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...

To risk repeating what may have already been said here, Viburnum nudum needs to be cross pollinated to achieve better fruit set. It is not a question of male and female flowers borne on separate plants(dioecious), as with hollies; they simply need 2 different clones (ie different cultivars). Two plants of the same clone will pollinate each other, but fruit set is MUCH better with cross-pollination. As Viburnum nudum 'Winterthur' is one of the most commonly found clones (aka cultivars) suitable pollinators would be either an un-named clone of V. nudum (straight species), V. nudum 'Count Pulaski' or 'Earthshade'. The correct name is 'Earthshade', NOT 'Earthshades', and it was introduced by William Flemer IV, formerly of Princeton Nurseries, when he owned Earthshade Nursery in North Carolina in the 1990's. Rare Find Nursery in Jackson NJ is a mail-order source for all three of these clones. You may order online through their website or from the catalog. Here is a link that might be useful: Rare Find Nursery

No, they aren't too large. 7.5 inches is what I am finding. They are parasitic brooders and lay their eggs inside the nests of other birds. That can cause some issues for the host species brood as the Cowbird chick often hatches first and therefore gets more food. They are federally protected birds though.~~A

Don't confuse "mating" with copulation. Mating is the process where the pair of hawks becomes a pair, where the male and female agree to live in the same territory. Mating is also known as pair boding. It happens long before there is any copulation. Your pair mated some time ago. Now, it's copulating.