Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: debbiesmeadow on February 16, 2012, 12:16
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Hi all I am new to this so please bear with me I thought I had posted a topic but can't find it so I am going to try again lol :)
Has anyone ever had two ducks sharing nest duty? I have two runner girls who have decided they are both broody and are sharing sitting on the same nest - they seem happy and content so I am leaving them to it :)
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Aha found this one lol just added photo the red glow is a 100 watt brooder lamp set high above them so they don't get too hot - we had loads of snow last week when I took the photo.
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Ducks are not renowned for going broody and I cannot offer advice re them both sharing a nest. However, if I am right in thinking you have the heat lamp over your sitting ducks this is not necessary and should only be used for babies being reared manually. If you have a hen or duck doing the job they will sort out for you the keeping warm of the hatchlings. :) :)
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I think Muscovy ducks go broody regularly but not heard the same of runner ducks.
If they are happy to share broody duties I would leave them to it. As Sassy said no need for the heat lamp, it will ony make them feel the cold more when going out to feed. I would think that it could cause health problems with the heat and then the extreme cold.
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All ducks can go broody but runners are not know to sit the distance but of course they can. If you can separate them then this is usually better (especially if they do hatch as they can fight over the ducklings). That being said, they can be very stubborn about when and where they are going to sit and can be very hard to move! :D
I agree, ditch the heat lamp, they're ducks! They will be fine! :D
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Hi there! I have a runner who goes broody every year and has successfully laid ducklings for the last 3 years. However, I did have one year where another one of my ducks (a german streicher) decided she also wanted to share the nest with my runner. The only problem with this is that Dolly (the GS) wasn't so committed to sitting and kept rolling the eggs over to her side, sitting for a while and then going off for a couple of hours before returning (and the eggs getting cold in the meantime). They did look very sweet sitting together but the chances of success in hatching will depend if they are both committed to sitting there! Hope this helps. :) :) :)