Birds, ducks included, are known to take very good care of their eggs and their young, so, if you notice that one of your ducks is kicking her eggs out of her nest you’d be right to be worried. This article explores why this happens
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Why do ducks kick eggs out of a nest?
If you know anything about ducks you’ll know that these birds are fiercely protective of their eggs and their young, so, if your duck kicks eggs out of the nest then there is likely something wrong. Here is why a duck would do this:
The eggs are rotten:
Ducks spend a lot of time and effort incubating their eggs, they make this sacrifice to ensure that they hatch strong and resilient ducklings.
Ducks will stay on their nests for at least 20 hours a day to properly incubate their eggs. But sometimes, the birds will stop incubating and will roll eggs out of the nest.
Mother birds will do this if they realize that the eggs are rotten. If the bird continues to sit on a rotten egg then the egg may explode under her and onto the other eggs in the clutch.
Rolling the rotten eggs out will keep an explosion from happening and will keep the other eggs safe.
Nonviable eggs:
Mother ducks will also get rid of eggs that are not viable, if the ducklings in the eggs are dead, or if the eggs are cracked, then the mother bird will remove them from the nest.
Mother ducks generally know when eggs aren’t viable and will be quick to take action and remove non-viable eggs. A duck will not sit and incubate eggs that aren’t viable.
If the mother bird doesn’t realize that one, or some, of her eggs aren’t viable then she will only get off of the eggs after the normal 28 days of incubation have passed.
Stress:
Ducks like to have access to bodies of water to swim in. These birds will get up from their eggs once a day, go swimming, and then come back to sit on their eggs.
If a mother bird does not have access to bodies of water to swim in, then she may become stressed, refuse to sit on her eggs, and may kick the eggs out
What to do:
Rotten eggs, that have been rolled out of the bird’s nest, cannot be saved, the mother can’t hatch them and you can’t do anything about them either.
If the eggs weren’t viable then you’d need to make sure that the next set of eggs that the mother sits on are fertile and don’t die or crack mid-incubation.
A mother bird removing dead and infertile eggs from the nest is a necessity as this will keep the bird from having to take time and energy away from sitting on viable eggs in favor of non-viable eggs
Why ducks abandon eggs:
Ducks sometimes abandon their eggs but they do this for their own survival.
If a human, or another animal, decides to move a duck’s nest then the duck will not recognize the nest and eggs and will abandon the nest and eggs, even if the nest is only moved a short distance away.
Can ducks move their nest and eggs?
Yes, ducks can move their nest and eggs but they will only move their eggs and nest if they have to. The bird may move its eggs and nests several times.
Ducks will move their eggs and nests if they catch you, or another predator taking some eggs. These birds do this because they feel unsafe with the situation.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Duckling Breathing Heavy, Duckling Umbilical Hernia, Duck Wheezing, Internally Pipping Duck Eggs