Although not birds, birds including ducks need to make nest. These nests, besides being used as temporary shelters, are also used to store their eggs. The eggs especially that have just been removed from their body’s need to be kept warm in order to be healthy until the hatch arrives. Long hatching times and threats from other predator force duck to hide their eggs. Therefore, the place to hide their eggs is also in the nest.
The nest’s material that they make usually adjusts where they are. If they are inside a cage, they usually use their feathers and base of cage to make a nest. It will be different if they are in the wild, they will use anything around them to make a nest as long those something can be built as nest.
There are some criteria why duck choosing one location as nest. Duck will look for spots that are safe enough to store their eggs from a predatory attack and allow for an abundance of food ingredients.
Here is some spot that usually used by duck to build their nest.
- Around pond
As mentioned before, beside looking for security side the place that usually used as location of nest is must near for abundance of food ingredients including water. Even pond tends to give high humidity because of the water, duck still needs to coverage their necessary of water. During laying egg or the counting day toward laying egg, duck will eating-less and drink more water. By this fact, it is so logical for them to build nest around pond.
- Wild plants or flowers
In addition to ensuring food supply, duck also consider the security side when building nest. They will hide their nest as closely as possible so there is no predators prey on their eggs and so that their eggs are not stolen by anyone. Hiding their nest around wild bushes is normal. If you use wild-pet duck style in your backyard garden, you will easily find their nest near your flower plants. This also relate when you have a pool behind your house. If you don’t want to find lots of duck nests around the backyard of your house, close your pond when the heat season comes.
All those places didn’t relate if you make a cage or home for your duck. For duck that build nest inside cage usually the cage already facilitating about where is the spot that they can use to place their egg. Some cage style formulated to organize the cage as automatically but there is also you need to take it manually. Usually, in poultry industry especially for cattle duck, usually their cage didn’t too facilitating about their egg. It is different to laying duck that usually the duck mom will place into special cage where is their cage already designed as a nest with a hole, so that when the egg comes out the eggs are organized in a container automatically.
The Tips
Where ever you go and you found some nest or even the nest is in your backyard, please kindly read some tips below.
- Don’t touch the nest
The protective side of a duck will increase when their child is born. Touching their nest will make them think you are a thief or predator that will endanger their eggs. Touch is prohibited and also moving it. Even more importantly, a duck will not recognize her nest if it is moved even a few feet. A relocated nest will be abandoned.
- Sign it
If you want to protect their nest, it is enough to make a sign. This sign to make people knows that there is something on that point so they wouldn’t move it. Also, it is used to avoiding people step on the nest.
- Don’t feed the duck
It’s normal for duck to eating-less during incubating their egg. On their mind, leaving their eggs just for looking any food or drink only inviting any predator like racoon or opossum to prey their egg. It is totally normal when the duck momma become thin after laying egg.
Nesting is normal activity of duck or another and another bird. Nesting also impact by their motherly instincts that arise when they realize that they will have children they need to protect. The ducks are aware that their eggs are very weak and need to be cared for until they are strong.