[Prod]

I have 5 call ducks, a pair of Silver, a pair of Chocolate Bibbed and a lonely white male. They all live in the same enclosure and share two coops, the silvers in one and the other 3 in the other coop.  The female chocolate, Connie, has gone broody and has been in the coop for 2 days. She has plucked some of her feathers and has made a lovely nest with about 9 or 10 eggs, as far as I can see. She is normally very tame and comes to me to be picked up  but now she is a tad aggressive if I put my hand in the box and gently nips me. Anyway my questions are:  should I let her nest alone at night or is it all right to let the other 2 in as usual (it is quite a big coop about 1 cubic sqm)   Also if and when any of the eggs hatch should I leave them with her and let nature take it's course or will I need to get a brooder box???  Thanks in advance. :blink:

[Kate and her Ducks]

Call ducks have a reasonable reputation as broodies but is always better if they can me left to brood alone. It is generally very hard to move a broody duck though as they tend to stick with the place they have picked even if you move the eggs. Once they have hatched it is a different matter and they seem to be happy to go as long as the ducklings are with them.
The ducklings are mostly vulnerable to attack and this can be from rats, covids such as magpies and crows but can also be attacked but other ducks, particularly drakes. Mum will keep them warm and teach them the ropes but they are pretty hopeless about protecting them from attack (although one of mine attacked me enough to leave bruises when I picked up one of her duckling!).

[Prod]

Thanks...so if they hatch  do I just leave them with mother  or do I need to put them in the brooder?? Also would it help if I put the two females together, separated from the males or will she just be better entirely on her own??

[Sassy]

She will be better on her own. Can you move the others elsewhere?

[Prod]

Well I have a small field that the chickens free range on & I did let the ducks free range too but because they are small, the silver pair can get through anything, and although the field is fenced and on top of that I have barrier netting, they kept getting through into a my neighbour's garden and heading for the pond!!!  So I built a 30sqm enclosure to put them all in with the 2 coops.  I could try and section off the coop she is in but that is the largest & I don't thinking having 3 drakes and a female in the other small arc will work.......  Im going to have to think about this as I don't want to move her nest in case she abandons it!!