getting duck to lay in a nest

[katmae77]

I adopted a pair of rouens and can't get the female to lay in one spot. She hides her nest every time, and once I find it she will move on. They are free ranged on a large pond. When I find the nest I let it be until there is a good amount of eggs and then take some to incubate and leave a few there so she keeps laying. sometimes this works other times not. Most of the time cranes come and find her nests long before I do. Is there anything I can do to encourage her to lay somewhere safer, like in a dog house or box or something? Anyone have any tips? I'm worried that she will lay and then go broody and a coon will get her. Thanks! Kathy

 

[SandraChick]

Geesh- sounds like you've done most things I've heard of....

I don't let my ducks out of their coup until about an hour after sunrise (or a little later)- to make sure she doesn't lay elsewhere. But if you don't coop your ducks....I don't know!

Have you thought about putting the eggs in the dog box so she can see them there? Works on chickens...no clue if it'll be similar for ducks.

Good luck
Sandra

 

[theOEGBman]

Rouens arent supposed to be a broody breed, but neither are Pekins and mine hatched 9 ducklings. I dont know what you can do other than let her hide her nest and see what happens.

 

[FrankBlissett]

LOL - good luck!

The only way we could do it was to build a corral out of pallets around their shed, then wait till they all laid before setting them free for the day. We do have a big garbage can set in the shed as a nesting box, and that's their favorite place. But they also lay in a nook beside it, behind the door once we let them into the corral, in a corners where the pallets are joined - and oh yea, just about anywhere on the ground.

Other poultry people in the area have the same trouble with their ducks, so it must be a duck thing.

Regarding free-range ducks going broody, I can vouch for that too. Our drakes chased off a mallard-colored campbell duck and a kacki drake this spring (they didn't go far). I kept an eye on them as best I could, but a couple months later she showed up with 14 babies.

-Frank