My mother duck has 7 day old duckings and she stopped sleeping with them. Has she abandoned them? Should I intervene; it's November and it's very cold.
If she is still around, but not caring for them, ducks (birds in general) often abandon chicks that are not viable and that could be what is going on. That is so sad, but they run on instincts, not feelings. The other thing that could be happening is she is caring for them, but just not when you are watching.
If truly you think they are abandoned I always recommend contacting your local Humane Society or Animal Rescue or Wildlife Refuge versus advising you to act on your own and get their expert advice or intervention.
Sadly well meaning intentions without proper skills can often cause more harm than good.
Post back what the experts tell you or an update if mom came back! Prayers for the feathered ones!
Are you sure she has abandoned them all together. Normally the ducks will follow her around. If you are worried about them being cold you should ut a box in the cage and add a towl or some old clothes to the box for them to sleep in. The mother will teach them how to find food and even feed then when she eats the food you leave in the cage for her. We have raised tons of chickens and ducks here and it seems like the mother is not caring for them, but she really is.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
A duck laid 5 eggs in the last week. She was trying to lay another egg 5 days ago and our siding contractor startled her and she flew away. Is it possible she'll come back?
If the duck has not returned by now it is more than likely that the duck will not come back and has decided to make a nest some place else. I would wait a few more days before picking up the eggs and nest to dispose of them.
A duck has laid 9 eggs in a nest and been sitting on eggs for over a week. She's not been on the nest all day today and lots of feathers about, it's very cold tonight in Scotland and I don't know what to do with the eggs as it doesn't look like she's coming back.
Would be grateful for some feedback. I don't have an incubator but have a heat lamp.A mother duck sits on her eggs for 20 to 23 hours a day. She will leave the eggs (typically covered in down) for an hour or so each morning and afternoon so that she can feed. Any extended absence more than a few hours once incubation has begun will likely be fatal to the developing embryos, because the eggs are much less tolerant to cold than fresh eggs.
About 2 or 3 weeks ago, we noticed a mama duck near our front porch on a nest with 10 eggs under her. She has been there 24/7, except occasionally, probably to get food and water for herself. Not for 2 days we have not seen her. What do we do about the 10 eggs?
By TWYLA from Hampton, VA
Leave them. Ducks do and must get off of their nests a lot. If it's been over 21 days, then likely the eggs are bad and she decided not to hatch them. (They might be bad in fewer days, too - but at least 21 days is needed to hatch). If they were viable and it's not very hot all day and night and she's been gone, likely they've died in the shell. That's the way that nature keeps the duck population from over blooming. I've learned to respect that, and duck eggs must be kept 99 degrees, but not allowed to dry or the babies will die trying to get out.
You should never help them out because the long time (sometimes a day) that it takes them to leave the egg allows all the blood vessels in the inside of the albumin of the egg to slowly dry up. If you try to get them out too soon, and they can bleed to death as their naval will wick the blood out and not dry up like it should and separate naturally from the albumin.
Also, they're closing up the last of the yolk into their bellies at that time and you don't want to open the egg too soon or you risk them getting infected. Let the ducks handle it- they really know their stuff. And hope for babies! Don't have your feelings hurt if they have more babies than survive - again it's how mother nature takes care to keep populations correct, not too many and thus diseased and starving ducks. It's hard to do - ducklings are the cutest creatures on earth!
There was a mother duck in one of my planter boxes in my backyard. The mother duck laid 10 eggs and was scared off by a raccoon. She has been gone for almost 24 hours. The raccoon ate 4 of the eggs, there are now 6 eggs left.
I have a feeling the mother is not coming back. What should I do with the 6 eggs? I don't want to raccoon to get to them.Truthfully there is not a lot you can do. You can gather up the eggs and try to use a special light to hatch the eggs yourself at home. Or you can pick them up and throw them away so the racoon can't eat them.
It's possible that this is the law of the jungle at play, that the duck has moved on and laid elsewhere, or possibly even died.
How long did she lay on them? If less than a day or so, there's probably nothing left to salvage. For your peace of mind, just remove them.
What would cause a duck to abandon its nest full of eggs? Sas been sitting on the eggs for 4 days and she has not been seen for over 24 hours.
Do you have a wildlife rescue or aviary in your area? I would call them and see if they can help. The wildlife rescue in my town is really good and offers solutions to challenges like this. If you can't find it through Google, call your local town officials or even the police NON EMERGENCY number and see if they can get you hooked up with the right place.
I have this duck who has been laying eggs in my aunt's flower bed. I took the dog out and she was sitting in the grass. When my dog saw her he tried going after her. Luckily I have a leash that you can control how far ahead they can go.
When he tried going after her, she flew away. Will she be back? Also if she doesn't come back what should I do because I'm scared the feral cats will get the babies.My cat scared a duck nesting in a planter on my deck. She has been sitting on the eggs for over 2 weeks. Will she come back? What should I do if she doesn't? How long should I wait?
She will come back to sit on the nest after all the eggs are laid.
keep your cat inside. it takes 25-29 days to hatch after incubating has begun, so these eggs have 11-15 days left. if you are certain she is not returning (2 or 3 days of no return) contact your state wildlife agency because disturbing the eggs is against the law.
It appears the duck has already laid all of her eggs if she has been sitting/nesting full time (not just coming and going - still laying eggs) for over 2 weeks as she will not start to incubate until all her eggs are laid.
