I know that the answers to my questions are probably somewhere in Countryside's archives, but I can seem to find them, so I hope you will all bear with me!

I was wondering if there was a way to get my ducks to go broody. I have 1 female pekin, 3 female cayuga, and 1 male rouen. They live with a large (@50) flock of chickens along with some guines hens in a large pen. They don't have a pond but they love the kiddie pool and mud puddles. They are not quite a year old. They lay eggs, but don't seem to want to sit. Is there a type of nest box I should use? Should I pen them up? Several of my hens have gone broody and I successfully hatched out 9 chicks yesterday. I was worried if I put the duck eggs under the hens the ducklings and the adult ducks wouldn't get along, or the ducklings would think they were chickens. Or should I just incubate them myself instead?

Thank you all so much for the help! I very much appreciate it, as I still have a lot to learn!

-- Ellen (sonicfizz@juno.com), March 25, 2002

Answers

Excellent questions, Ellen. Too bad I don't have any answers. I have 4 mallards. My original two hatched and raised 3 ducklings two years ago,(one disappeared last summer) but ever since the hens, just drop eggs on the floor or the ground and abandon them. Is there anyone out there who can help us? My questions are the same as Ellen's.

PS...I love your email address 'sonicfizz'...sounds like a great Friday-after-a-hard-day's-work drink.

Russ

-- (imashortguy@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

Ellen, some breeds of duck are notorious for being poor "sitters". That said, if your ducks are with chickens, what are they eating? Do you have a good duck book? Ducks require a whole different diet than chickens so I am wondering if they are getting adequate Niacin and a proper balance of nutrition for ducks. If you log on to www.poultryconnection.com you will find a number of people to help you with this and a great selection of books on duck care. Holderreads "Story's Guide to Raising Ducks" is one of the best(and cheapest)and list most of the breeds of domestic ducks, telling you how they are as brooders, how they measure up as layers, meat etc. When I am ready for one of my ducks to raise a family, I separate her with the drake and move them to a house/pen/yard of their own. This does the trick for me everytime, but then I have bantam ducks and they are good at brooding and it may not work for you. Good luck, isn't spring fun? LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), March 26, 2002.