I am totally new at this duck thing and when I first came to this sight you all helped me a lot! Now it is spring and my females are laying eggs all over the place(in straw, on rocks, ledges, etc..) What do I do with them all and how do I know if I should be leaving them there! My ducks are only about a year old! The males are being very aggressive to the females and it seems that couples have formed! They used to hang all together but now there are 3 groups of one male and one female! Does that mean anything? I could really use some of your helpful advise! Thanks again! Sincerely, Stacey

-- Stacey E (erdmanns@execpc.com), April 16, 2002

Answers

Well, they probably are fertile. If you crack one, the spot on the yolk of a fertile egg will be round, well formed.

-- mary (mlg@mlg.com), April 17, 2002.

They are most likely fertile. After she has laid all the eggs, she will start setting if she hasn't already. I would just leave her alone since disturbing her too much might make her abandon the nest. If you are determined to find out if they are fertile, you would need to candle the eggs. Meaning in the dark, shine a light (like a small flashlight) on the large end. That is where the air cell is. After the egg has been incubated about a week, you will see blood veins which is the baby developing. The further it is along, the denser it will be. Be careful not to cook the egg with the light! Make it quick. That advise is for if she's on a permanent nest. Ducks and geese pair off this time of year, that's normal. The pairing off also means the eggs are most likely fertile. What looks like aggression is probably just normal courtship. Make sure they have a place to nest. That could depend on the breed since some ducks like different nests than others. They all want safe and secure, they like to feel hidden. If they are frantic and have no place to nest, they will drop them anywhere. Make sure that all the pairs have room to get away from each other. That could be a problem, too...competition for nesting space. Oh, one more thing. If you gather the scattered eggs and they are fertile, they will still be okay providing they have not froze, of course. They will maintain fertility for about a week. The sooner they are incubated, the better. Just gather them up if you are sure that it is not going to be the permanent nest site, take them inside, but don't refrigerate. Once they start to nest, put the eggs in the nest and leave them alone. If you want to incubate them yourself, the feedstores have some fairly inexpensive incubators. Duck eggs need to be kept humid, but not wet. There will be trays for water. They're pretty fun to hatch and raise! Nothing's cuter than a baby duck thinking you're mama! Remember that if you do this, they will not "float" on water until they get their feathers which is about the same time their oil glands start working. If they hatch under the mom, the oil from her feathers rubs off onto them and they will float. If your pairs don't figure it out this year, they probably will next year. Out of three pairs, at least one of them should be able to pull it off right. Even in nature raising kids is a learning thing. Good luck!

-- Dusty (jmncndy@micron.net), April 17, 2002.

Yes Stacey, Candling is the ticket. Use a little mag lite, they work great. Since you will be doing this in the dead of night you won't disturb "mom". If you would like a series of photos to show you what the eggs look like when you candle them at each stage of development, go to Quackers Home Page ( http://www.poultryconnection.com/quackers/ ). Turn on your speakers when you get there and listen to "Rubber Duckie" while you are at it! LOL Follow the LINKS to Hatching, brooding and candling. Have fun, LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), April 17, 2002.