Single hen

[Rubyismyduck]

i have a couple of mallard hens and a drake, they dont sit on the eggs and lay them outside in the cold, i would quite like them to hatch but natrually and not with an incubator, what should i do?

 

and are ducklings more freindly as you bond with them from young?

[feemcg]

I hatched 2 Khaki Campbells.....the boy was always very friendly and I used to pick him up and walk about with him and cuddle him. I thought he was gorgeous.....until he 'matured' and became protective of the female. Then he started charging at me every time I stepped into the garden. He would bite my ankles and I had to walk about with a brush all the time to chase him away.....he just kept charging back. I spoke to a couple of duck keepers and they said it was my fault, I should never have got so friendly with him as once he matured he tried to be boss. If I'd kept him at a distance from the start I would always have been boss. So he had to go as it was spoiling my time out in the garden with the chooks

[Lesley]

If you want to hatch eggs naturally then you will have to wait until one of the ducks goes broody. If one of them does then she will gather up eggs and sit tight for 28 days.

 

You can't make them go broody though - you will just have to be patient