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Wild Animals/duck egg incubation times

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Expert: Jonathan Wright - 5/10/2004


Question
We have a female duck that has nested next to our house. There are a lot of male ducks in the area as our nieghbor has a pond for them. My question is she seems to have been sitting on these eggs for a long time, how long should it take for her to hatch the eggs.
Thank you kindly
JR Hager

Answer
Dear John

Thank you for your question.

Ducks usually incubate their eggs for about 28 days, but this is an instinctive response to an egg and birds will also incubate egg-shaped objects, such as golf balls and model eggs. They will lay infertile eggs if males have not mated with them and will lay fertile eggs if males have successfully mated with them.  

The ducks will continue incubating the eggs until the eggs hatch. If your duck has been incubating the eggs for more than a month, there is a good chance that the eggs are infertile. Infertile eggs will never hatch. It is worthwhile checking if there is a duckling in each egg by holding the egg up to a light.

If the eggs are infertile, please remove them so that the duck can go back to feeding and leading a more productive life. Many zoos and aviaries remove eggs from a female bird and incubate them elsewhere. If the species is till in the breeding season, the female will mate again and lay another batch of eggs. This has enabled some species to increase their numbers, as zoos and aviaries enable a female to produce more young than she would normally achieve in the wild.

If the eggs are infertile, there are various things you can do with them. These include blowing the eggs to make ornaments, by decorating the eggs. I have seen decorated eggs at craft fairs and markets. You can also eat duck eggs or sell them.

I hope this has helped.

All the best

Jonathan  

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Jonathan Wright

Expertise

I can answer questions about wild mammals and other animals, as well as extinct animals and zoos. I am not an expert about every animal species. I can look up information from books and the internet, but can't verify if all the information is true. Please don't ask questions about: 1. Pets. I am not a vet. Please contact a vet if your pet is ill. You may need to spend some money if you want your pet to live. Don't get a pet if you don't know how to look after it and if you can't provide it with the space, food and possible companions that will help it live a healthy life. Don't take animals from the wild, unless they are ill and/or injured and you can protect them until a wildlife charity can help. It is cruel to take animals from their parents, especially if the parents will look for the babies, while putting their other babies at risk. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals or you may need a licence to look after some species. Please check with a local wildlife group. 2. Eggs: Please don't remove eggs from nests. The mother birds provide the right temperature for the eggs and won't sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them to see if they are fertile. If theys aren't fertile, they won't hatch. 3. Fights: Please don't ask about fights between different animals. These questions assume that individuals of two species fight each time they meet and that one species will always be victorious over another. This is untrue. There are cases where a live mouse has been fed to a venomous snake, bitten the snake leading to the snake's demise. 4: Diseases: Please ask doctors or other medical experts about diseases that you may catch from animals. I can't advise on how to deal with viruses, bacteria etc.

Experience

I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.

Organizations
WWF. ZSL. Natural History Museum. RSPB. London Bat Group.

Publications
Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group

Education/Credentials
BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' level in Zoology. 'O' Level in Biology.

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