and I wanted them to sit on them, they wouldn't, but these are duds, nothing is going to happen!!

She's not so great at sitting on them all, but she makes sure she covers them up if they aren't under her. I thought there were only 2 eggs, but found a well buried one while she ran out for afternoon snack.

 

[duckyfromoz]

A few of mine have also at times surprised me with their broodiness. I did have the incubator going anyway when they were sitting- and did have to rescue some eggs- but more so to do with the weather as we had some severe storms - than them givingup on sitting. This year I will let them sit and raise their own babies if they have a repeat porformance of broodiness.

Poor Ally- she must be lonely.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I've always heard that runners were good broodies?

Personally, I don't put much creed to claims of 'non-broody' birds....I have yet to see a breed that is truly non-broody. I have had pekins, rouens, and cayugas all brood eggs, and I've also had leghorn and barred rock hens brood eggs...I just expect any birds to do it anymore

 

[rainplace]

I think it's just that some breeds of ducks are more likely to go broody than another, not that a certain breed won't go broody. Of all my runners, I only had one actually sit through last year, though a few others tried most failed to make it through the long haul.

 

[gofasterstripe]

My Runners ar so hyper and on the go all the time that I cant see any of mine going broody at all.

 

[happydog]

I've got one right now sitting on some eggs. They share a house with a pair of geese and the female goose has been setting for a week or so. The goose sits in one corner and now the runner is sitting in the other. The problem is, now there's nowhere for the other ducks to lay their eggs. I suspect they're all laying in the nest the runner is sitting on. At their normal rate of 5 eggs a day she'll have a huge batch of eggs she thinks are all hers.

Or maybe the goose swipes them when she leaves the nest. The goose rarely leaves her nest so I can't check.

She's not a very good sitter either, she gets all freaked out and runs away when I come to collect eggs or give them a feed bowl. I also see her out foraging too often. I don't think her eggs have much of a shot at hatching. Maybe that's what they mean when they say Runners aren't good broodies. Maybe they GET broody, they just aren't very good at sticking with it. The goose is VERY focused on sitting, but the runner has ADD.

She sat on a golf ball for two days and then I felt sorry for her and let her have the next day's collection of eggs. I wonder if that's a mistake and I should just keep collecting the eggs. Though, what do you do with duck eggs that've been sat on all morning? Have the embryos started developing?

 

[TLWR]

I don't know if I just give them a fake egg or just keep taking them. Cadbury sits and stays. She RUNS to get food and RUNS right back if she's sitting. Was so cute to watch her fix the nest and be sure the eggs were covered if they weren't under her.
Nothing is going to happen to their eggs, no boys. But they want to sit, so do I just give them a fake and let them?
For the last 2 days, only Ally has laid an egg. She's not missed a day since she started.
Unless the other two are laying elsewhere and hiding them from me - little stinkers!

 

[shelleyd2008]

You can do both, give her a fake egg and keep taking them. Though if you don't plan to let her hatch or raise anything (you can get 1 duckling and stick it under her and let her think she hatched it) you should probably break her up.

 

[nettie]

Yeah that old wise tale about runners not going broody is NOT true... I have six females... Most of which have gone broody at some point, I've got at least 4 of them now who are running around with the heads down all poofed up and giving off the alarm quacks whenever my boyfriend enters their room... unless he has food. lol

 

[TLWR]

Jet was standing by the gate yesterday. Just standing. The ducks were 50 feet away and Cadbury ducked her head down and ran after poor Jet. Cad about bit Jet's ankles

Blue has been chasing Tavarish and now and then she takes off after Jet too. T doesn't care. Jet has no clue what is going on and just gives them a weird look.