Look on the Internet to find out if Magpie ducks will incubate (set on) their own eggs. As long as they are not in with a lot of other birds, I suspect that she would succeed in hatching her own. Sometimes they lay an egg every other day, until they reach what they consider to be a full clutch. Before they are actually starting to set on the eggs seriously, you'll notice that she will start building the nest and lining it with fluff from her own breast. This is, of course, if she will set on her own. I reckon that those eggs will be good for at least two weeks, while she gathers more. If you decide to use an incubator, I'd recommend one with a thermostat, hydrometer, forced air and egg turner; that is if you can afford it. I used to purchase the Styrofoam cheapo incubators, about every 12 months. They would get contaminated during hatching and after a couple of uses there was no way to use them successfully, as the eggs would become contaminated and cause sick, deformed chicks. Ducks require a bit more humidit'y for incubation, so you'd have to research that. I have hatched duck eggs under a broody hen. That works. But once they hatch, you have to take the ducklings and raise them yourself. The hen doesn't "speak the same language" as the ducklings. They don't communicate well and the ducklings abandon the hen after less than a day. Hope this helps, George

I highly discourage you from doing this. Domestic ducks, such as the Pekin, cannot really fly, so they are non-migratory. Whenever you see them at the local pond, feasting on stale white bread and popcorn, you can be sure that they were dumped there. My ducks forage and eat duck pellets,so if I dumped them at a pond they would eventually starve(they refuse junk food). How can you be sure that a particular pond can handle an unnatural increase in population without becoming over-populated? In many area this practice is illegal, and it is always immoral. Messing with any NATIVE bird is definitely illegal. Please research this carefully and reconsider. Here is a link that might be useful: duck rescue

Where a species of butterfly chooses to stay is really an interesting point. If you walk down my street on a summer morning and look from the front yard of my house to the back yard, you will probably see at least 5 species and multiplies of these species at any given time. Look to the yard to the left or right or behind you and you might see a stray butterfly, usually headed towards my yard. Another point - a neighbor about 3 houses away also has a butterfly garden of sorts. He has a huge Pipevine growing against his house. My Pipevine grows on a wooden fence the depth of my yard. It was recently totally eaten down in a matter of a week. I took at least 60 cats to his house to put on his vine that had a couple cats on it. I gave another friend about the same amount of cats for her vine and I still had cats crawling on the ground making their chrysalis because even the stems of the vine were eaten. Now, why do the Polys stay in my yard and continue to try to find vine to lay on when just that short distance there is ample food? He doesn't spray pesticides, basically has the same predators I would like Cardinals, wasps, and anoles. I am now having to remove eggs and tiny cats that hatch just to let my vine regrow. There were at least 20 Polys out there this morning chasing each other and trying to find vine to lay on. My point is you can't make them come or make them stay or make them go away (well unless you get rid of their hosts!). We are also seeing a change in the migration path for our state butterfly Zebra Longwing. I have yet to see one come in my yard this year despite having several types of Passionvine that they use. In past years I was releasing up to 2 dozen a day for several weeks in the summer. The past winter was so bad that some believe the butterflies suffered since they do have a long lifetime since they also collect pollen as well as nectar. They are still seeing them in south Florida and along the coast but not in the interior as in the past. When I was raising and releasing them, I never saw many stay in my yard. Most would leave and only 2 to 3 pairs would stay. My theory was that the others would continue north since they are common (or were) common throughout the state. I would love to have some to raise and get them re-established in the area but I bet they wouldn't stay but move on. I actually did get a few eggs from a friend in South Florida and released 5 but all left immediately. Again, you can't make them stay. Its in their genetic makeup to do what nature wants them to do.

Thanks and I do feel like an 'empty nester.' It's such a thrill to see them fly off. I run down the street trying to follow them but they eventually disappear. I live in South Florida (Sarasota) and it has been so very hot. We moved here two years ago from NYC. I've always been an avid gardener but growing in Florida is a 'real challenge.' My neighbor is a Marine Biologist who has a love of butterflies. He got me started with raising them. I've always had gardens with lots of butterflies but never knew about host plants. Long story short. I grow the gardens, he collects and raises the eggs. We release them together in my garden. In this terribly hot, dry climate, my gardens are full of butterflies. I hope they are from the eggs we collect. No way to know but I suspect they are. I asked my neighbor if we could tag them someway. He has suggested someway to put a dot of a bright color on a wing so we could identify the butterfly as one we raised. Haven't done that yet. Its such a wonderful experience. I love growing the flowers, he loves growing the butterflies. Jane