[Debz]

My sister has a duck sitting on 7 eggs.  This is the first time any of her birds has done this.  What will her duck need to look after her properly at this time?  She has been running with a drake for over a year but this is the first time she has gone broody and I want to make sure she is properly looked after and gets everything she needs (as well as being giddy about becoming an auntie again).  She is an Aylesbury.

[Prod]

Mine have just bred for the first time, I now have 8 little chocolate bibbed menaces running round.  Best to keep her separate, if you can, so as to disturb her the least. Make sure she has plenty of water and food near by and that she comes off the nest at least once a day to eat. When she leaves the nest she will cover it with feathers and straw/bedding and she will be VERY protective but not nearly as protective as when they hatch. Mine are 6 weeks old now and Connie still bites my shoes if I go near them.  other than that there is not much else you can do till they hatch.....  Good Luck

[Sassy]

Follow Prods advice and your duck should do the rest. It is best to separate her from the others drakes are not always kind to the chicks and can kill them.

[Debz]

Thanks for all your help.  She is in her own private living quarters so it's just a waiting game now to see what she does with these eggs.  I am very excited even though she is not mine.

[Prod]

One more thing, resist the urge to keep checking on her, she knows what she is doing, and if you disturb her too much she may abandon the nest. If she rolls and egg out, try putting it back, but if she keeps doing it she has sussed its a dud!!!!