WOOD DUCK nesting problem
#6868066
05/09/20 08:25 PM
05/09/20 08:25 PM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 2,222 SE NEBRASKA
NebrCatMan
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OP
trapper
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 2,222
SE NEBRASKA
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Hey trapperman brothers, In the past I have posted some posts and pictures of my wood duck nesting box line I have right behind my cabin. This year started out looking like it was going to be a great one. I had wood ducks everywhere up and down the creek. As usual I had a box that must of been a "dump box" for a couple or more hens. Some told me this is because I have too many boxes up too close to each other. Some said not enough boxes up in an area. I have always had a dump box in my group of boxes here for the last 5 years. A hen always hatched almost all the eggs, Sometimes 26 or 28 duckies. But this year on a dump box on day I noticed a bunch of wood chips all over the ground with nest down everywhere on the ground. I left it alone. Now today I checked a few boxes and 2 have a bunch of eggs but no hen sitting on them. They are abandoned. I have 3 boxes along the creek that have hens setting. I wonder if an owl or some bird of prey got the hens and got in the box to mess it up. The boxes are 8 foot high on a steel pipe. Right on the creek bank. Would an owl get in the boxes if small enough ? I'll go check all my boxes 2morrow. I have 12 or 13 up , some in other places miles away. Comments ??
Remember "Forbidden Fruit makes many Jams"
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Re: WOOD DUCK nesting problem
[Re: NebrCatMan]
#6868299
05/10/20 06:55 AM
05/10/20 06:55 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,303 Western Michigan
Animals Only
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,303
Western Michigan
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I have had bea box up for 5 years and it is always used as a dump box. I have moved it to a more secluded area this year. Maybe they will hatch eggs in it this year.
AKA: Rusty Shackleford
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Re: WOOD DUCK nesting problem
[Re: NebrCatMan]
#6868334
05/10/20 07:59 AM
05/10/20 07:59 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,934 SE WI
DuxDawg
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,934
SE WI
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Since they hatch all of the eggs in the dump nest, not too big of a problem??? Seems you are on the right track since Cornell University lists "abundance and conspicuousness of artificial nest boxes" as a likely reason for egg dumping. Eliminate those two variables and see what happens. "Egg-dumping, or "intraspecific brood parasitism" is common in Wood Ducks—females visit other Wood Duck cavities, lay eggs in them, and leave them to be raised by the other female. This may have been made more common by the abundance and conspicuousness of artificial nest boxes; in some areas it happens in more than half of all nests. Individual females typically lay 10-11 eggs per clutch, but some very full nests have been found containing 29 eggs, the result of egg-dumping." https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory Sure they're abandoned? Eggs can sit in the nest without a hen for weeks and still be viable. However once she starts sitting, she has to stick with it. Wood chips, etc sounds like a woodpecker taking over. Love wood ducks! Hoping for the best with your endeavor
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke "We are fast approaching... rule by brute force." -Ayn Rand
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Re: WOOD DUCK nesting problem
[Re: NebrCatMan]
#6868543
05/10/20 11:39 AM
05/10/20 11:39 AM
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Joined: May 2018
Posts: 10,913 SW Georgia
Wanna Be
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trapper
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 10,913
SW Georgia
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Too many boxes out, you’ll end up losing more ducks than gaining. Make sure your poles have a predator guard. Make sure you have some sort of screen inside so the ducklings can exit the box. And remember wood ducks aren’t the only cavity nesting ducks around. Mergansers, Goldeneyes, and Buffleheads are all cavity nesters. Down here it not uncommon to see different ducklings with different hens. And remember, less is more with boxes.
Last edited by Wanna Be; 05/10/20 11:40 AM.
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Re: WOOD DUCK nesting problem
[Re: NebrCatMan]
#6868722
05/10/20 03:45 PM
05/10/20 03:45 PM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 2,222 SE NEBRASKA
NebrCatMan
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 2,222
SE NEBRASKA
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Went and checked a box by itself...… no other nests near it within a quarter mile. When I walked up to it a Woodie hen flew off. Took a picture of the inside box. Mamma is doing triple duty as I counted 27.... maybe a couple more....eggs. Will any or maybe all hatch? I'll check it again in a month to see the results.
Last edited by NebrCatMan; 05/10/20 03:46 PM.
Remember "Forbidden Fruit makes many Jams"
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Re: WOOD DUCK nesting problem
[Re: NebrCatMan]
#6868748
05/10/20 04:27 PM
05/10/20 04:27 PM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,659 Champaign County, Ohio.
KeithC
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trapper
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 15,659
Champaign County, Ohio.
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It's to bad that its illegal to take the extra eggs out, incubate them, hatch the ducklings, grow them out and release them. A state could dramatically increase the number of woodducks if they did this in a few wetlands. Most ducklings die in the wild. Raised in captivity, most would live to breeding age.
Pulling all the eggs, except for a few dummy eggs to encourage more laying and rearing the ducklings would result in an enormous amount of ducklings, probably dozens of times what the woodducks would rear on their own.
Predation issues on the released adults may be worse.
Keith
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Re: WOOD DUCK nesting problem
[Re: NebrCatMan]
#6868749
05/10/20 04:28 PM
05/10/20 04:28 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,208 Manitoba
Northof50
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 8,208
Manitoba
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You have some mergansers there, seems 2 middle eggs sure looks like theirs. Mb Coonguy's mother did a book on "Day old downy waterfowl of the world", a 25 year project of hers.
Last edited by Northof50; 05/10/20 04:29 PM.
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Re: WOOD DUCK nesting problem
[Re: NebrCatMan]
#6868763
05/10/20 05:00 PM
05/10/20 05:00 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,934 SE WI
DuxDawg
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SE WI
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Excellent point KeithC.
No worries NCM. Yes, she can hatch and rear that whole clutch.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke "We are fast approaching... rule by brute force." -Ayn Rand
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