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Post by admin on Aug 30, 2006 15:08:08 GMT -5
One of my baby chicks died today, in a box in the house under a lamp, and my husband came home to put our oldest male duck in a carrier to give away to the UPS man.
Need to seriously talk to somebody, anybody on this group who has chickens and ducks and can give me some advice.
Elaine
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Post by wildchildmom3 on Sept 3, 2006 15:19:44 GMT -5
Elanine,
I have Chickens and Khaki and Pekins ducks. Maybe I can help?? I also have/had goats, turkeys, horses. Lisa M
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Post by admin on Sept 4, 2006 9:04:21 GMT -5
Lisa, my ducks successfully hatched and raised 7 babies that are now young adults. Their mother is still in there sitting on an empty nest...what is up with that? Do I need to make her come out of the nest box (my ducks are kept in a pen at night, in the event of hurricanes we can lock them ALL in a sturdy built in nest box).
Yesterday a visitor to our home told me that ducks need to have their eggs near the water so they can keep the eggs moist. Well, this last batch of eggs the mama was sitting on, she kept kicking eggs out of the nest outside and ignoring them, and my husband kept throwing them away until now there are none. So she sits in there on this huge nest of hay, the whole bottom of the nest box is covered in hay.
Is this anything I need to worry about or just leave her alone? I have them penned like chickens, and have built shelter so they can sit outside the nestbox out of the rain if they wish, their feed is there in wash basins. But their pool water is out in the open, well fully enclosed but open to the elements.
I wondered if her kicking the eggs out meant anything or if she was just not wanting to sit on eggs. I realize it's still moulting season too, so wondered if that has anything to do with it.
Elaine
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Post by wildchildmom3 on Sept 5, 2006 7:32:41 GMT -5
Ms. HappyCat,
It sounds like your duck has gone broody(if she is constantly sitting on her nest) or as my kids and husband would say its pmsing. She wont be in the mood to sit on eggs if she is molting(losing feathers ) either. . The best thing you can do is remove her from her nest. Take away all nesting material and kick her outside. If you have another pen to put her in that would help also. I use my chicken tractor for broody hens and ducks. It took about 2 weeks for my duck to start acting normal again. I still have one broody hen who I have give up on being "normal" She constantly in a broody state of mind. Have you notice your duck losing weight at all?
As for eggs needing water and moisture the answer is yes, but the mother duck will provide all the moisture it needs when she splashes around in your duck pool then returns to sit on her eggs. It sounds like you got good mother ducks to hatch so many duckling. I'm jealous.. Keep up the good work and enjoy your animals!! Lisa M (its starting to look like fall a little) in Mich
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Post by admin on Sept 10, 2006 16:15:34 GMT -5
Hubby says we gotta give up the ducks before next fall. Maybe the rabbits too, not sure. We probably can't find anyone to watch anything except the chickens, dog and cat for us. Nobody seems to be into having animals like we are.
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