broody ducks

[Patf]

Two of our muscovy ducks have been squashed together in one nesting box for about 3 weeks now. There must be about 15-20 eggs under them. If you try to move them they get very irate. They are also plucking out their down feathers to cover the eggs. How can you tell if the eggs contain ducklings? If they do, how long before they hatch out? There's a good chance they were fertilised as Donald was very busy a few weeks ago. Pat.

[goatlady]

LAST EDITED ON 29-Apr-04 AT 08:48 AM (BST)

Muscovies are very motherly ducks! They usually brood all my other ducks eggs most successfully as the Rouens and Campbells cant be bothered to sit around for that long and get drawn out to play with the boys!

I expect they will be fertilised, and to check you would need to disturb the nest and 'candle' the eggs to see if theres a chick forming, and frankly at this stage its not worth the trouble. If they havent hatched within the next fortnight then you will need to persuade the girls that its not worth the bother and remove the eggs, which will stink dreadfully if addled when broken. It will take some convincing as the ducks will return to the empty nest if you dont shut them out, but their health will suffer if left too long, as they eat and drink minimally and of course pluck out their feathers to line the nest.
It takes 28-30days to hatch, if you leave them alone they will manage fine, but once they hatch be careful of predators outdoors and make sure the pond or water tubs have sloping access or they can drown if they cant get out easily.

What breed is Donald? If he isnt a muscovy, your ducklings will be infertile crossbreds, very pretty, rather large and the french find them excellent to EAT!

sue
http://ukgrapevine.monsite.wanadoo.fr