The Rouen ducks have been busy this week making nests in the alpaca shelter, since they never use it. It has dry hay and is sheltered, but airy, the perfect place if one was seeking safety and shelter for a clutch of baby ducklings. There is always water available too, and food is just a waddle away, so the ducks settled there. There are, as of today, two Rouen ducks sitting on their nests and a third nest is in progress with nine eggs in it. Once the duck starts to actually build the nest sides high and cover her eggs, she is almost ready to sit, and once she sits, she will be dedicated to that nest twenty three and three quarter hours for a month, 28 to 32 days, depending on the ambient temperature and eggs. The eggs are viable sitting in the nest for a month prior to the mother sitting. She covers her eggs in the last stage of laying, with a clear protective coating, called the bloom, which prevents bacteria from entering the egg and protects it.
So, in a month, there will be maybe twenty or thirty ducklings running around the yard. Last year, the Great Pyrenees pups played a little too rough with the ducklings and most of them died under a heavy paw, but this year they are respectful of the small critters in the yard and there have been no mishaps. Stay tuned in a month for the cutest little duckies. Some of the eggs may be from the other ducks, but judging by the size of them, I would say that no Khaki Campbell ducks, who lay a much smaller egg, have laid in the Rouen nests. Rouen ducks are one of the few breeds that will sit and hatch their own eggs. Most of the other varieties have lost that trait during selective breeding, unfortunately. Quack, quack, quack!
So, in a month, there will be maybe twenty or thirty ducklings running around the yard. Last year, the Great Pyrenees pups played a little too rough with the ducklings and most of them died under a heavy paw, but this year they are respectful of the small critters in the yard and there have been no mishaps. Stay tuned in a month for the cutest little duckies. Some of the eggs may be from the other ducks, but judging by the size of them, I would say that no Khaki Campbell ducks, who lay a much smaller egg, have laid in the Rouen nests. Rouen ducks are one of the few breeds that will sit and hatch their own eggs. Most of the other varieties have lost that trait during selective breeding, unfortunately. Quack, quack, quack!
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