In the corner where my outside steps that lead down to the patio and the corner of the house a duck laid some eggs in a small pile of windblown leaves that I missed when doing spring cleaning.
The duck has been sitting on them several days now, 8-10 eggs from what I seen when she moved around plus what she isn’t covering when she is sitting on them. Have not seen a drake around anywhere. I look out the door several times a day and she hasn’t moved off the nest.
She isn’t covering them all, the leaves are pushed up around her and most of the eggs are on bare concrete, plus it isn’t very well protected from the rain which we have had recently. I haven’t seen her leave to go eat, etc…
How long does it take duck eggs to hatch? If it goes beyond this how long does she wait until she decides the eggs are not going to hatch? Will she die of starvation if she doesn’t leave to eat/drink? Should I try feeding her?
There were 2 ducks who sat on nests outside my office. Both had about a dozen eggs, which they sat on for about 6 weeks (certainly more than a month). Once they all hatched (within a day of each other), mom and kids left the area after about 2 days.
From our observations, mom only left once a day to “run errands” (as we called it) - probably to eat. I’m sure food would be appreciated, but I was never sure what sort of food to get.
I remember my neighbors raising ducks when I was a kid. The normal time was basically 4 weeks.
But these ducks built nests under bushes and hid them. I remember them leaving the eggs at times. But I can’t be as sure about that.
These were basically domestic ducks, so they were given food and water fairly nearby.
The Facts
According to the Department of Animal Science at Oklahoma State University, most domestic duck species, such as Pekin duck, incubate for 28 days to hatching. Muscovy ducks take 35-37 days.
From here:
ETA: You can buy duck food from feed stores, Amazon, Tractor Supply among others places.
Muscovy ducks are pretty distinctive, with their featherless warty heads, so assume a faster hatching time if the duck has feathers on its head. I don’t think rain is a big issue for duck eggs, because ducks routinely go for a swim then get back on the nest while still wet. Being cold is a bigger problem. If you ever notice the duck being away from the eggs, you could rake some more leaves toward the nest and try to push the eggs together a bit, although maybe not by hand. I don’t know if wild ducks are picky about human odors. Domestic ducks don’t give a quack about it.