[Parrot]

We recently became the proud owners of a group of ducks. We are lucky to have a stretch of river at the bottom of our garden, and we have chicken wired  off the boudary bank and have a stretch of wire either end on the river which is hooked so that we can roll it back across if any leaves and detritus build up with the flow of the river.  The ducks have been relishing the river and it`s a joy to see them bathing and feeding naturally.

We have a pair of call ducks, a pair of black cayugas , three khaki campbell female ducklings, a trio of indian runner ducklings and an ayelsbury female duckling. (We have kept all the ducklings off the water so far).

Apart from on the first day of their arrival, the female cayuga has produced an egg every day so far.  We would like to incubate them and are looking for an incubator.   As a total amateur, my question is , presuming they are fertile,  how long will the eggs store for before we "set" them?  Also, is room temperature a suitable temperature to store then until incubation, and do they need turning whilst they are in storage until incubation?

Many thanks in advance,   Peter.

[WG.]

We have kept all the ducklings off the water so far

Good plan - they might drown if the flow of the river traps them against the wire.   Also watch out for logs / branches floating past and snagging in the wire.

Can't help with your timing question sorry.  We did keep Khaki Campbells (best layers)  many years ago but they'd disappear off into the wild and come back later with a dozen or so little balls of fluff.

[02rlgudgin]

we hav a stream in the allotment nd we r hopin 2 get ducks one day but worry that they will swim away were thinkin of puttin mesh up so they cant swim thru hopefully this will do the trick.   can't wait

[Parrot]

Good plan - they might drown if the flow of the river traps them against the wire.   Also watch out for logs / branches floating past and snagging in the wire.

Thanks. I`ve built a couple of dams as I am intending fitting a couple of turbines to produce some electricity from the river.  As a side effect, our stretch has become a lot slower and lazier as well as a little deeper.  Brown trout have since appeared as well as a kingfisher.    The adult ducks have absolutely no problem negotiating the entire stretch.   I was of the understanding that ducklings do not produce the oil necessary and that the mother provides it from her glands when she preens the young?  Is this true?  That was my main reason for keeping the little `uns off the water.

Can't help with your timing question sorry.  We did keep Khaki Campbells (best layers)  many years ago but they'd disappear off into the wild and come back later with a dozen or so little balls of fluff.

    We get visits from wild mallards also,  there was a pair here today as it goes,  so there may well be a risk of some elopement in the future!

[alan42]

you can keep for about a week maybe a week and a half( fertility decreases with each day) they should be stored in a cold place and turned daily, duck eggs take about 28 days to hatch. hope that helps.

[Parrot]

That`s a great help thankyou.

Another question please,  the whole turning thing I don`t quite understand.  I heard a debate about whether the eggs should be set pointed end up or down recently.  I then thought it irrelevant as I had the idea in my head that they would be turned from one way to the other.  

Does this mean that the eggs are only turned slightly, (from side to side for eg) rather than a turning totally around so to speak?

Forgive my ignorance .  It`s a lot harder getting to grips with something as seemingly simple as this if you are TOLD compared to if you are SHOWN.  :oops:   :roll:

[WG.]

Hi alan42 and welcome to the forum

[alan42]

many thanks for the welcome. yes it does matter which way you store the eggs pointed end down is the way i do it and the eggs should as you say be turned only a small amount, all you are doing is stopping the yolk from sticking to the shell. they should be turned one way and then turned back the same way( if that makes sense) not turned the same way all the time.
good luck
alan

[mercury]

I always store my eggs on their side, after all thats the natural way, and wild ducks always seem to have a very good hatch rate, having said that, i'm not knocking anyone elses way, we all have our own methods of doing things  

[Parrot]

many thanks for the welcome. yes it does matter which way you store the eggs pointed end down is the way i do it and the eggs should as you say be turned only a small amount, all you are doing is stopping the yolk from sticking to the shell. they should be turned one way and then turned back the same way( if that makes sense) not turned the same way all the time.good luck
alan

Bingo!  That`s explained it perfectly for me.  It was the amount of movement involved in turning that I was really unsure about.  All a lot clearer now,  thank you.  

Thanks also mercury,  that makes a lot of sense  

[diamond_lil]

In response to an earlier question, yes, ducklings will become waterlogged if they aren't preened by an adult. We raised two broods under hens and waited until they were fully feathered before letting them out onto the pond.

I am not sure, if you introduce baby ducklings onto a pond, whether any adults already in place will a) kill the ducklings or b) foster them and preen them. I was going to ask this as a question but the more I think about it, the more I think they would go for option a) rather than b). Anyone have any other thoughts?

[Parrot]

In response to an earlier question, yes, ducklings will become waterlogged if they aren't preened by an adult. We raised two broods under hens and waited until they were fully feathered before letting them out onto the pond.

Thanks for confirming that  

I am not sure, if you introduce baby ducklings onto a pond, whether any adults already in place will a) kill the ducklings or b) foster them and preen them. I was going to ask this as a question but the more I think about it, the more I think they would go for option a) rather than b). Anyone have any other thoughts?

Judging by the short thrift our adult ducks give the unrelated ducklings we have, I would agree and say that option a) would appear to be the more likely of the two,  at least with this bunch.

[diamond_lil]

Have you got Katie Thear's book 'Starting with Ducks'? A mine of useful information and not too long and boring!

We look forward to some photos soon.

We have just lost ANOTHER two of our ducks. Our beautiful Khaki Campbell drake and a brown Indian Runner. Reports are around that we have mink on our river which may be the culprits. Watch out on your stretch. Little blighters!

DL