Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
A wild Mallard has sat on her eggs for 31 days and still is. What does that mean? Are the eggs still viable?
Eggs take 25-29 days to hatch. Perhaps you miscounted?
Perhaps it is not quite time yet as she will know when the time is right. The nesting time starts when she has laid her last egg so it is possible the time is not up yet - give her more time.
This should be fine. She laid her first egg and sat on her net. Afterwards, she laid the remaining eggs. Normally it will take a few more days for the eggs to hatch.
My mallard hen decided to come into my home; she followed my chicken hen inside. I was running bath water and she jumped in the tub with me after I bathed. She decided to stay and chose my bathroom closet to lay her nest of eggs. She is now brooding her eggs. Is this strange that ducks come into the house to make their nests? Has anyone else had this problem? Please help.
If you move them now, she may not stay broody. If you do, it has to be in a secure area, where she can't get out--and even then she may not sit on them.
She probably likes the warmth of the house. I don't think you can do anything now, unless you don't care if the eggs hatch or not.
A duck built a nest in the bush by my front door. I had someone come over and aerate my lawn. The machine was loud, and scared the duck away. I just found out 10 minutes prior that the duck was in the bush. My intention was not to have her scared from her eggs, will she return?
She probably will. The noise isn't bound to come back and she is probably nearby. Keep us updated.
From a cooperative extension website:
The incubation length on duck eggs is 28 days. At times, ducks will abandon their nests to re-nest in other areas. Other predators will feed on the eggs, so fox & other birds may have already cleaned out the nest.
Most likely she will come back--our farm equipment scares them and they come back. Keep us posted. (same with geese)
A female mallard delivered an egg on our patio. She got startled and left her egg. She has not returned for her egg. What should I do?
If you have an incubator you could put the egg in that.
Do you have a wildlife refuge or recovery service in your town? They are the best bet for calling or an animal shelter.
They will have all of the right tools to care for the egg.
Sadly the mom's usually leave eggs that are not viable...so there is a good chance that may have happened here.
I am sure there are YouTube videos for caring for duck eggs at home, but to be honest, I think these things -- if they are meant to be -- are best left to the pros.
Prayers and blessings.
Momma duck had been nesting next to my house for the past few weeks, and I noticed about 10 eggs recently, so I was expecting them to hatch anytime soon. Sure enough, this morning I went out and noticed some cracked eggs, so I figured the babies hatched. Strangely, I didn't see any babies, but Mom and Dad were casually eating grass on my front lawn.
Does anyone have any guesses as to what became of the ducklings? The shells were completely empty and clean, so it doesn't appear that they died. And the nest was neat and didn't appear that a struggle from a predator occurred. So, I'm perplexed as to what became of the little ones? Any ideas? Thanks.
I am thinking a predator got to the eggs and ate all the contents clean.
Is it possible someone (human) was messing around, destroyed the eggs, took the ducklings to over their tracks, then the clean up crew (rats, mice, ants, squirrels) cleaned out the shells that were left around/
I would think if it was a fox or a bigger bird, would have taken the ducks AND the eggs. Food is food and like you said, no sign of a struggle is suspicious.
Post back if you figure it out. Very sad.
We have a pool and last Friday a male and female decided to visit. We found an egg on Saturday on our cement. They continue to come back every morning for a dip and then they sit in the sun for about an hour. Then we do not see them until the next morning, other than the female coming in for a few minutes 1 evening.
I had to move the egg about 20 feet for safety. They still go by the egg and have moved it a few times maybe a foot or so. What is everyone thoughts?I think the egg will hatch. If you moved it, they would smell you on it, and they do not seem to think you are a predator. If they did, they would have abandoned it.
My husband was pruning back a bush and uncovered 5 duck eggs. I was too late to stop him. We didn't disturb them, but the bush is gone. Will Mama duck come back?
She may not be back since she may think a predator came by.
Last year we had a mallard duck that laid eggs and sat on them for a couple of weeks. After she did not sit on them for a few days, we discovered 2 eggs left in the nest, but the rest were gone. There were no egg shells like something had taken them out of the nest. The two remaining eggs did not hatch.
We do have opossums, raccoons, and fox around so it may have been one of them. She is back again this week (Indiana) which I find strange because something took her eggs last year. 1st question - Why would she make the nest in the same spot if something ate her eggs last year. 2nd question - What can I do protect them this year?
You could build a little house-type structure around the eggs. If something disturbs her, she may agandon them again.
A mallard duck laid her egg on the ledge of my above ground pool, which is 5ft tall with rocks around the base. I find this very odd, what do I do?
Might not hurt to leave it alone? If you move it, the mother might not know where it went, right? If you want to put something around it to protect it from falling, why not consult a local zoo or perhaps a college where they might have experts who can address your concerns?
If a predator got the first eggs in nest (8) will mother return to lay more?
By Barbara
Yes, but the predator remembers where it found the eggs and will return. It is most likely a raccoon or an opossum or possibly a big rat!
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I have been feeding two mallard ducks (male and female) for a long time, and my female (named Peepers) just laid eggs. She has six so far, but I'm worried because she only goes to the nest to lay a new egg every night. She and the male (Beepers) still come to me 3 times a day to be fed. Otherwise, they're swimming in a nearby pond. It's getting cold now, and Peepers still doesn't sit on them at all. What should I do?