wood duck nesting

[YoungBuckTX]

while checking boxes today I found some with 12 to 20 eggs. how many can a hen sucessfully hatch? is there an easy way to determine if eggs are still good?

[WNM]

I think they can successfully hatch dump nests. Cajunwannabe will be along shortly with plenty of firsthand info on wood duck boxes.

[WoodieSC]

while checking boxes today I found some with 12 to 20 eggs. how many can a hen sucessfully hatch? is there an easy way to determine if eggs are still good?

Everything I've been told, read, or seen firsthand is that a dump nest should have the extra eggs (anything over 12?) removed or there's a large risk that the nesting hen may abandon the nest altogether.

The first several nests I found years ago with 20-24 eggs were left alone and I recall that only one hatched about 13-14 eggs and the rest were either sterile to start with or the hens left when she had all she wanted with her. I don't know how they think, obviously, but I now clean out the extras and have only seen one of those abandoned afterward.

Hopefully someone will post up with some more scientific info.

[BOGSTER]

I've seen a hen with 19 little ones before.

[cajunwannabe]

I pulled a snake out of a nest that had 22 eggs in the box originally (dump box). Hen was waiting outside the box when I pulled up. Snake had eaten 4 eggs in it when I removed and relocated it. Hen sat on the remaining eggs and hatched all 18.

I've seen a hen sit on 24 and only hatch out 8. I don't have a clue as to the science of how some hens hatch a few and some hatch a bunch. Dump boxes are definitely not an ideal situation for nesting success tho.

[WoodieSC]

I pulled a snake out of a nest that had 22 eggs in the box originally (dump box). Hen was waiting outside the box when I pulled up. Snake had eaten 4 eggs in it when I removed and relocated it. Hen sat on the remaining eggs and hatched all 18.

I've seen a hen sit on 24 and only hatch out 8. I don't have a clue as to the science of how some hens hatch a few and some hatch a bunch. Dump boxes are definitely not an ideal situation for nesting success tho.

I'm just guessing here, but wouldn't the average temperature of each egg make a big difference as to whether a hen could hatch out more than the "normal" number of eggs in a nest? When the volume doubles in that 6-8" circle of eggs, I have to imagine that the bottom eggs stay cooler, unless the nest itself is well insulated and the average nightime temps are warmer.

We've had years when it's been darn chilly at night, and regularly below freezing, and I've had nests where the hen had hollowed out the pine needles I'd put in the box such that the bottom eggs were sitting on the wood. In many of those years, assuming my memory is close to being accurate, it seems that any eggs left unhatched were almost always on the bottom.

After all, isn't that what incubators are all about, i,e, keeping the eggs at a regular, warm temperature?

[YoungBuckTX]

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my owl friend had 4 of her own
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[WoodieSC]

Great pictures, but how many eggs in the top two actually hatched?

[YoungBuckTX]

Great pictures, but how many eggs in the top two actually hatched?

none as of yesterday

[WoodieSC]

none as of yesterday

OK. Please keep us posted. It's a warm year so they might get lucky.

Just out of curiosity, does the bottom of the nest get close to or tough the bottom wood? You're using wood and cedar shavings vs my using pine straw. Beats me if that makes any difference, but, who knows...

[YoungBuckTX]

OK. Please keep us posted. It's a warm year so they might get lucky.

Just out of curiosity, does the bottom of the nest get close to or tough the bottom wood? You're using wood and cedar shavings vs my using pine straw. Beats me if that makes any difference, but, who knows...

one of the 20 egg boxes hatched all but 5. 3 of which were rotten, and 2 had dead ducks. owl eggs hatched too. aside from taking up one of my nest boxes, do screech owls kill ducks?? I assume they're too small.
I probably have 4 inches of cedar chips and not close to the bottom at all. I am going to number my boxes and keep logs next year.

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[LowcountryBuck]

cool phillip

[thawhacker]

that is cool. I want to go check my box now.

[uga_dawg]

Cool pics. Look at the claws already on that baby.

You are braver than I to stick your hand in there and grab one with momma there.

[uga_dawg]

I have one box that has 7 eggs left in it, but the momma and the little ones have moved on. (At least I assume they are done with the box as they are on the water.)

Should I clean the box out now or wait until later in the year? The boxes we have now haven't ever been maintained. I've patched a few of the older ones up, but can someone give me a rough calendar of what I need to be doing and when?

[YoungBuckTX]

tough call without being able to watch it. no chance another hen started using it? probably just bad eggs. im still learning the process myself. i was thinking of marking the eggs with sharpies. to see how long they have been there and also if a hen is moving them around. I can only get to my swamp every couple of weeks.

[YoungBuckTX]

here's some more info UGA
http://www.woodducksociety.com/qanda.htm

[fuzzy]

I saw these Sunday.

[cajunwannabe]

Clean out the boxes as soon as jump day and you'll have a hen in there in no time.