[RichardA]

We belive we have 5 females and 1 male, the boy is clearly a boy but one of the girls can on occasions get boyish with one of the females. So we had our doubts. Upto now the the most eggs we ever got in a day was 4 suggesting we were right and females were only really 4 in total. This morning we had 5, laid in two clutches overnight, a clutch of 2 and a clutch of 3, beautifully aligned and close together in straw on a flat floored timber run. Just as you would see in a ducks nest in the wild.
Previously we tended to get 3 eggs a day usually 1 in each of 3 different corners of the run suggesting three layers.We clear all eggs every day when we open up and check every night as well as occasionally one gets laid in the day. Never yet had any laid away from the straw bed.
Now the questions are -- do ducks ever lay more than one egg a day and do females lay against another females eggs?
Many thanks
R

[Vember]

Hi Richard
Most days mine lay next to each other, so there's a lovely clutch in the morning waiting for me

Never had a duck lay twice in one day though.

As for Girls doing boy things, Titch (female) has in the past gone for a piggy back rides with Bear or Bumble (both female)      Don't know why Maisy used to do it too 


Sarah

[RichardA]

Very grateful; Sarah
R

[RichardA]

Vember -- thanks for the explanation but as ever the ducks had their own ideas about letting this one lie. We are very sure 5 is the max that can be females out of 6 since the sure male is a Khaki Campbell with all the colours of a male. Guess what -- this morning -- 6 eggs -- a clutch of 4 in a perfect nest shaped hollow and two more in a seperate group, very close but not nested. No mistake -- yesterday 5 and today 6, every day we fluff up the straw and would have seen any eggs from yesterday. All look double yolked as well.
Still puzzled
R

[Vember]

  Sure sounds strange 

It must be possible for them to lay 2 in a day I've had a hen do it 

You've not got a wild duck sneaking in and laying have you

Has the "male" got his curly tail and does he sound different ?

Sarah

[RichardA]

Yes the male has the curly tail and perfect manners -- the ladies always go first, he waits to eat until the ladies have finished and he is always awake and on guard if they are sleeping in the sun. A real gentleman.
Certain no strays so now we are back to chance of more than one egg a day from one or more ducks we dont know how many females again ___ still must be worse problems than getting more beautiful eggs than is expected
R

[too many girls]

must admit we have the same problem, 2 males, 4 females, we are 100% sure as the females have feather loss on the back of their necks due to be trodden by the males, the males have curly tail feathers, we've had 4 eggs one day, 5 the next, then 4 then 5, at first i accused Pip of not collecting them all, but then i found out for myself, sometimes we may only get 3, but i'm pretty sure someone is sporadically laying 2 a day, 1 in the morning and another in the evening.