Duck Egg In Garden

[cuthound]

Hi all,

 

A couple of days ago a duck laid an egg in our garden, and seems to have abandoned it.

 

According to Google, they lay 8-12 eggs in their nests, at a rate of 1 per day, and then when all eggs have been laid, they sit on them to incubate them. Sometime later all the eggs hatch over a 48 hour period.

 

However, a duck laid on in our garden, on the lawn rather than in a nest, has not laid anymore and appears to have abandoned it.

 

Help.... What do I do?

 

 

 

I really hope the egg has not been abandoned and the embryo will survive.

[RichLech]

This is very common. We get a few laid/abandoned in various places in our garden every year. It seems it takes her a while to decide she ought to be laying them in some sort of nest.

 

 

[stickleback]

If the egg is cold you may as well forget it. And if it was a couple of days ago - it is certainly too late. If you find the same thing happens again and the egg is warm, google something like "incubating egg". But be warned - the newly hatched duckling will probably "bond" with you and think you are Mummy!!!!

[Arthur Brown]

Fertile eggs are a market commodity, so there must be time to get them to market and the egg still be viable. However I suspect it's in the order of hours if the egg stays warm. Chicken eggs need turning three times daily.

[Emerald Fox]

I suppose you can always throw it at a politician if it's gone cold and there's no chance of a duckling anymore.

Poor little duckling, never to be born and experience the thrill of boats passing you and having bits of bread thrown in your general direction.

RIP.

[cuthound]

Thanks guys,

 

So if its not viable to hatch, will it be OK on toast?

[Mrs Tawny Owl]

If it's 2 days old and gone cold, and the duck hasn't come back, then I'd consider having it scrambled.

 

Duck eggs are very nice, my sister used to keep ducks for the eggs, and if it was only laid a couple of days ago, and has not been sat on it won't have had time to start developing.

 

There's very little chance of a duckling from it, so why waste it.

 

Sue

Thanks guys,

So if its not viable to hatch, will it be OK on toast?

Yes

[Machpoint005]

Thanks guys,

 

So if its not viable to hatch, will it be OK on toast?

 

Crack it into a bowl and you will soon know!

 

But yes, very probably!

Not too far I hope, but I've eaten an unlaid (hen's) egg.

 

It tasted like an egg.

[nipper]

Hi all,

 

A couple of days ago a duck laid an egg in our garden, and seems to have abandoned it.

 

According to Google, they lay 8-12 eggs in their nests, at a rate of 1 per day, and then when all eggs have been laid, they sit on them to incubate them. Sometime later all the eggs hatch over a 48 hour period.

 

However, a duck laid on in our garden, on the lawn rather than in a nest, has not laid anymore and appears to have abandoned it.

 

Help.... What do I do?

 

 

 

I really hope the egg has not been abandoned and the embryo will survive.

Put in boiling water for about 4.5 minutes, serve with salted butter and toasted Soldiers!

 

Nipper

[Jerra]

A couple of days ago a duck laid an egg in our garden, and seems to have abandoned it.

 

According to Google, they lay 8-12 eggs in their nests, at a rate of 1 per day, and then when all eggs have been laid, they sit on them to incubate them. Sometime later all the eggs hatch over a 48 hour period.

 

However, a duck laid on in our garden, on the lawn rather than in a nest, has not laid anymore and appears to have abandoned it.

 

Help.... What do I do?

 

I really hope the egg has not been abandoned and the embryo will survive.

It is probably a young female who hasn't nested before and was rather surprised by the arrival of the egg and will have abandoned it.

 

With regard to survival you point out yourself the duck (along with many other species of bird) doesn't start incubation until the clutch is fully laid. If we were dealing with domestic ducks you would store the eggs somewhere cool like a garage until you have gathered enough to incubate.

 

If the egg has not been incubated at all there will be no embryo the germinal disk doesn't start to develop until incubation starts.

 

I wouldn't do anything as:

 

1. You can't even guarantee the egg has been fertilised eggs are laid (particularly in domestic breeds) without fertilisation at times. Many of the "muddy ducks" around the canals are mallard/domestic hybrids so the odd unfertilised egg could be being laid.

 

2. If you try to incubate it without a proper incubator you are having a number of technical problems to solve. Humidity, stable temperature within fairly narrow parameters and turning at least twice a day.

 

3. As somebody else said waterfowl become imprinted (many species not just water fowl) on the first moving thing they see and that would be you. For the rest of their life they will think they are humans. This is why when you see TV programs about endangered species being hand raised they are fed through the side of the pen with a glove puppet looking vaguely like an adult.

[Ray T]

Cuthound, if you did manage to get it to hatch you could have a real duck to go with Rosie and Jim

 

Edited March 20, 2015 by Ray T

[forsberg]

Actually the egg is just fine in the cold you can keep an egg in the fridge for up to three weeks and then hatch it with near 100% success

It wont like the sun though, or earth bacteria.

