Wild ducks have laid eggs in my plant pot!

[Toilet Duck]

Evening all,

Recently moved to somewhere rural, and we have had a pair of ducks landing in the garden. I have been putting bird feed out (sunflower hearts, mixed seed mixes, fat balls etc) to encourage wildlife etc, and the ducks have been eating that. I bought some specific duck/swan pellets but they don't seem interested. I also bought them a cheapo paddling pool (I don't have a pond) but they won't use it. However, they are happy using an oven roasting tray filled with water, oh the irony



Anyway, I was watering some flower pots when I found some eggs in the circled one below; to say I was shocked is an understatement!





We initially thought the nest may have been abandoned, but the next day mother duck was on the nest and has been spending all day every day sitting on the eggs. The adult ducks are not tame, but the mother seems happy enough with us coming and going as long as we ignore her. Since I took te egg pic she has laid another one, so we are up to 11.

What should I do to give the mother duck and her eggs the best chance? Obviously we are not disturbing her and she seems content with that. I'm worried that when/if the ducklings hatch, how are they going to get on in a plant pot nest? If they fall out, they won't be able to get back in. Should I make a ramp for them? Also there isn't any water nearby (apart from an oven tray) so surely that isn't good? What will they eat? As much as I'd love to see a load of ducklings, I'm worried mum has picked the stupidest location ever to lay her eggs.

Any help much appreciated

[Butter Face]

No help, but that’s awesome. I’d be over the moon.

[tdm34]

You don't have any cats do you? if you have then it's very likely to be a massacre......

[Mexman]

Apt user name.
Photos when they hatch please!
Cant resist a duckling.
Probably the bright colour of the pool that's putting them off, not natural looking enough.

[Toilet Duck]

Butter Face said:

No help, but that’s awesome. I’d be over the moon.

Cheers, we are . When I first found them I was convinced the missus had put eggs from the kitchen in the plant pot for some unfathomable reason, it just would not compute and blew my mind. I love nature and this is amazing to be part of, but at the same time just seems awful as mum is spending all her days on the nest (she even lets me water the plant pot next to "hers"), and I just have visions of ducklings falling out early to their death and not having the correct food/water in the vicinity.

P.S. get back to modding your Type R

[Butter Face]

Hah, I haven’t driven it for like 2 weeks.

I’ll get on it!

[Toilet Duck]

tdm34 said:

You don't have any cats do you? if you have then it's very likely to be a massacre......

yes, I have a cat

My cat found and disturbed the duck a couple of days ago, we heard quacking and found the duck out of the nest on the floor in a mexican stand off with my cat. To be honest, I think my cat was scared. We brought her in and eventually mother duck went back on the nest. I've been watching our cat when she goes out the cat flap (or door when its open) and she just gives a cursory glance at the plant pot. Obviously if there are 11 balls of fluff it will be a different story

[Toilet Duck]

Mexman said:

Apt user name.
Photos when they hatch please!
Cant resist a duckling.
Probably the bright colour of the pool that's putting them off, not natural looking enough.

Will do

I didn't realise the colour would put them off. I'll have to look for a "plain" colour one or maybe try and cobble something together. I do want to make a pond, but it's on a long list of things to do since moving in and there is no way it's getting done before these hatch

[SouthHamsGaz]

Do you have water nearby?

My parents used to get ducks in the garden and were about half a mile from the estuary. Once hatched they should wander to the nearest body of water, unfortunately that will probably involve going along roads and over drains, that small ducklings have a habit of falling down. So be prepared to 'escort' them, as the parents are very dim when it comes to looking after their young.

[Johnnytheboy]

I used to look after the planters on the roof of a block of flats in Southampton.

I was there while the residents were in one day, drew the foliage back on one pot to reveal a dead duck, except on closer inspection it was a live Mallard duck on a nest on this person's balcony.

I looked at the duck, she looked at me, and I just combed the foliage back over her and carried on.

[bitchstewie]

I had a duck nest in my garden ten or so years back presumably because there's a small pond there.

We don't have a cat but there are plenty in the neighbourhood and there was no problems that I know of as I also thought "duck on a nest v lots of prowling cats? hmm..."

They hatched one day and were on the pond and lawn with the mother herding them back to the nest.

I work and it's a normal garden so crows, magpies and god knows what and all I know is the numbers always added up when I got home.

Only snag was one day I came home to see them doing laps of the garden looking for a way out as the mother didn't seem to have planned that part of motherhood so well

They ended up being herded through the door and out of the garage where the mother bizarrely walked down the road and took a left turn marching off towards the main road which has a pond the other side with a dozen ducklings in tow.

Cue me standing like a div in the middle of the main road like some sort of duck lollipop man.

[Mr E]

I have a pigeon nesting in my pergola.



I also have 2 cats. One of which sleeps in the pergola on occasion.

I am expecting murder at some point.

[BoggoStump]

Very nice of you to be feeding them and even putting a pool out for them (and a baking tray)

[elanfan]

OP have you got a scraggy bit of carpet in your garage? If so drape it over the edge of the pond and into the water. It might encourage them into the pond. Any foxes about? They’ll kill parents and ducklings.

[towser44]

My sister lives in an apartment which is part of an old hall and estate with 15 acres of lovely woodland, parkland and a huge lake. Last year, despite all that to choose from, a duck decided to nest and lay eggs in a very small garden area, amongst a few plants, between the apartments and right underneath my sisters kitchen window! They hatched into a lovely brood of 12 ducklings and made their way the 100 yards to the lake via the car park. Didn't last long unfortunately, due to the large pikes in the lake and also the local polecat!

Edited by towser44 on Monday 11th May 23:27

[J4CKO]

Thread title sounds like a Frank Zappa Album.

[Nightmare]

Awesome....very jealous...ducklings are one of the best things ever!

Really don’t worry about where they’ve laid - seems very common for ducks and the ducklings are amazingly capable (in some respects) I used to work on a site with a big ornamental pond which had a pair of ducks in it every year. The weird thing being the entire pond was protected by netting (to stop the herons from eating the koi) and there was a 2 foot brick wall all the way around it. After about 5 years of having no clue how the ducklings got out (which they did every year) we set up a load of motion cameras round it. Turns out that the day-old ducklings could jump that height and squeeze under netting after the mother had done the same - very impressive. Didn’t even look real on camera! They then hiked half a mile to the nearest stream

Definitely the cat is the thing to worry about when they hatch.....and the requirement to shepherd them somewhere safely like bhstewie did. I’m pretty sure that’s a legal requirement

[Wayne E Edge]

They will walk to nearest water soon after hatching.

[Trophy Husband]

J4CKO said:

Thread title sounds like a Frank Zappa Album.

Or Gong!
Great thread to keep an eye on whilst I'm watching a ship arriving too late to save a drowning witch!

[Rushjob]

Wayne E Edge said:

They will walk to nearest water soon after hatching.

More than that, if the clutch of eggs has mostly hatched, it's not unusual for the mother to take the ducklings that have hatched and abandon any unhatched eggs.

This happened in one of my mates barns a few years ago, the clutch hatched and mum took her ducklings leaving an egg that hatched a bit later.

We spent ages trying to find a brood we could add little ducky to, but failed, so I took him home.

This is Solo



He stayed with us for nearly a year, he followed me everywhere when I was around the garden.

For the next two years, a very tame Mallard with attached girlfriend came to our garden for a couple of days to pinch the chickens food before flying
off again.