wild muscovy sitting forever

[Iheart'scovies]

Not sure if I should do anything about this or not and hoping you all have some advice.

There are many wild/feral muscovies at my work place, and many of the ladies like to have their nests in this one flower box. This one persistent girl has been sitting there for months and months now. I've seen her off the nest and there is just one lonely little egg in there that I assume must be dead after all this time. I am guessing that one of the grounds keepers culled the next and left her one shaken egg to delay re-lay. But she just will not leave it. I think that she has been there since November! I only occasionally see her off of it. I feel terrible for her, and keep thinking that she will abandon the egg at some point but everytime I go to check, there she still is.

I am of course extreamly hesistent to intervene in nature, but should I remove that egg so that she can move on? Or, is the right thing to do to just assume that she knows what she is doing and, for whatever reason, wants to keep sitting there and I should leave her to it?

Thanks very much for any input.

 

[sourland]

I would be tempted to remove the egg and disrupt her nest so that she "can get on with her life." Setting that long has to be debilitating. She needs to regain her weight and health.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Though I do not know anything about duck broodiness, I do know chickens and I would have to take the egg, candle it (what else?) and let her get back to life.
I'm with Sourland, she needs to regain what she has lost in all this time.

IF the egg is viable, which I would be sure it is not, then I would put in my 'bator. But I would suspect it is long dead or clear, unless some heathen laid her a fresh egg.

 

[Bleenie]

Sitting that long can definitely really drain the poor girl, She is probably underweight right now. If you can, and know how to, I would candle the egg while she's away and see if it's even viable. And if some little monster snuck an egg into her nest recently, i would be tempted to take it home and incubate it or if it's only a few days in, just toss it... i know that sounds cruel but momma could get sick(or worse) from brooding that long. Even my spoiled girls sometimes get pretty pale when brooding.