One of our past cats learned the hard way not to sleep close to the duckling pen.

It was later a very distraught cat walking round the garden with a trail of a dozen teen duck it tow.

 

Bless him.

[Phil Ambrose]

On this occasion Mr Google has got close but no cigar. Ducks commonly lay and hatch upto 18 ducklings and once hatching commences all the eggs hatch out more or less together. Once hatched the mother takes them all into the water. They do not hatch out over a 48 hour period, nature intends them to hatch together and get into the relative safety of the water as soon as possible.

Yes birds and fowl will often bond but the bond does weaken ad they get older. We raised a day old duckling to adulthood in a makeshift pen in our forward well and would sit with us and the dogs this went on for a couple of months until a handsome drake caught her eye. She comes twice a day for her seed feed and the last 2 years has brought her brood back to us, a very proud mum indeed.

Phil

[Maffi]

Hi all,

 

A couple of days ago a duck laid an egg in our garden, and seems to have abandoned it.

 

According to Google, they lay 8-12 eggs in their nests, at a rate of 1 per day, and then when all eggs have been laid, they sit on them to incubate them. Sometime later all the eggs hatch over a 48 hour period.

 

However, a duck laid on in our garden, on the lawn rather than in a nest, has not laid anymore and appears to have abandoned it.

 

Help.... What do I do?

 

 

 

I really hope the egg has not been abandoned and the embryo will survive.

 

Have it for breakfast she doesn't want it. They are very tasty.

[Jerra]

Yes birds and fowl will often bond but the bond does weaken ad they get older.

Interesting. It is a lot of years since I read King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz but his geese stayed imprinted into adulthood there is IIRC a photo of them swimming with him as adult geese.

 

I haven't personally experienced imprinting being aware of it and been careful to avoid them being imprinted.

[Phil Ambrose]

Qe bred and raised ducks, chickens, budgies and cockatiels, often having literally hundreds of birds at any one time, I'm guessing these would constitute domestic birds so maybe imprinting/bonding works in a different way as would I suspect geese.

Wild birds and fowl on the other hand may well be a different kettle of fish.

I have been fortunate enough to have bonded sufficiently with some wild birds to have formed a a strong attachment with them. I was lucky enough to have a Coot that would feed from my hand and allowed me to sit with her and watch while her eggs all hatched out in the space of about 30 minutes, an amazing experience,truly.

We also had a pair of Egyptian Geese who would also feed from our hands and as soon as her eggs hatched they would rock up with the young presumably to introduce them to their tame humans.

I don't believe bonding is necessarily a terrible thing but as in all things there are degrees.

Phil

[Jerra]

I don't believe bonding is necessarily a terrible thing but as in all things there are degrees.

I would basically agree but I do have doubts about wild birds being too bonded to humans. Some humans they meet will not be as caring as those they bonded to.

 

I am envious of your experience with the wild birds.

 

I have kept Budgies,Zebra finches, Pigeons, Poultry (inc turkeys hens quail and Guinea Fowl) and Ducks but as I said while I don't see imprinting as terrible but I do see it as something to avoid if possible.

[cuthound]

Disaster,

 

Overnight something has made a hole in the egg, so it certainly won't be viable now.

 

Buster the cuthound (see my avatar) is extremely upset that he won't be an uncle to a duckling (since we moved here he has become very protective of ducks and moorhens in the garden, unlike where we used to live where he chased any intruders in the garden, possibly because he is new here and they were already here).

 

Picture to follow when I get time to upload it.

 

Edited to correct auto spell check.

Edited March 21, 2015 by cuthound

[cuthound]

Here is the picture of the broken egg ;(

 

 

Thanks for all the advice, what a wonderful resource this forum is, a veritable fountain of knowledge.

[Phil Ambrose]

Disaster,

 

Overnight something has made a hole in the egg, so it certainly won't be viable now.

 

Buster the cuthound (see my avatar) is extremely upset that he won't be an uncle to a duckling (since we moved here he has become very protective of ducks and moorhens in the garden, unlike where we used to !ike where he chased any intruders in the garden, possibly because he is new here and they were already here).

 

Picture to follow when I get time to upload it.

Interesting comment about Buster, our 4 dogs accepted that wildfowl are part of our family (with some guidance from us) This was to the extent that ducks would just walk under the bigger dogs and round the smaller ones. We had a Muscovey that always turned up Oct/Nov and spent the winter on our side deck (the deck was warm) and when we let the dogs out we just used to call "Dogs coming out" and he would move away from the door, moving back to his spot as soon as the dogs were clear.

We felt quite guilty leaving him behind when we moved from The Broads

Phil

[Nightwatch]

It's now a Chucky egg.

[Jerra]

Disaster,

 

Overnight something has made a hole in the egg, so it certainly won't be viable now.

I nearly mentioned in my earlier post I was surprised it had lain there for a number of hours without a crow/magpie/etc eating it.