Mama duck with babies laying eggs again

[Tinydinomomma]

I have a pair of mallards (male & female). Her eggs hatched 16 days ago. 7 days after they hatched, she started laying eggs in her original nest again. She laid 6, covered them up, and then I started seeing eggs laying just where ever in her enclosure. I've gotten 4 of them that were just laying around. She, the drake, and her babies were just acting like it was normal to have an egg laying around. She has since uncovered the nest and there are still only 6 eggs in the nest. This is her first year laying, I incubated eggs last years and early July her and her mate hatched.
Is this something that they do when they are young? Is this a normal thing?
Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[sourland]

It's a new one for me.

 

[Jenbirdee]

ducks lay eggs all over the place. you can eat them You know , just pick them up right away every day and refrigerate them. I preferred duck eggs over chicken eggs.

 

[Tinydinomomma]

The ones that she laid in the middle of her pen, I collected. My preacher likes them. I prefer our chicken eggs over the ducks eggs...They don't go to waste though.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have a pair of mallards (male & female). Her eggs hatched 16 days ago. 7 days after they hatched, she started laying eggs in her original nest again. She laid 6, covered them up, and then I started seeing eggs laying just where ever in her enclosure. I've gotten 4 of them that were just laying around. She, the drake, and her babies were just acting like it was normal to have an egg laying around. She has since uncovered the nest and there are still only 6 eggs in the nest. This is her first year laying, I incubated eggs last years and early July her and her mate hatched.
Is this something that they do when they are young? Is this a normal thing?
Thanks in advance for any input.

My Mallard Hen did the same thing. My Muscovy that is sitting right now lays about 3 eggs a week. I just take those and leave her alone. My Mallard was alone in a pen with her ducklings and when they were less than 3 weeks old and it was March here in Ohio and still cold, she flew out and did not want to go back to them. I had 11 of them and they all just stayed in the pet gazebo at night and did just fine without her and without any heat. I had separated her from her mate and she wanted to be back with him. One other time I left them together and the drake took the first duckling to hatch and drowned it. I will never let a drake that I have stay with the Hen ever again when she is going to hatch out babies for that reason. I hope yours stay with the babies she has. If not and they have a place to stay that is out of the wind and covered along with food and water they will be fine. Mallards can be stinkers, lol.

 

[Tinydinomomma]

My Mallard Hen did the same thing. My Muscovy that is sitting right now lays about 3 eggs a week. I just take those and leave her alone. My Mallard was alone in a pen with her ducklings and when they were less than 3 weeks old and it was March here in Ohio and still cold, she flew out and did not want to go back to them. I had 11 of them and they all just stayed in the pet gazebo at night and did just fine without her and without any heat. I had separated her from her mate and she wanted to be back with him. One other time I left them together and the drake took the first duckling to hatch and drowned it. I will never let a drake that I have stay with the Hen ever again when she is going to hatch out babies for that reason. I hope yours stay with the babies she has. If not and they have a place to stay that is out of the wind and covered along with food and water they will be fine. Mallards can be stinkers, lol.

She is still with the babies. She is still laying eggs but not always in her nest. I find them all over their enclosed pen. But she and the babies seem to be happy and healthy. The drake is in the pen with them but he doesn't bother the babies. Thank you for your insight though on that, in case she hatches more babies in the future I can keep a really close eye on him.

 

[Luv Ducks]

She is still with the babies. She is still laying eggs but not always in her nest. I find them all over their enclosed pen. But she and the babies seem to be happy and healthy. The drake is in the pen with them but he doesn't bother the babies. Thank you for your insight though on that, in case she hatches more babies in the future I can keep a really close eye on him.

You are most welcome and I am so happy to hear that your drake behaves himself. They say that the drake sometimes kills the babies because he wants to mate with the Hen again and doesn't need her to be watching over her ducklings.

 

[Tinydinomomma]

You are most welcome and I am so happy to hear that your drake behaves himself. They say that the drake sometimes kills the babies because he wants to mate with the Hen again and doesn't need her to be watching over her ducklings.

That could be...ours didn't have a problem doing that in front of the babies, me, our other duck, and the cats...LOL. Good luck with your sitting Muscovy.

 

[Luv Ducks]

That could be...ours didn't have a problem doing that in front of the babies, me, our other duck, and the cats...LOL. Good luck with your sitting Muscovy.

Thanks, if she would hatch any they would be Hinnies as the drake was a Mallard Runner. I don't need anymore ducklings so I am okay either way. lol

 

[deer trail duck farms]

def normal ducks arent like chickens. they will lay wherever they happen to be at the time.. only when they want to hatch the eggs they make a nest. atleast in my experiance.