HELP! My female duck is burying her eggs?!Why?

[momof247371]

My rouen female is burying her eggs. we have the nst box on the ground, it has no bottom in it, so she digs in the dirt and straw and buries them. she has done it to two eggs so far. Is she hiding them from the other birds? Will she get broody and sit on them? If she does sit on them, will they hatch? any info would be appreciated. this is the first time i have had one do this. thanks!

 

[Laskaland]

First:

My Rouens are doing the same thing, but all over the coop. I found 11 eggs buried today when I swapped out shavings. They were all over the place- no rhyme or reason!
very strange!! This is my first laying season with them, so maybe it's normal?? hahahaha doesn't SEEM normal

 

[Webfoot]

It's nature's perfect storage space! Stashing them in the ground keeps them cool and protected until she's ready to go broody. 'Course, she may never go broody, then you'll have all those duck seeds sprouting next spring.

Webfoot

 

[chicktwit]

Yeh or something else if you accidentally crush them later under a shoe. Eeewww!

 

[momof247371]

gross!!! lmao

 

[Wifezilla]

My buff does this, my runner does this and my khaki did this. Relax. It's normal.

 

[KattyKillFish]

i don't think it's much of a problem. Duck eggs need to be a bit more humid than chicken eggs to hatch, which is why they sometimes put the eggs a bit deeper in the damp dirt. I've collected wild duck eggs for eating since i was a little girl, and alot of the mallard eggs i found have been sort of half-way in the dirt. it's just natural behavior. she might be trying to go broody, she might not.

(in the state of Alaska it is legal for Alaskan native to harvest the eggs of certain migrating birds during certain seasons for substance. i am not breaking the law, at least here in Alaska.)

 

[eggchel]

They are just hiding their eggs to protect them. I have to dig around in the shavings and mulch to find ours. The geese are so good at smoothing out the covering over their eggs that the nest is invisible.


chel

 

[Laskaland]

Quote:
Um yeah.. now you all know how I started digging in the shavings in the first place...crunch...oh, crud!!

 

[sparkles2307]

Hah I am lucky if my Rouen hen lays in the nest at all...she likes to lay in the middle of the feed pen, like she doesnt want babies so she lays them where the goats will step on them... shes a nerd. And half of her eggs come out with only a membrane and no shell...Wat is up wit dat!?