loopy12 Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 (edited) This is my first year keeping ducks...they are now laying well and all is going well with them. I was wondering if I could get them to hatch out and mother ducklings this spring - ? With my chickens I just pop fertilised eggs under the when they go broody - do ducks go broody in the same way, and are there signs to look for etc? Or should I just get an incubator and raise them myself? I would love to have them mothered by the ducks so she'd oil them etc and they could swim from day 1 and live with her in the duck house - having them inside for 6 weeks while they got their feathers last year was rather a essy affair, plus I nearly burnt the house down when the heat lamp slipped... Anyway, any thoughts much appreciated... Oh, and its 3 pekin girls I have and one drake - and rather than more of the same I'd quite like to slip some Cayuga's under the broody... As an extra thought, what would happen if I put duck eggs under a broody hen? Will they grow up thinking they're chickens or wil nature win out and they'll be drawn to water? (Though obviously won;t help with the whole needing-oil-to-swim thing). Edited March 1, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Yep Not too sure about which breeds are more prone to it though. We had a duck at the farm that seemed to go broody a lot, but always had to keep her quiet and away from her because if you messed with her too much she'd get abandon the eggs . No guarantee that she'll go broody though so if you really want some, maybe get an incy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 When we had our first pair of ducks we were told not to let her sit on eggs if she went broody as ducks are notoriously bad mothers and frequently sit for a while and then abandon the eggs. We did let her sit on eggs for two years running and she was an excellent mother! - the next duck that we left on eggs was terrible. I think you have to be prepared to see what happens and maybe be ready with an incubator in case the nest is abandonned? You can hatch them under a good broody hen - she will need to sit tight on the eggs for an extra seven days and some may give up on day 24/24/26 as they would with hen eggs. I understand that the ducklings are programmed to go to water - which distresses the hen mummy! I've never used a broody hen to hatch ducklings so I don't know. As you already know, you need to wait until they have waterproofed their feathers before introducing water as they have no duck mummy to do it for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Hi ive used a broody warren to hatch me 4 ducklings and she was a brilliant mum i gave them a little paddling pool and she would just sit and watch them swimming didnt bother her at all they were about 4 days old when they first went swimming in a paint roller tray and then by 2 to 3 weeks moved up to a paddling pool she stayed with them until they were 6 weeks old and then she went back in with the chickens during the day they would still run to find their mum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisEllis Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 this was the same sort of question i was asking, all well and good hatching in an incubator, but to see the duck mothering the ducklings would be quite a site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
