Need advice for rescued ducks and eggs!

[Kariann]

Hi!

Tonight, I was given 3 duck eggs from a woman who is removing ducks from a hoarding situation. Momma was sitting on them, but we have no idea when she laid them. They're dirty, I gently wiped the best I could, and they are now in the incubator. They're either Pekins or Indian Runners, we think.

Momma duck has a young one that stays by her side. She needs to be rehomed, too, and I thought maybe I could get her (tomorrow) and her little one. There are 5 male ducks, as well. Currently, Momma and her young one are separated from the males to keep her from getting over mated.

Questions:

1. Should I get her and her little one, or no (asking because of the birds I already have, I don't want any birds getting picked on)?

2. If I get her, should I try to give the eggs back to her? If I do try this, how long do I wait to see if she will sit on them before putting them back into the incubator?

3. I have a bonded pair of guineas, a bonded game roo and game hen, and 9 domestic chickens with 1 domestic roo. All of these are between 6 and 13 months old. Will Momma's young one be enough companionship for her, or should I also take one of the rescued males?

4. What would be the best way to introduce the duck(s) to the rest of the birds? All of them currently free range by day and coop up at night.

5. Any pro tips that you want to offer would be so very appreciated! Foods, coop conditions (I'm hoping the domestic chickens and the ducks can coop together.), must have items, etc., this will be my first duck gig, and I want to succeed and have happy, healthy ducks!

 

[Kiki]

I'd say walk away unless you fully understand what bringing a disease home means.

If somebody was hoarding animals They may not be in the best of shape.

I would not bring home a potential disease to my existing flock ever.


Do you know if these eggs you took are indeed fertile?
Have you candled them?
Can you get clear pictures while candling them?

 

[Kariann]

I'd say walk away unless you fully understand what bringing a disease home means.

If somebody was hoarding animals They may not be in the best of shape.

I would not bring home a potential disease to my existing flock ever.


Do you know if these eggs you took are indeed fertile?
Have you candled them?
Can you get clear pictures while candling them?

I tried candling them, I'm not sure if my flashlight is bright enough? They were dark, except for 2 of them that were light at the round bottom part (dark everywhere else). I'm afraid to wash them and ruin the bloom, but they are pretty dirty.

I didn't think about the ducks maybe being sick! Poor Momma.

Should I worry that if the eggs hatch, the ducklings will be sick and make my other birds sick?

 

[Kiki]

I tried candling them, I'm not sure if my flashlight is bright enough? They were dark, except for 2 of them that were light at the round bottom part (dark everywhere else). I'm afraid to wash them and ruin the bloom, but they are pretty dirty.

I didn't think about the ducks maybe being sick! Poor Momma.

Should I worry that if the eggs hatch, the ducklings will be sick and make my other birds sick?

Does it look like this?
Dark like this?

Do not wash the eggs.
Have you incubated eggs before?

 

[Kariann]

Does it look like this?
Dark like this?

Do not wash the eggs.
Have you incubated eggs before?

This is my first go at incubating! I also have eggs from my game couple that I was wanting to hatch for some people.

I just retried candling the duck eggs, I found that one is bad, it seemed to be oozing and was stinky. The other 2 have a light spot at the bottom of the round parts of the eggs and are dark the rest of it. I will try to post pictures!

Edit to add: I did the float test and they looked like duds (I've added a pic.), but my dumb self thought "what if I'm wrong?", so I put them back in. One exploded and it was horrible. I threw the other away, not taking another chance, it looked to be in the same condition. I had to take the whole incubator apart to clean it and wipe some eggs with a damp paper towel to get the yuck off of them. I've put it all back together, and the incubator will take some time to re-stabalize, and I just hope the eggs that were in it will survive the interruption. They had only been going for about 2 hours

 

[Miss Lydia]

If you want to bring home mama and her duckling just set them up in a separate area for a few weeks.

 

[Percheron chick]

The 2 candled eggs are good. Looks like less than a week to go. The float test is good. The empty air pocket makes that end float up and the heavy dark end points down. Impossible to keep duck and goose eggs clean. They tend to have dirty and muddy underbellies and feet and transfer all that to the eggs. Keep the bedding fresh.

 

[Kariann]

The 2 candled eggs are good. Looks like less than a week to go. The float test is good. The empty air pocket makes that end float up and the heavy dark end points down. Impossible to keep duck and goose eggs clean. They tend to have dirty and muddy underbellies and feet and transfer all that to the eggs. Keep the bedding fresh.

1 egg started to ooze, so I threw it away. The 2 eggs in those pictures were put into the incubator. 1 of them exploded green, horrible smelling stuff all over. I went ahead and discarded the last egg, because I worried that it was no good. I read that a float test should show good eggs to float at an angle or near horizontal, and that a vertical float meant a dead egg. It hasn't been that cold out, and I can retrieve that last egg if you really think it's good. But, I will have to come up with a home brew incubation method, I don't want to risk it exploding like the other one did. 2 out of 3 were definitely bad.

 

[SolarDuck]

I wouldn't try to incubate just one egg, then the duckling will be lonely. I'd just call this one a loss.

 

[Percheron chick]

That's a shame. They were mostly developed.