AboutJonathan Wright Expertise I can answer questions about wild mammals, as well as other wild animals. I can also answer questions on extinct animals and zoos.
PLEASE DON'T SEND ME ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PETS. IF YOU ARE REALLY WORRIED, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A VETERINARIAN. PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THAT UNPAID PEOPLE ON ALLEXPERTS ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY AND WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH ADVICE THE MOMENT YOUR ANIMAL GETS ILL. Find out how to look after a pet before you get it. It is unfair to keep an animal in inappropriate conditions and give it the wrong food. If you can't keep an animal in good conditions, please don't bring it into your home. I'm not a vet and I don't have any expertise in animal medicine and care. I don't agree with people taking animals out of the wild and then expecting other people to give free advice on how to look after them. It is cruel to take animals away from their parents, who are able to look after the babies and may look for them, while putting their other babies at risk. You may need a licence to look after some animals. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals; please check with a local wildlife organisation.
IF YOU FIND AN INJURED ANIMAL, PLEASE CONTACT A WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN OR CHARITY AND LET TRAINED STAFF LOOK AFTER THE ANIMAL. DO NOT TRY TO LOOK AFTER AN INJURED ANIMAL IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Please do not remove eggs from nests. The mother birds will know the right temperature for the eggs and will not 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 (check details on websites) to see if the eggs are fertile. If the eggs are not fertile, they will not hatch.
I do not agree with fights between different animals. Please do not ask me questions about them.
Experience I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two years old. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.
Organizations World Wide Fund for Nature. Zoological Society of London. London Bat Group.
Publications Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group
Education/Credentials BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' levels in Zoology and Chemistry. 'O' Level in Biology.
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.
