When does a duck go broody for the first time?

[CalliBee]

Hello everyone,

Silly question, but this is my first year with ducks. My 2 oldest Pekin’s (1 boy, 1 girl) have started to get verrryyyy frisky with one another. I was surprised to see this since she won’t be laying eggs for a cpl more months. My question is, when she does start to lay sometime in the middle of august, do ducks mate that late into the season? And if so, is their a chance she might go broody? Or will it be too late in the year?

Thanks!

 

[Jmiller89]

Hello everyone,

Silly question, but this is my first year with ducks. My 2 oldest Pekin’s (1 boy, 1 girl) have started to get verrryyyy frisky with one another. I was surprised to see this since she won’t be laying eggs for a cpl more months. My question is, when she does start to lay sometime in the middle of august, do ducks mate that late into the season? And if so, is their a chance she might go broody? Or will it be too late in the year?

Thanks!

They will mate year round but spring/summer is when they are most active. Depends a lot on the duck on if she will even go broody. Best way to encourage is to not collect the eggs. Though you should collect for the first couple weeks as the first eggs are not the best for hatching.

 

[CalliBee]

They will mate year round but spring/summer is when they are most active. Depends a lot on the duck on if she will even go broody. Best way to encourage is to not collect the eggs. Though you should collect for the first couple weeks as the first eggs are not the best for hatching.

Thanks! I’m not looking to have any babies runnin around quite yet. Maybe next spring!

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Pekins dont go broody thats been bred out of them

 

[Yardmom]

I just had a Pekin go broody and hatch 4 ducklings. Unfortunately she was sitting on way more eggs than that. It looks like the others were squashed during hatch. She is trying to be a good mother, but her size is making it difficult.

 

[telandra2]

I had August ducklings last year, although the parents were 2. Ancona, not Pekin.

 

[CalliBee]

Pekins dont go broody thats been bred out of them

At first I was like, no way that’s true. I had to google it lol. That’s something I didn’t know! Man hopefully I’ll have that 1 in a hundred

 

[citymeetscountry]

At first I was like, no way that’s true. I had to google it lol. That’s something I didn’t know! Man hopefully I’ll have that 1 in a hundred

You could always get an incubator and hatch them yourself. It’s very neat to do.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Don’t make the same mistake I did and hatch winter babies lol who were in my house till 4 months

I have a Pekin who was born May 1st
She started to lay eggs end of august
I also have a khaki drake and they were mating in October
but my drake was born early July and his stuff wasn’t strong enough till end of November. I decided to incubate 6 eggs about a 2 weeks later my girl went broody and sat on 8 eggs
But these eggs were still on the smaller side 59-68 grams.
Out of 6 all made it to lockdown. 4 needed assistance and only the 2 bigger ones hatched themselves.
Then my girl had 3 make it to hatch time again 2 internal pips and never external and died last baby was in the wrong end and after loosing one of mine not knowing what the bruise meant till it was to late I took the egg it was another full assist
My Pekin girl sat 30 days and was amazing at sitting. But she was young and didn’t know how to help the ones that couldn’t get out
Her eggs were also smaller and all would have needed assistance
Unfortunately she was scared of baby Hope after I hatched her and tried to give her back to mom. So I had to raise her
They are together now but don’t know they are related

She now at a year old and lays average of 75 grams. These ones hatch just fine themselves

I may try to let her go broody next spring again
Until then I remove her eggs each morning

I would wait till she is a year old before letting her try
Then when you think her eggs are a good size and she is mature enough don’t collect the eggs if she wants to go broody that will help her