Muscovies are gross!

But baby ducks are so cute = dilemma!

You might try dismantling the nest...?

Carol, I thought about that. They seem to have abandoned it right now. There is nothing sitting on it. Maybe the snake went out and scared them away. He will probably eat the egg anyway. I'd go get it, but I'm not crazy about the taste of duck eggs.

My muscovy hen had 12 babies last week! Want some lol

maybe a wondering alligator will make a home near by. They really enjoy having those birds for dinner.

I don't think there are any alligators around here, but you never can tell. One could wash in through the sewer system during all this rain. She was back today laying another egg. They seem to come, lay an egg, and leave. Not much I can do except take the eggs, but I hate to destroy them. I wish I could entice her to nest somewhere else. I guess they feel safe there, because it's back behind the building, not in an open space, and I've never hurt them, so they figure it's a good place to live.

Muscovy meat is considered premium duck meat. They taste kinda like pheasant and smell like a turkey roasting when they are cooking. We had too many males one year lol.

Well, the eggs are gone. She was sitting on the nest earlier, and when she left, I realized the eggs were either hidden under leaves or gone. Either the snake ate them, or my neighbor poached them. I'm going to ask him, and if he did, I'm make it very clear that isn't cool and not to do it again. If the snake ate them, she probably won't lay anymore there. It's a mystery, but both eggs are gone now.

I must have missed her this morning, because there is an egg, but no duck.

Mine usually lay and leave the nest every day until they get close to a dozen or so then they sit tight after that. I think they kinda test out the waters to see if any predators are gonna get the eggs first. They're dumb but not so dumb, lol, as my son likes to say. They usually do move their nests after something gets the eggs though. Maybe your girl hasn't found a better spot yet. I usually just take a few eggs to cook with and leave 1 or 2 so they will keep laying. They will stay if you leave a few. Muscovys usually only lay when they want to hatch babies normally spring and fall here. They don't lay all year around like Khaki Campbells which are better ducks for egg production. Muscovys are considered meat ducks. The eggs are good though especially for baking. They make your cakes fluff up nicely. They aren't gritty like geese eggs.

Duck eggs are too strong for me, and I'm pretty sure we aren't allowed to kill these ducks. This is an apartment complex.

She was back this morning. Two more eggs now. I wish I liked duck eggs. I figure I'll just let them hatch, and maybe by then the pond will have water in it and she'll surely take them there. This whole family seems to hang out around here. There is a low section that probably has bugs in it, because I see them eating there a lot. Plus, there was a lady who used to feed them, but she moved, so they probably associate this area with food. I keep thinking if I don't feed them, they will go away, but no. I do see that I'm going to have to remove the leaves from around the bottom of the hibiscus and put something less nest-friendly there, like pine bark mulch. It's the perfect place for a nest, wiith the big pile of leaves that she can put over the eggs to keep them moist and hidden, and the hibiscus to keep predators from getting to the next easily. I'm not going to bother her. I'll just do something to make the area less appealing after she's gone. A friend suggested sticking twigs in the ground right there, so she can't sit down, but that seems mean.

AFAIK, ducks do not stay in the nest once hatched. Maybe if you just keep going around next to the nest while the adults are there,it might help get them to move on...

I may have to take the eggs. I went out this morning to find my red amaryllis leaves shredded to pieces, lying on the sidewalk. I don't know if she tried to eat them or what, but it wasn't a weed whacker that got them. They were torn apart, like a duck would do with its beak. She is there most of the day now and talks to me when I come out, but she does leave sometimes, and I think I will take the eggs next time she does. I put water out near the faucet for her, where she is usually drinking the A/C water, but I don't want her or her mate chewing up my plants.

Might've been going after grasshopper nymphs. They do like to hang out on plants like lilies.

Probably. She has feathered the nest now, and she doesn't seem to want to get off of it for long except to eat or drink, so I guess I'll just be stuck with baby ducks. I waited too long.

There are 10 visible eggs and probably a couple more underneath. So in a month or so, I should have baby ducks. I'll take pictures when they start hatching. Hopefully, by then there will be water in the pond, but maybe not. It didn't fill until late July last year. She may have to waddle their little butts over to the pond next door.