Wood duck laying issue.

[jsvand5]

I have a first year pair of woods. The hen has started laying eggs, but so far she has only laid one in the box. She filled the box with a ton of feathers, but I have found two eggs in the pond and only one in the box. She did not lay today unless it is somewhere in the pond that I can not see. Is this normal for the first year? Should she start laying in the box more regularly now?She seems to spend about half the day in the box. Thanks for any help.

 

[1lpoock]

If she has down feathers in the box, then she has started to incubate them. Sometimes ducks put their eggs in water because they know something is wrong with them and they won't hatch.

 

[jsvand5]

Well that is depressing. A one egg clutch? Do you think if I remove the egg it may stimulate her to lay another clutch? It hardly seems worth it to have her incubate one egg. I could put it in my incubator and give it a try artificially I guess. Could I let her set on the egg for few weeks and then remove it close to hatching time? I figure this would give me less of a chance of screwing something up during the artificial incubation. I am pretty positive that there were only two eggs laid in the pond. Is a 3 egg clutch normal for a first season bird? How long should she spend in the box if she is already incubating it? She seems to be in there all night but not in there for a good portion of the day.