Will Ducks continue using a nest if they know it's been discovered by their owner?

[SmithsCoop41]

Hey Y'all! It's me again.

Ok Y'all, I've got some duck questions. I went out back to my coop area like I always do (it was after dark by the time I could go out there), and I walked towards the back side of the coop, next to the gate. We have a front gate and one on the back side. While I was back there, I seen one of my female pekin ducks coming out of the palmetto bushes just outside the fence. We only have the wood part of the fence up right now, we plan to put wire behind it to help keep predators out better, and each board probably is about mmmm....maybe 1.5 ft apart, so you can see what's on the other side of the fence easily. Well, as she was coming out, I caught a glimpse of something behind her, and when I got a better look ----a NEST FULL of eggs! NINE EGGS! i didn't bother them. Up until last night I didn't even know there was a nest! They do free range during the day, and also some at night, so I knew there was going to be times when I wasn't gonna know where they laid their eggs. Sometimes they lay them inside the fenced-in area, but not always.

Fast forward to today, I went home for lunch because I have some chicks that are hatching today, and was gonna check on them. Well, most of the time, I'll go out back and check on all my birds, feed them, make sure they have enough water, etc. So, I decided to check this nest again....anddddd there's two more eggs in it today! I'm not sure if it's just the one duck or different ones using the same nest? I don't know much about it. So, today I decided to get the eggs out. And now I'm thinking I should've just left them in there, as I have realized she was probably waiting to reach her "clutch" size before setting on them. So, if I put the eggs back in the nest, will she accept them back and continue doing as she was doing? I don't have a clue how long the eggs have been there anyway, well except the two "less dirtier" ones that have been laid last. I have also heard that ducks lay early in the morning. Is this true for all duck breeds or just certain ones?



So, here are my questions:

-Do ducks go broody in the winter time?, and if they do, Is it normal, and is it only certain breeds that do?
-Are there any precautions that I need to take to help moma in order to have successful hatch? (if we decide to go that route).
-Is a "clutch" of duck eggs always the same number, or is it up to the duck?
-Do different hens share the same nest?
-If I put the eggs back in the nest, will she accept them back and start up again with her process?
-Do I need to put them back in the nest?
-If I do put them back in, will she abandon them, and make another nest somewhere else?
-Do ducks go back to the same nest every year?


If there is any other information I may need, just let me know.

Duck Moma

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’ll say this your taking a big risk leaving your ducks outside after dark and one on a nest is pardon the pun a sitting duck sooner or later a predator will find them unless you live where there aren’t any, and in winter natural prey is usually hold up so this makes our ducks even more susceptible . I wouldn’t let a duck sit outside and in winter duckling May freeze if mama especially first timers don’t take very good care of their ducklings . Take the eggs destroy the nest and wait till spring. Most likely this is a community nest. And please put your ducks away at dark. Mine would be gone in a few days if I didn’t put them up securely at night. I am not trying to be offensive just want to save lives.

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

So... for what it is worth, what I can tell you is...

...No : a duck does not automatically lay in the morning.
Nor does she necesseraly goes back to the same nest every year.

And yes : different hens can share the same nest to lay eggs.
And ducks can also go broody in winter! (But they are less likely to, because winters are just too cold for them...)

But a duck making a nest does NOT necessarily mean she is preparing to go broody, you know...?
Last winter, I myself found more than FORTY eggs in a nest... laid by the same duck!
Took me a while to find them, for the weather was so cold I did not want to lose time and to freeze by searching for her eggs; and in addition : she had them literally buried in the ground, and hidden under fallen leaves...!
...She was NOT going broody. She just laid eggs, and hid them...
And finding her nest did not prevent her from laying again in this same spot!
Actually... she has now several spots she decided are "nest-deserving"; and removing the eggs from these spots does not ever stop her to lay there again. (And in spite of the fact she has been making nests... she NEVER has been going broody!!)

...Like Miss Lydia told you, do NOT let your duck outside after dark.
Winters are much too cold for ducklings. So, even if your duck was going broody - and I don't even think it is the case -, letting her sit on eggs would not be worth it...

Winters are also too dangerous for ducks, because predators are more desesperate to find meat to eat; and they could attack your animals!
So : you really need to protect your birds by putting them away at nights!

Good luck!!!

 

[Canadian Wind]

You said behind palmetto bushes, so I gather you're somewhere a bit more south. Which makes it even more probable for predators to be around.

As others have mentioned, yes they can lay communally. In fact, most of mine do, especially the Muscovy. I even have a chicken that likes to lay in the duck nest, lol. Those eggs could be the result of only a few days, or much longer, depending on how many ducks you have. If you think they're fertilized and want them to hatch, set something up inside the coop and place the eggs in there. If the hormones for broodiness set in, they'll sit.

 

[SmithsCoop41]

Hi.

So... for what it is worth, what I can tell you is...

...No : a duck does not automatically lay in the morning.
Nor does she necesseraly goes back to the same nest every year.

And yes : different hens can share the same nest to lay eggs.
And ducks can also go broody in winter! (But they are less likely to, because winters are just too cold for them...)

But a duck making a nest does NOT necessarily mean she is preparing to go broody, you know...?
Last winter, I myself found more than FORTY eggs in a nest... laid by the same duck!
Took me a while to find them, for the weather was so cold I did not want to lose time and to freeze by searching for her eggs; and in addition : she had them literally buried in the ground, and hidden under fallen leaves...!
...She was NOT going broody. She just laid eggs, and hid them...
And finding her nest did not prevent her from laying again in this same spot!
Actually... she has now several spots she decided are "nest-deserving"; and removing the eggs from these spots does not ever stop her to lay there again. (And in spite of the fact she has been making nests... she NEVER has been going broody!!)

...Like Miss Lydia told you, do NOT let your duck outside after dark.
Winters are much too cold for ducklings. So, even if your duck was going broody - and I don't even think it is the case -, letting her sit on eggs would not be worth it...

Winters are also too dangerous for ducks, because predators are more desesperate to find meat to eat; and they could attack your animals!
So : you really need to protect your birds by putting them away at nights!

Good luck!!!

Thank you for the information. I do know that they are at somewhat of a risk being out at night, but....we keep it really lit up around our whole backyard, and we also have our big bulldog in the backyard right next to their coop, so far, which is kind of surprising, we haven't had any predators except a few snakes back in the summer, but we ended up killing the snakes. I think between it being lit up, and our bulldog back there keeping watch, they should be fine. He stays on alert, and me too.

 

[SmithsCoop41]

I’ll say this your taking a big risk leaving your ducks outside after dark and one on a nest is pardon the pun a sitting duck sooner or later a predator will find them unless you live where there aren’t any, and in winter natural prey is usually hold up so this makes our ducks even more susceptible . I wouldn’t let a duck sit outside and in winter duckling May freeze if mama especially first timers don’t take very good care of their ducklings . Take the eggs destroy the nest and wait till spring. Most likely this is a community nest. And please put your ducks away at dark. Mine would be gone in a few days if I didn’t put them up securely at night. I am not trying to be offensive just want to save lives.

We keep it really lit up at night back in the backyard and coop area, so no predators.