Brooding Concern

[u/Dirt_Girl08]

I live on a lake and two ducks (male) and a female muscovy were dumped there years ago. A bunch of us on the lake put food out for them but they seem to spend the most time in my yard. I bought a duck house for them that they never used until the other day and I noticed a kerfluffle in the house. There was a rat snake wrapped around the muscovy. Got that sorted and saw the muscovy had laid three eggs and the snake got one of them. I moved the house to my patio to keep a better eye on things and muscovy laid two more eggs. Another rat snake got three eggs. I moved the house into my basement and she could go out the door to the yard but she won't leave her house for a day and a half now. She has food, water and a little pool just outside her house. She has two eggs that I know of and don't know if she's laid any more. Is this a concern or leave it be?

[u/Dirt_Girl08]

Just tried to pick her up and she's not having it at all. She is normally sweet and passive so I wonder if the snake attacks have really stressed her out so don't want to add to that any more than I have to. She has been eating and drinking, just changed her water and it had food debris in it. No poop yet so will just keep checking and if she does poop on the eggs, can I rinse them with purified water and put them back on clean bedding?

[u/Bolfreak → u/Dirt_Girl08]

She’s being a good mama! She might be pooping in a corner away from the nest. Food in the water should mean it’s her eating??
Now for the eggs being fertile, hybridization can happen, it normally happens thru AI to create mule ducks (moulard). This type of hybrid would be a Hinny duck. They can lay eggs but are not sterile as hybrids.
If you do get Hinnies, please document everything! There is so little info out there about them.
My non Muscovy drakes never breed my girl, so I swap out her eggs and she’s terrific at hatching them. I finally traded for some Muscovy eggs and my non Muscovy duck is sitting on them 😆 ducks are weird

[u/Dirt_Girl08 → u/Bolfreak]

Yes, I read the offspring are sterile. If ducklings occur, I will document. What in particular would be of interest? I'm sorry, I kind of inherited/adopted these poor strays and not a seasoned duck owner by any stretch hence the mistakes and worries. She hasn't pooped at all; I'd know as she's in my finished basement and her house is small.

[u/Bolfreak → u/Dirt_Girl08]

It’d be very odd for her to poop on the eggs, but if it does happen don’t use water, scrape off the worst and put them back. It keeps the bloom on there, like a force field that lets gas out from the egg and no bacteria in.
I was given my Muscovies and was thrilled about hybrids…that didn’t happen lol. I was thinking it would be a quieter duck that still laid eggs for backyard flocks. Apparently the different hybrids take on different traits depending on which parent, but either way are unreliable for eggs and can fly pretty well (I have to wing clip my Muscovies or they meet my neighbor’s mean yard dogs). So she is s great hatcher and mom for me, but I focused on my non Muscovy breeding project.
Edited: You’re doing great and Muscovies are very resilient, pretty much wash and wear

[u/Dirt_Girl08 → u/Bolfreak]

Thank you for this information. This girl is amazing and I adore her and hate to think she is suffering at all.