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duck egg question

16 years ago

Hello-

I was hoping you might help me with a question about our khaki campbell duck. She is the only one we have, she is about 10 months old. She has been laying eggs for several months now. She has been in the garage in a small pen with the ability to go outside all winter long. Now that the weather is warm she stays outside all of the time. She has made a nest with 10 eggs and a wiffle ball and she sits on the eggs most of the day and night, getting up breifly to eat and have a quick swim. We do not have a male around, but I have seen two male mallards hanging around on and off, but they do not come too close to her that I have seen. But we see them on a daily basis. Is it possible the eggs are fertile? Will she sit on a nest of non-fertile eggs?

She has been sitting on the eggs for about almost two weeks. Thank you so much for any help you might be able to provide.

Mary Martell- Rochester, NY

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Comments (6)

patrick_nh
16 years ago
Yes, she will set on a nest of nonfertile eggs.

The sex drive of male mallards is incredible. Especially this time of year when the hens are all setting and are unavailable, or the unattached males are just dieing to get some action. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they flew in for a romp every day, assuming that you have an uncovered pen, which you must, or why would you even think that they could have bred her? The big danger with that set up, is that she is dead meat if any predators happen by. They don't call them sitting ducks for nothing, although the proper term is "setting".

If the eggs are fertile, you can tell now by candling them with a flashlight. If any are clear, throw them out, leaving the others, and get rid of the ball. If they are all clear, take them, so she'll start laying for you again. You should also know that Campbells, as a laying breed, are notoriously poor mothers. You'll find many exceptions, and people delight in bragging that they have one who sets full term and actually raises the young to boot. Still, those are the exceptions, and in general, even if they do set, they have a high rate of abandonment of eggs, or of ducklings, if they get that far.
mersiepoo
16 years ago
Of course all birds do have variations, like I have some guineas that are great setters, and I have some that are lousy setters...and some that won't set at all. If you have a large dog that you can tie out near your duck, that helps keep raccoons away. I had a guinea make a nest in some mint I have growing wild, and I would spread some mint around while she was on it...she actually had a successful hatch and didn't get eaten! I even walked our dog over to where she was hiding to see if he could sniff her out (he's got a great sense of smell), and he didn't know she was there.

Also, if you do candle the eggs, make sure to wait until they have had time to incubate a little.
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Dumor makes an egg laying mixture, get that and you won't have the problem anymore. I had the two elements separated at first, and the tiny little shell fragments by themselves aside from the food is not going to make them want to eat it. My ducks didn't even bother trying to eat the shell pieces. They would eat the food around the shell mix and leave it alone. Dumor takes the shells and turns it into a powder so it blends in with the food and they eat it regardless. And they love it, youll see a big change in their interest to eat. The shells in the food that the specific manufacturer produces were so tough i had to pry them open after the whole egg was cracked all over. The membrane on the inside of the egg had to be torn through it was so well made. Theres not much else to say other than to use that feed. All ducks were laying eggs of that quality. They also need tons of water to produce them but it sounds like you have that covered. The food is formulated specifically for Ducks and Chickens. Other Full flock feeds contain a broad range of grains that Ducks sometimes don't need as its not what they eat naturally, but its food nevertheless and its in front of them so they eat it. Or parts of it. You also have to give them worms every now and then which contain protein. They go absolutely crazy over them. But youll have super healthy Ducks with this feed. Good luck with it/them...
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patrick_nh
16 years ago
Read carefully. The bird has been setting for two weeks already. PLENTY of time to show development if they're candled now.
Dibbit
16 years ago
In future, you might like know that duck eggs are great for cooking with, esp. baking. I know of people who substitute them for hen's eggs on a regular basis for all uses, but personally, I don't like them cooked directly - the white gets a more translucent look than hen's eggs when cooked, and I guess a lot of my food preferences are visual, as it puts me off frying or poaching them, or even scrambling them. However, that's my feeling... If you collect the eggs daily, the duck(s) will keep laying for quite a while, unless they go broody.
grannyp5ms
15 years ago
We have a domestic duck that has been sitting about 2 to 3 weeks and today we noticed that she had uncovered her eggs she also seemed very excited. Could they be ready to hatch?
fancifowl
15 years ago
28 days for Mallard type ducks.

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