Wrong time of year....

[conniesue27]

O.K. here's my question, I got 3 Mallard's in March, now my hen is sitting on 15 eggs and I live in Northeastern Ohio and it's Sept. 29th. , the eggs are dew to start hatching mid to late October. Am I wrong, but isn't it kinda late in the year for ducklings? I know maturity has something to do with it, but what do all you duck people think? This is my first experience with ducks laying eggs. Do you think there's much of a chance that the ducklings will make it this late in the year? I don't think all of her eggs will hatch, she's been laying for about 4 weeks, did it take her so long to lay them all because it's her first clutch? Any info would be helpful, thanks!

 

[seaneduck]

I'd love hear what you find out, because I went out yesterday and found three eggs in a nest. I have call ducks, and I know she hasn't started setting on them full time yet. How long do I wait to see if she does before getting rid of them?

 

[KansasKid]

The first few she layed most likely won't be fertile. It can be normal for a hen lay late in the year but i have never had one lay this late her first year.
I'm gonna say that i would make sure that her and her babies have some sort of shelter like a good sized nest box with hay and maybe a heat lamp depending on the temperature. It is really easy to loose ducklings to the cold.

 

[katharinad]

My suggestion is not to let it happen. They will hatch late October, and they will not be fully feathered in until 3 months later. This means you have to house them indoors and keep them warm until late January. At that time they are feathered in, but have not fully developed their winter downs and have not put on enough fat to keep them warm. It's not an issue if you can keep them housed in a warm place for the winter. I personally say wait until spring if you can. It's a personal choice. So always calculate 4 month ahead.

 

[FunnyBunnies12]

I'm in Michigan and can relate all to well about the cold weather, especially when Lake Effect Snow comes, my female Rouen laid her 1st eggs, 30 total! But only 6 that I'm incubating are vital, and she has 11 she just went full broody on 3 days ago, the other 1/2 were not fertile or died very early on because I saw the blood ring. This is the 1st time being a duck owner myself, and I was going to ask the very same question but everyone answered it for me just now, so thank you for posting this question, so what I plan on doing is bringing momma and her babies into our basement for the winter, as well as the dad, lay bedding down with wee wee pads and a heat lamp. We have concrete floors so it will take a bit more time and cleaning, but it will be all worth it to me. My girl laid for 4wks before she went broody,however I did take 1/2 of them away, I can't even begin to imagine her trying to lay on 30!! But she is being an awesome broody momma now, I didn't think it would click but it sure has and she is doing a marvelous job! I'm not expecting all 11 to be vital, but we shall see if she gets up and takes a break where I can sneak into the nest and candle the eggs. If you have a place that you can house them, I'd go for it. My 6 are due in separate dates, my 1 is due next weekend, the other 5 in the incubator is due late mid October, but if momma hatches these 11 eggs, they will be due end of October.

 

[conniesue27]

Well..I"m thinking of making her a brooding box, maybe if I make it big enough everyone can stay in it. We raised them in the garage for a while and she's made her nest in the flower garden near the garage, so maybe if any hatch I can coax her to live there for a while. But I guess we'll just to wait and see what happens. I can't take her eggs away, I love Ophelia to much to do that. I'm just going to let nature take its course.