Posted by Rhonda Reina on March 10, 2008

Q: We have 5 female Mallard ducks on our pond. No males appear to be present. The females are nesting and laying eggs. Do they lay eggs and sit on nests if the eggs are unfertilized? Or have we had some male visitors we are not aware of?

State: Texas

A: You've posed an interesting question and have raised some on my part as well. I'm not entirely clear whether the Mallards on your pond are "wild" ducks or domesticated ducks (there are some domestic versions that look very much like wild Mallards). Domestic ducks are much more apt to be stimulated to lay eggs as the days get longer whether they're paired with males or not but wild ones will do so also. Day length increase stimulates ovulation and doesn't require that they be paired. Most of the grocery chicken eggs we eat are infertile - those hens never even get close to a rooster!

If your females are wild and can fly to and from the pond it's quite possible they've been bred by outside males but unlikely. Normally ducks pair up in the winter and you should be seeing the males accompany the females on the pond - the males stick really close before nesting season. So, my guess is that if no males on the pond with the females, then no fertile eggs. Your ducks will probably follow through and sit on their eggs even though they're infertile. Hope I've answered your question. Incubation for Mallards (and domestic ducks too) is 26-30 days so you should know for sure within a month. Thanks for asking.

John Wiessinger ( March 11, 2008)