Posted by Griff CarterDoyle on April 24, 2007

Q: We had a mother duck lay eggs and incubate them near our pool. They incubated for around a month, and we checked them every day. However, today when we checked, there were eggs cracked open and no ducks to be seen! They weren't in our pool, the nest, or in the surrounding area. It didn't appear that a snake or a skunk had eaten them (eggs fairly intact, no sign of struggle). Our yard is fenced off, and it doesn't appear that the ducks could have left. Where did our AWOL ducks go???

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: Arizona

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: I'd love to have seen your nest with the open eggs as this would give me a good idea whether the eggs hatched or were eaten. From what you've shared, however, it sounds like they did hatch in normal fashion - your timing is right. Although your yard is fenced off, you didn't say what kind of fencing, so could the babies have slipped through the fence and left that way? The mother can easily fly so would do so if she couldn't exit the yard otherwise. It's common practice for a female duck to quickly take her babies to the nearest water soon after hatching. I'm not surprised she didn't end up in your pool as there wouldn't be any food nor cover there anyway but doesn't sound like there is any open water close to your house. A duck will sometimes take her young quite a way to the nearest water so I'd figure out where that might be and go see if there are some babies there - that's my best guess. I raised Mallards for years when I was a child and never did get to see a nest hatch out - they always eluded my observations and were hatched and away from the nest before I knew it. Hope this helps out with your mystery.

John Wiessinger ( April 25, 2007)