Indian Runner Duck First Time on Eggs

[dadaas]

My little Indian Runner Duck is now more than 20 days laying on eggs. But the problem is that she is not big, and she can't cover all the eggs; she lay like 20 eggs. Will new ducks be born or she is not doing a good job?

The Interesting thing is that her friend, not sure if it is male or female Indian duck is helping her to cover that eggs. This behaviour is pretty new to me because other types of ducks don't do that. At least I didn't notice it. So my other ducks are all running around, and two Indian ducks are covering one nest of full eggs.

 

[GoldenFlight]

Well, if all the eggs are being covered all the time and they are fertile then they should hatch. Were all the eggs laid before they started sitting on them? You can check to see if their alive by shining a bright flash light at one end of the egg. Here is a link to see what a live duckling looks like. http://www.metzerfarms.com/Candling.cfm?CustID=13122548

 

[Orca5094]

Sometimes two females will incubate the same nest of eggs together like that. It's usually due to both of them wanting to sit, but the other won't give up the spot, so they just both sit there together. It's a little odd, but it happens.

Like GoldenFlight said, I would suggest candling the eggs tonight (after dark). Go out there with a flashlight and see how many are actually developing. If there are any that are clear (no red blood vessels or large dark masses of growing duckling inside) I would discard those so your girls don't have to try to cover so many eggs. This will also give you an idea of how many ducklings to expect.

 

[dadaas]

But how do i remove ducks from the nest? I rarely touch this ducks. In fact i never touch them.

 

[Orca5094]

Ah, ok. They might not appreciate you going in there then, but that's another reason it's best to do it at night after it is dark. Ducks are typically pretty calm and chill at this time and you can (hopefully) reach under and grab out one egg at a time to candle. When you find one you think is good and developing, just put an X on it with pencil so you know you checked that one and put it back. Then go for another egg. They might get off the nest for you (which will make checking the eggs easier; just be quick so they can get back on), or they might stay and put up a fight. If they are too bitey for you, you can always just abort the mission and leave the eggs and see what happens. If they are able to cover all eggs with the two of them there, they might still all be able to hatch. If they have been sitting over 20 days already, there should just be about a week or so of incubation left until they start hatching.

 

[GoldenFlight]

Were the other ducks laying eggs in the nest after these two went broody because if they were you could have ducklings hatching every day for awhile.

 

[momma farmer]

i have an indian runner hen that i was told was laying everyday and that they had fertalized eggs at home from her. i have had her now about 2 months and have yet to find an egg. they also told me she was about 1 year old. i hav a ruan drake and they are buddis but i never see him get frisky with her