Do ducks take other duck's eggs?

[Jlw0903]

Ive always suspected that one (or a few) of my girls will make a nest and roll other ducks eggs into them. I dont have any particularly broody breeds (rouens, swedish, and a cayuga) but often several eggs will be in 1 nest in the morning. Today when i came home and did my evening check i came upon a rather surprising site.

The yellow treat ball i have been missing for months was sitting in a nest in the corner of the pen along with a blue rouen egg! I thought my boyfriend was messing with me but nope they had done that one their own. Some how they dug up the ball and one of them decided that was an egg!

This incident i think confirms my theory that i have an egg theif and that the likely culprit is one of my rouens. Any one have any proof that ducks do this? Or any other silly duck shenanigans?

 

[fatty and friends]

i have two girls and their eggs are always together in the morning. surprisingly, they do not want to go broody but their drake is very protective over the eggs and even tries to sit on them lol

 

[KaleIAm]

My ducks prefer to lay eggs in one nest and will take turns. Sometimes they will make a new nest and they'll roll the dummy eggs from one nest to the new nest. I've also found a somewhat egg sized/shaped rock in the nest that they somehow got inside the barn from outside.

I give my ducks a lot of straw, about 4-6 inches, and their nests are very deep. I'm always surprised they can roll eggs out of the nests but they do it.

 

[Jlw0903]

My ducks prefer to lay eggs in one nest and will take turns. Sometimes they will make a new nest and they'll roll the dummy eggs from one nest to the new nest. I've also found a somewhat egg sized/shaped rock in the nest that they somehow got inside the barn from outside.

I give my ducks a lot of straw, about 4-6 inches, and their nests are very deep. I'm always surprised they can roll eggs out of the nests but they do it.

Thats so interesting!
And hilarious about the rock!

 

[Jlw0903]

i have two girls and their eggs are always together in the morning. surprisingly, they do not want to go broody but their drake is very protective over the eggs and even tries to sit on them lol

I think part of the reason my drake hates me is cuz i collect the eggs and he doesnt like that. Even if im letting them range when i go to check for eggs he comes after me.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I teach AP Biology and we used to have a unit about animal behavior. In it, we studied fixed-action patterns -things animals do automatically without thinking about it. In humans the example is the eyebrow lift. Lift your eyebrows at someone, as if to say hi, and they will automatically do it back. Anyway, another example they gave was egg rolling by Graylag Geese. Geese will always roll a nearby egg into their own nest. If you put a billard cue ball, golf ball, beer can, anything similar in size and shape near their nest, they will roll it in. Ducks must do it too. I had a duck once make a nest in my garden under the hot pepper plants. I laughed when I saw she had rolled two light yellow, oval peppers into her nest.

 

[Jlw0903]

I teach AP Biology and we used to have a unit about animal behavior. In it, we studied fixed-action patterns -things animals do automatically without thinking about it. In humans the example is the eyebrow lift. Lift your eyebrows at someone, as if to say hi, and they will automatically do it back. Anyway, another example they gave was egg rolling by Graylag Geese. Geese will always roll a nearby egg into their own nest. If you put a billard cue ball, golf ball, beer can, anything similar in size and shape near their nest, they will roll it in. Ducks must do it too. I had a duck once make a nest in my garden under the hot pepper plants. I laughed when I saw she had rolled two light yellow, oval peppers into her nest.

Ahh haha thats great!! Maybe she was saving a snack for later?