You do not say what kind of duck you have so I have two sites listed that you can read and decide what to do but no matter what - make sure no animals go near the nest.
www.liveducks.com/
wildliferehabber.com/
We farm and have chickens and ducks. They usually come back.
It was a mallard and she had layer all 12 eggs and was sitting on the nest constantly for over 2 weeks. She did not come back overnight or all day so I found a rehaber that had room in her incubator. She let me know that all 12 eggs had live babies. And she is going to let me know if they hatch. Thanks for all the help.
The duck was a mallard and she had been sitting on her 12 eggs consistently for over 2 weeks. She didn't come back overnight or all day so I found a rehaber that had room in her incubator. She let me know that there were 12 live babies and will let me know if they hatch. Thanks for the help!
A mallard has chosen a very small space in front of our condo to nest for the 2nd year. Last year was perfect and she hatched beautiful ducklings. This year she left her nest yesterday morning at 7, after running and squawking throughout the parking lot, and hasn't returned. It's been over 24 hours. She left her nest uncovered. We used a small rake to cover them with her feathers.
Leave it be. They don't start sitting until they lay their last egg. I would give it several days. Don't mess with the eggs, that can prevent her from returning, as she will associate that with a predator in the area.
I would leave it be. It's highly likely she will come back.
Hopefully she will return soon! Or she has just at a different time then when you checked.
Ducks sit on their nest after the last egg has been laid. She may not have finished laying her eggs. Just wait and see.
Is this an abandoned nest? The female hasn't been around or anywhere near by for almost a week. There is just the one egg. There are lights in our garden that light up at night. Should we let a predator find it?
Should we see if we can hatch it? I'm worried this duck couple is gone. My kids where so excited we got a duck nest and now we aren't sure what to do.
We were outside today with two dogs and five people. My granddaughter noticed a mother duck on a nest. We soon left the area, but now the mother has been away from the nest of 10 eggs for a couple of hours.
Do you think she will return? She seemed stressed while we were there.I have a male and female duck that have been on our pond for the last 6 months. Just recently I found a nest of 12 eggs and the female has been sitting on them for a little over a week. Yesterday I realized the male duck was gone and now this morning the female is gone.
I believe she took off late yesterday evening. I checked the nest before going to bed and she was gone. She hasn't been back. Can I save these eggs or is it too late?Our momma duck has been missing for at least 48 hours. We have a nest of 15 eggs. Will they still survive if we get them to a incubator?
Thanks.
The mother may not have finished laying her eggs. She may come back and lay some more. When she is all finished laying the eggs, she will sit on them.
Is this a duck that belongs to you and lives in your yard? Did something frighten her? Is this a regular home style duck and not a "wild" duck? i know most people do not think about this as to them - a duck is a duck - but that may not be the case. if the eggs are cold it may be too late to save them.
here are a couple of sites with information on what to do.
www.cuteness.com/
wildliferehabber.com/
I have a duck who for the second year in a row has laid eggs in my front flower bed. She laid her eggs around March 30. I know it takes about 28 days for them to hatch. She's been on the nest day and night as I always check on her. Yesterday morning I noticed a broken egg shell outside the nest and by her nest. I'm not sure if it was part of the same egg. I found her outside the nest pacing back and forth. After a few minutes she did go back to the nest. I checked on her a few times and she seemed to be OK. Also when I looked her eggs were uncovered. I'm sure that was done by the predator.
I'm not sure if this happened during the day so I'm thinking it might have been someone's cat. I have no pets. When I went out early this morning to check on her, she wasn't on her nest. I've been out a few times to check on her and she's still not back. Do you think she's abandoned the nest? I'm so upset and very worried about her. Her male companion usually comes to visit in the morning and I sometimes see him on the front lawn, but I haven't seen either one of them today. What do you think?
My grandson and I have found what appears to be a duck or a goose nest in my next door neighbor's yard out near the road under a tree in some mulch. There are five eggs in the nest, but we have not seen what it is that laid the eggs. They resemble duck eggs is there any nature place that will come and take a look and see if they are viable?
We don't think the mother is going to come back it's been a few days and I have stepped out and looked over at the nest and there's never any type of bird or whatever on the nest. So are there groups that will come to check it out?We have a duck that has been nesting for 2 weeks. She never stopped sitting on the nest until this morning. I noticed her in our pond. I discovered a snake was eating the eggs. I got the snake out and finally got mom back in after 10 hours. She is sitting on the nest again. Would the eggs have survived 10 hours? They are padded with pine chips. The temp was around 70 degrees in the morning.
Thanks in advance.
There was a momma duck (mallard) near our porch. She laid what looks like at least 10 eggs. She'd fly off for an hour or so during the day. Today, I have not seen her for 12 hours. The eggs aren't properly covered with leaves and two are cracked open. Will she come back? If not, how much cold can the eggs endure? It has been 55 degrees at night and 65 during the day. Are they a lost cause or...what should I do?
Thanks.
My dog was in my back yard and saw a duck (mallard) nest and scared off the hen will it come back?
Mama Duck has been sitting on her nest for at least two weeks. We don't know how long before, as we were out of town.
We put out a low bird bath so she has water nearby - we are a few houses from a creek.
She was sitting on her nest last night. This morning we found parts of an egg in the birdbath. A larger broken egg was a few feet away, and another one was a few feet from that in the vinca with the yolk inside. There are several more eggs in her nest that are unbroken, but at least one broken with the yolk inside.
If a predator got to her eggs, will she come back for the others?
Should we just leave them alone?
Is it possible one or more hatched and she already took the babies to the creek?
Thank you!
