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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
We have a duck nest in our backyard and it seemed like the mama duck started incubating because she was sitting on the nest all day for two days. Unfortunately on the morning of the third day she was no where to be found and there was a broken egg around the nest.
It has been almost two full days since we found the egg shells and still no sign of mama duck. What do we do? Can we save the ducklings?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!
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 dog was in my back yard and saw a duck (mallard) nest and scared off the hen will it come back?
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.
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.
