Re: Do Ducks Share Brooding Duties?

sbffalo_at_bbtel.com
Date: 12/26/04 

Date: 25 Dec 2004 19:08:10 -0800

Hi, Crackers!
Sitting on eggs is usually done by the females. They will share a
nest, each laying eggs and sometimes fighting over who gets to be the
broody one who hatches them. Sometimes they both end up sitting
side-by-side until the little ones hatch. Sometimes one will abandon
the nest. All of this depends on breed and individuals within the
breed.
As far as the bird that flies about, it's a female looking for a male.
It seems to me that the more Mallard in a female duck, the louder she
fusses and the more likely she is to act like you describe. Don't be
surprised if she finds a husband and goes off with him, though the
female seems to bring the male in to her on most occasions.
One way to tell the male, or drake, in many breeds of ducks is by the
presence of the "drake feather". It is a curled feather at the base of
the duck's tail, where the other feathers go straight out. Usually the
drake makes a different sound than the female, but the female makes a
definite "quack".
Most ducks are seasonal layers, so they will stop laying as Winter
approaches next year.
Ducks lay as many eggs as they deem "right" (10 to 30, called a
"clutch"), then go broody for three to four weeks. During this time
they are incubating the eggs or, if you removed the eggs for your own
table, recovering in order to lay another "clutch" of eggs. They do
this two, three, or more times through the year, usually stopping
before winter.
There are also some ducks that lay like hens, all year long. They are
usually not the best setters, or mothers.
My personal favorite duck behavior is the bobbing and whistling that
the drakes do when they are doing courtship dances in the water. The
drakes face each other, dip into the water, bob up as high as they can,
and whistle. The first time I saw that, it made me giggle. It still
does, every spring.
I hope that helps a little. We really like ducks and hope you have a
good time with yours!
Kathleen
Straw Barry Fields Farm
Beefalo
Kentucky, USA

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