Broody duck

[Jaglove]

I went out of town so had my nephews stay at my house to care for my animals. When I came home my female was broody for the first time. I was gone for about a week. Since I don’t know exactly when she started I don’t know exactly when to expect her them to hatch. She’s a Pekin and I have one drake that’s a Runner. My female is pretty much the boss and my drake is super docile. Will the ducklings be ok to stay in the enclosure with them or do I need to remove them after hatching?

 

[Evadig]

Hi and ! It is generally not advised to keep ducklings in with a drake, as you never know how he will react. The mother might be okay with them and might not...my two ducks did not really want anything to do with the duckling they hatched, and the drake was scared of it.
I would block off the mother duck with her brood (assuming she does want them) to avoid any possible complications.
Ducks sit for 28 days so you can assume that the eggs will hatch in about three weeks, give or take a few days .

 

[Jaglove]

Thank you for the advice! I’m so nervous and want to make sure to care for them properly.