Broody hen /duck eggs.

[kevnsue]

Hi all,one of our warren hens has gone broody,shes 12 months old and has sat on 2 0f her own infertile eggs for the last 7 days,so today i have put 6 fertile duck eggs under her and she is so proud,the eggs are from khaki/indian runner ducks so dont know which is which.
HOW LONG DO WE WAIT ???????
Cheers kevnsue.

[Nicos]

I think it's 28 days- one week longer than a chook...but I may be wrong!!!

Oh- and by the way....how EXCITING!!!!!!

[MaureenHall]

Oh wow!! Brilliant Don't let Lynda know though or she'll be wanting one of her girls to go broody so she can hatch some duckies too Please keep us updated won't you

[Janna]

Ducks

Hello. Yes it will be aprox 28 days, until your little bundles of fluff pip thier way out. It can take a couple of days longer(for muscovies, up to 35 days). Hens make great duck mums. My black wyandotte Chewie is sitting on 7 aylsburys at the moment, she has successfully raised several clutches of ducklings in the past. She will have a bit of a panic the first time they jump in to the pond though !

[kevnsue]

Thanx for the tips will keep you posted.

[Hilary B]

Remember to damp the eggs a bit (but not too much, and use warm water) when she gets off to eat. Mummy duck goes for a swim and comes back with sightly damp feathers......

[lynda66]

Oh wow!! Brilliant Don't let Lynda know though or she'll be wanting one of her girls to go broody so she can hatch some duckies too Please keep us updated won't you

she is already hoping for a broody chook .... though it would be good if i got a few eggs first .....

[kevnsue]

She's still sitting tight and is halfway there now.

[Nicos]

Good news!!!

Just a thought- if she's sat on her own eggs for a week- and then 4 weeks on the duck eggs- she might lose quite a bit of weight????

Mine certainly did with the 3 weeks.
Perhaps a bit of extra porridge and spice might go down well- or extra maize???..what do you think???

[kevnsue]

Hi,no she's still eating well and is the same size as the other 5 birds.

[Nicos]

That's good to hear!
I suppose they don't actually need as much as when laying- it must use up loads of calories to produce an egg each day.

[di]

Good Luck with it...hope your nerves are better than mine!!
Our lottie neighbour had a broody hen hatch some duck eggs last year...it amazed me how even after they were hatched she still considered herself mum...& a fine one too!!

[HappyGreen]

Lucky you to have a hen do the job! Ducks are such rubbish mums that we're having them incubated this year and hand raised rather than neglected...

[Hilary B]

Lucky you to have a hen do the job! Ducks are such rubbish mums that we're having them incubated this year and hand raised rather than neglected...

'Ordinary' ducks are lousy Mums, but a Muscovy duck can often be a brilliant Mum!

[kevnsue]

HELP,i've dropped one of the duck eggs while moving the hen off them,it has dented the pointed end but not broke the membrane inside,does anybody know if it will hatch?