Duck Eggs Daily. Lisa Steele
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Hatching under a duck is far less complicated if you are lucky enough to have a duck cooperate and decide to sit on eggs. The mother duck handles it all. Be sure she has a nice nest of straw in a location safe from the elements, predators and the rest of the flock, and provide her with feed and water close by. Blocking off her nest will ensure that other ducks don’t lay more eggs alongside those she is trying to hatch, and will also prevent broken eggs if another duck wants to use the nest to lay her eggs.
Herbs for the nest. It’s beneficial to add some fresh or dried herbs to the nest. Oftentimes, ducks aren’t overly broody, so some calming herbs such as chamomile, lavender, bee balm, yarrow or lemon balm will relax her and encourage her to sit. Since she’s not swimming as much as she would otherwise, you can add some insect-repelling herbs to the nest to help keep it parasite-free; these include basil, bay leaves, mint, rosemary and thyme. Lastly, a few herbs with antibacterial properties are always a good idea. Basil, yarrow and thyme do double-duty here, as does bee balm. Rose petals have antibacterial qualities, plus they smell nice and ducks love to eat them – so toss a few (untreated) rose petals into the nest as well.
The mother duck will turn the eggs, rotate those from the outer ring to the inner ring for even heating, and also most likely kick any non-developing eggs out of the nest. She will control the temperature and humidity. You don’t need to candle eggs incubating under a duck. Once the ducklings hatch, she’ll keep them warm and teach them how to eat and drink, as well as introduce them to the rest of the flock when they are ready.
Once the ducklings hatch, I move them with the mother duck into a separate cage or crate inside the duck house for a week or so and then let mother duck see how she feels about taking her babies out to explore. Just keep an eye on them initially to be sure the other flock members don’t bother them, and be aware that they are very vulnerable to all kinds of predators, including hawks, snakes, rats, cats, and all the other normal predators, so restricting them to an enclosed pen is safest.
When a broody chicken sits on duck eggs
Duck eggs need 28 days to hatch, compared to the 21 days that chicken eggs require, but a broody chicken can, and will, successfully sit on duck eggs for the entire four-week incubation period. To help maintain the proper humidity, duck eggs benefit from putting a piece of sod on the bottom of the nest and misting the eggs once a day. Remember that the ducklings won’t have the protective oils a mother duck would impart to their feathers at hatch, so swimming should be limited for the first few weeks. But the look on the mother hen’s face when her “baby chicks” hop into the water tub and start bathing will be priceless!
A chicken will sometimes sit on a nest of duck eggs.
THREE
BROODING AND RAISING DUCKLINGS
Raising ducklings, referred to as “brooding,” is fairly easy, but be forewarned – it can be messy. Fortunately, ducklings’ cuteness more than makes up for any mess they make! They do need a bit of care to survive and grow into healthy ducks, so before bringing your ducklings home, there are some basics you should know.
If you were lucky enough to hatch your ducklings under a duck, she will keep them warm and be sure they learn how to eat and drink; so all you need to do is provide her a secure location out of the elements, separated from the rest of the flock for safety’s sake, and safe from predators. It’s always a good idea to have a brooding area ready, though, because sometimes a duck will successfully hatch her ducklings but then not be a very good mother, stepping on the ducklings, becoming aggressive toward them, abandoning them or losing interest. In that case, they will need to be moved into a heated brooder.
The brooder box
Whether you hatch fertile eggs in an incubator or buy day-old ducklings locally or online, their first stop will be a heated brooder for the first few weeks of their lives. What kind of brooder should you provide? A simple plastic tote will suffice for the first week or so, as long as it is draft-free and protected from curious children and pets. Ducks are messy and like to play in their water, so a cardboard box generally isn’t the best choice for a brooder. They also grow fast. You might prefer to skip the small tote and start them in a large dog crate or cage with cardboard or plastic wrapped around the lower half to prevent drafts (and escapees).
Note: Some reference books recommend brooding ducklings on wire mesh caging to prevent a buildup of spilled water and poop, I don’t recommend it. While I have brooded ducklings in a wire rabbit hutch in the past, the wire is very hard on their feet. Duck feet are far more sensitive than chicken feet or rabbit feet. Also, that open wire bottom makes the brooder extremely drafty, which can lead to chilled ducks. If you do use a wire cage, I would suggest leaving only one-third of the floor uncovered, and covering the rest with a solid material such as a piece of wood or rubber yoga mat, etc.
I’ve found that a bathtub – if you have one to spare – makes a perfect brooder. It’s easy to clean and large enough to brood a handful of ducklings until they are ready to be outside. And it’s easy to block off the bathroom for the safety of your ducklings.
Or, you could section off space in your garage with a circle of cardboard or chicken wire; cover the floor with a plastic tarp and then a thick layer of chopped straw. It’s simple to enlarge as more space is needed. A puppy playpen also makes a wonderful duckling brooder in the garage or a spare room; you can also remove the bottom and move it outside on nice warm days once the ducklings are a few weeks old to give them fresh air and some sunlight.
Whatever you choose to use, you’ll need to provide a brooding area for your ducklings that is heated and well ventilated but draft-free. The brooder should be covered or behind closed doors. (If you are brooding outdoors, ensure the brooder is safe from rats, snakes, weasels and other predators.)
A puppy playpen makes a terrific duckling brooder.
Space to grow. Since ducklings grow fast, be prepared to provide adequate accommodations. Plan on a minimum of one square foot for every three ducklings at hatch, then for every two ducklings until they are two weeks old, then increase to at least one square foot apiece until they are three weeks old. Of course, more space is always better. After that, they should be able to spend warm, sunny days outside in a safe, enclosed pen, depending on the time of year and your climate, returning to the brooder only to sleep.
A non-slip floor. Ducklings do make a mess. They play in their water and splash it all over the brooder. Since a wet floor can be slippery, it helps to put down rubber shelf liner. The liner provides an easily grippable surface for little duckling feet. If they are brooded on a slippery surface, such as plastic, newspaper or cardboard, your ducklings can end up with foot and leg injuries as they race around, or develop spraddle leg (see page 102).
Rubber shelf liner makes an ideal non-slip floor for ducklings.
Adding litter. After the first few days, once the ducklings have figured out where their food dish is, you can add some litter over the shelf liner.
Good choices include:
• chopped straw
• large pine chips or shavings