Ducks Hatching every three days!!

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I am having a really odd thing happen. Three days ago one of my muscovies hatched out 2 ducklings. She takes them out in the yard and doesn't appear to be sitting on the other 12 eggs in the nest except at night with the two ducklings under her. Well, this morning I heard peeping and went to check- now there's three more that hatched sometime after 7 am this morning. I checked the 9 remaining eggs and all have embyros and the eggs still look healthy. Have you ever heard of a duck hatching out eggs over an extended period of time? I don't want to destroy the others if she might finish hatching them but I'm at a loss as to why they didn't all hatch at the same time. Any idea how long I should leave them-a week? I know it's hot in KY but I never heard of eggs hatching themselves.LOL

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), August 19, 2002

Answers

I had a turkey sit on her nest last month and the egss hatched in less than 21 days .And I had it marked on the calender when she first sat . Since they are the first turkeys I've raised I had firgured it was 28 days of sitting to hatch turkeys.I've raised guinea fowl and they take 28 days .so either turkey eggs only need 20 or 21 days to hatch or the southern exposure of my land help the eggs hatch out early.It surely is hot this year .

-- SM Steve (Unreal@home.com), August 19, 2002.

Kathy, my muscovies do the same,Five today Ten tomorrow an so on.However,I have noticed that whenever they leave the nest, if their is extra straw around they will cover the remaining eggs,insulating them, to continue the hatch.The eggs will hatch as they were laid.I always let the mother duck break up her own nest.Mothernature running it's course so to speak.

-- David R In W. Tn. (srimmer@charter.net), August 19, 2002.

Thanks Dave & Steve, I was starting to think I had some real special ducks here. :) She is covering them up when she leaves so now I understand why. I have raised ducks for over 20 yrs but these are the most prolific muscovies I've ever had-they're on their second hatch and they are very young-the mothers were hatched in Jan/Feb of this year. I just found a goose egg too-the geese are less than 7 mos old, I thought geese didn't start laying until they were more than 18mos old. I'm learning that all I thought I knew is much different now that I'm in a southern area with more heat & humidity.

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), August 19, 2002.

I don't have an answer here but certainally have a question. I have 3 ducks 2 female 1 male. My older female laid 1 egg a day for several months and is drowning the unhatched eggs. Recentally there were 2 eggs that hatched but were either smothered or somehow killed. What should I do? Neither female duck is laying any eggs now.

-- Terri S. Reppuhn (BluRoz3@aol.com), August 13, 2003.

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