BlueCoyote 0 Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 ok my two ducks each have a nest of eggs - when i first counted there were 17 in one nest and 13 in the other - and i havent bothered them since then. i figure what ever will hatch will hatch and i will deal with that later. right now i want all the ducks i can get. So.. i am a novice with ducks. i dont know all the rules but the hens seem to have everything under control. HOWEVER... the past two weeks i have noticed eggs being taken out of the nest, to the other side of the fenced in yard, broken open and partially eaten. i thought maybe the hens were pushing the extra eggs out of the nest for what ever reason.. but i am also wondering if there isnt some critter coming in at night and stealing eggs. i dont think its a fox... wouldnt a fox just take the whole duck and not just a random egg? same with a possum or raccoon...? or would they wait until the hen leaves the nest to rob it? or could it be one of the other drakes? if the hen kicks an egg out would they bother to break it? my husband said he heard something moving in the woods on the other side of the fence when he was bringing the terrier inside. also said he would have turned her loose to sic her on the animal but didnt because he thought i would be mad at him for doing that.. anyway the ducks, i THOUGHT, were fairly secure and safe but now i'm not so sure. i just need some info: if the hens and drakes would do this, if its somewhat normal when there are too many eggs, or if i really do need to get the bulldogs out after the animal thats bothering my eggs. the last egg that was taken had blood in it as opposed to the others that looked like normal broken eggs. so my ducklings are forming and its pissing me off they're being killed in such a way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kreet 0 Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 sit up one nite and see if you see anything if you do shoot the little fecker or let the terrier have a pop at it . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueCoyote 0 Posted March 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 lol thats what i want to do. i might as well when i consider how much sleep i'm not getting already.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tis TM 8 Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 I had rats doing very similar to my duck eggs Blue, It wouldn't be the hens I dont think, they tend to eat on the spot if they do, and just run round with a bit of empty shell...... I think you need a night of surveylance Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueCoyote 0 Posted March 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 yep it looks that way. i never heard of rats doing that! at least not any rats around where i live... but ours are usually the smaller kind more involved with stealing grain than eggs. and havent seen any of the ducks doing anything with the broken eggs. i didnt lose any at all today so maybe this animal only shows up on occasion, has a route maybe. if it was summer i would suspect a snake.. well.. just let me catch the b*****d... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kreet 0 Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 try a catchalive and make the entrance to small for the ducks and stick a few old chik eggs in n if its anything coming in itl just be a matter of time before you get the culprate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueCoyote 0 Posted March 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 i used to have a live trap but no telling where it is now since we've moved. tell you one thing though.. the squirrels are getting braver these days. are they prone to stealing eggs? i already know whats been getting at the corn i just planted.. squirrels.. which i have a remedy for. if its them then that would explain why its only eggs being bothered and not the ducks. if rats will take eggs then so would a grey squirrel, right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kreet 0 Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 never thought about it till reading this but sertainly wouldnt put it past them there into everything and there bloomin everywhere the now . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueCoyote 0 Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 havent had any problems since i shout the one squirrel.... how anti-climatic can things get.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dogs-n-natives 1,181 Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Hello, Well I hope you have the problem sorted. Just thaught Id add a bit on the subject of egg thieves. When I was keepering an estate down the valley from me, I watched over several wild grey partridge nests. I soon realised (due to pieces of shell a few feet away) that one of the nests was being raided, but whatever was doing it wasnt putting the brooding bird off. I couldnt get my head round it?? Until one morning when the culprit must have taken the last eggs during the previous night and the birds had abandoned the nest. I examined the nest and found a tunnel comming up from underneath the nest, full of egg shell!! Well It was war now!! So I positioned a tunnel with restricted entrances next to the nest and baited it with a rabbit leg. Hey presto!! The next morning ,A bloody weasel!! Luckilly for the partridge it was early in the season and they wasted no time in laying another clutch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueCoyote 0 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 now thats something i didnt consider! i dont know if we have weasels in FL but i'm going to check the field guide now. i asked my dad about it and he said most raccoons, possums, foxes, will run the hen off the nest to steal the eggs.. easier that way. havent noticed any more getting broken lately, not after shooting the damned squirrel. i put a chicken egg beside the fence yesterday and its still there... which pisses me off. i was hoping for a fox or coon to show off around here not a stupid tree rat! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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