Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have ducks and they are laying eggs. They do not sit on them all the time just a small part of the day. Will the eggs still hatch?
By rick from Calhoun City, MS
I had ducks a few yrs back (peking ducks) and they didn't sit on them all the time either, and some of the eggs still hatched (guess the fertile ones). Good luck with them.
It is actually a requirement for waterfowl that the eggs' temperature be lowered for a short while each day if you were incubating them. Since she's doing her job instead, that is the time at which the mom would get off her nest to eat, drink, and (more importantly) swim. She brings back moisture in her feathers to the eggs to keep them from a) evaporating too quickly, and b) getting to hard-shelled. Be sure (as always) to provide adequate swimming water so that she can do her job.
Note - if they do hatch and you pick them up to raise them yourself, do not ever let them run short of water. If they do, reintroduce the water to them slowly - a sip or two then a break for a minute, then three sips etc. You'd be surprised how quickly they can spill their water as they play with it.
If you allow her to raise them, expect losses - it's part of nature. They usually have many babies to cover for the loss of a lot, and they're not as good at parenting as geese are.
Here's a website that you might find very helpful. (Ignore the music heheh.)
www.poultryconnection.com/
But they're adorable! So best of luck with them!
We leave near a water basen where are a lot of geese that had babies one duck that had 12 eggs she sat on them only left them as you said to walk to the water to cool off it has been over 105 here a lot as we went to check on her daily the eggs were cracked open not all at once till all 12 are gone now what happen would the geese have done that
Our duck had sat on 8 eggs and they were due to hatch this weekend. She has left them all and they are now cold. Why did she leave them? They have full size ducklings inside.
I hope that the duck had time to add shelter(leaves,sticks to shelter the warmth) they often cover there young.Hope for the best!
We have 1 male and 2 female ducks that we got from a friend. One of the females laid a nest of at least 15 eggs.
She doesn't sit on the nest all the time, but she does every few hours.
She will sit when she lays the last egg
But what if duck has laid 22 eggs, and is still only sitting at night? None during the day.
My mallard hen and Indian runner have mated. My hen has laid 30 eggs so far. When will she start sitting on them?
She will sit when she has laid the last egg.
8 to 14 eggs is the average for a mallard hen to lay before she sits on then. I do not know why she is laying so many.
I have 3 female ducks and 2 males. The males have been mounting the females. The problems is that they lay all their eggs in the pond.
We can see them laying on the bottom. Is there a way to stop this?This is nature. Unless you have a way to block off the pond, this is going to happen. Let it be. Or if you are in the us, call your home extension office and see if they can help.
A couple of days ago I found a duck nesting with one little duckie. Later some of the eggs hatched and I fed the ducks everyday. So there is the mom, the big duckie and the little duckies, but there's still 5 eggs in the nest.
I'm worried did she abandon her eggs? Are they still gonna hatch and how is it possible that she has an older duckie and younger duckies?She will start sitting on them after the last egg in the clutch is laid.
A mallard laid two eggs in our flowerbed. The next day she sat under our bird feeder with the male, but did not lay an egg and today we haven't seen her at all. Is there a chance she will return or likely she has abandoned her nest? How long before I know if she is not returning? I was so excited about the prospective brood, now I'm so sad she didn't come back.
By Judy
She won't return to sit until she is done laying, if it is fertilized. If it isn't, she may not return. So, just leave it alone for several days and watch.
