Will my mallard duck have ducklings?

[isabelvenes]

Hi y’all

I have three mallard ducks. Two drakes and one hen. I know the ratio isn’t ideal, but we didn’t know the gender when we were raising them. We keep a close eye on their behavior and so far everyone gets along well. They were hatched in late April, so now they are about 18 weeks old. I have seen mating between one of the drakes and the hen, that she encourages, almost daily. This is earlier than I expected them to do that. So, my questions. Is there any chance of her having ducklings any time soon? Are they too young for that? Is it too late in the summer?
Any advice at all is appreciated. Thanks a ton.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

wait until 1 year old before you let her hatch babies, they could have issues if the parents are too young (same reason you wouldn’t want a 4 month old cat to have babies)

 

[TomCahalan]

wait until 1 year old before you let her hatch babies, they could have issues if the parents are too young (same reason you wouldn’t want a 4 month old cat to have babies)

What are you basing this on? When a cat mates she gets pregnant which uses up her resources, not good for a young cat that is still growing.

A mated duck doesn't get pregnant. The egg gets pregnant. Each egg is a bundle of resources that the duck is going to push out either way, fertilized or not.

 

[Weeg]

I think sh tis relating to parenting, but you will have to wait until she becomes broody herself, this can be 1-? years or as long as she is laying.

 

[isabelvenes]

wait until 1 year old before you let her hatch babies, they could have issues if the parents are too young (same reason you wouldn’t want a 4 month old cat to have babies)

Okay thanks!

 

[isabelvenes]

What are you basing this on? When a cat mates she gets pregnant which uses up her resources, not good for a young cat that is still growing.

A mated duck doesn't get pregnant. The egg gets pregnant. Each egg is a bundle of resources that the duck is going to push out either way, fertilized or not.

So possibly she could have them now if she were broody and willing to take care of them but she probably won’t be?

 

[isabelvenes]

I think sh tis relating to parenting, but you will have to wait until she becomes broody herself, this can be 1-? years or as long as she is laying.

Okay makes sense! I’m wondering if even if she is broody, should I take away eggs until at least spring when it would be (weather wise) an okay time for ducklings? Not seeing any eggs yet right now though. Thanks for the reply

 

[Weeg]

Is she showing signs of being broody? If she is, you may want to take her eggs untill next year spring. If she hatches them now, then it will take another month, and will likely be very chilly by then. Where are you located int he world? That matters too, if your in a warmer climate ti might be fine, otherwise if you are in an area like me, then you will want to wait.
She will likely become broody again next year if she is broody now and you break her, but broody are so fun, especially mallards! My mallard hatched three ducklings about two weeks ago, and they are all ready do big! Mallard are my favorite breed! Avery

 

[HollowOfWisps]

What are you basing this on? When a cat mates she gets pregnant which uses up her resources, not good for a young cat that is still growing.

A mated duck doesn't get pregnant. The egg gets pregnant. Each egg is a bundle of resources that the duck is going to push out either way, fertilized or not.

Whenever someone comes to me asking when they can hatch their newly laying duck's eggs I always recommend a year as well. My reasoning is that most people purchase their ducklings in the spring then their ducks start laying in the fall. Once they first start laying it's better to wait a couple of months because those first eggs are often what I call "glitch eggs". They're more likely to be soft, have hairline cracks, be oddly shaped, very small or large double yokers. Malformed eggs often lead to low hatch rates and any ducklings that do hatch will be more likely to have underlying health issues. So if you buy ducklings in let's say March, they start laying in August and then you wait 2-3 months for them to get the egg laying down, that puts you at around October-November. Then you have them in the brooder for 2-3 months which puts you in the coldest part of the year and that generally isn't an optimal time to be introducing young ducks to the outdoors. However, if you wait until a spring hatched duckling is a year old to collect the eggs for hatching, when it comes time to out them outdoors they can adjust with the warmer weather.

 

[isabelvenes]

Whenever someone comes to me asking when they can hatch their newly laying duck's eggs I always recommend a year as well. My reasoning is that most people purchase their ducklings in the spring then their ducks start laying in the fall. Once they first start laying it's better to wait a couple of months because those first eggs are often what I call "glitch eggs". They're more likely to be soft, have hairline cracks, be oddly shaped, very small or large double yokers. Malformed eggs often lead to low hatch rates and any ducklings that do hatch will be more likely to have underlying health issues. So if you buy ducklings in let's say March, they start laying in August and then you wait 2-3 months for them to get the egg laying down, that puts you at around October-November. Then you have them in the brooder for 2-3 months which puts you in the coldest part of the year and that generally isn't an optimal time to be introducing young ducks to the outdoors. However, if you wait until a spring hatched duckling is a year old to collect the eggs for hatching, when it comes time to out them outdoors they can adjust with the warmer weather.

Awesome and very helpful answer thanks so much.