Help…There's a Duck Nest in My Flower Pot!
Some of the commonest questions to the Northern Prairie home page deal with ducks nesting in, on, or around homes. This is generally an urban or suburban problem, but rural homesteads are not immune.
They do the deed in the darndest places...on patios, in flowerpots, on second story decks, and on or beside front porches. And then some of them just lay eggs and don't sit on them, or they roll them into the woodpile and then, believe it or not, they knock on the front door and beg for food like a dog that has just accomplished some miraculous feat, like finally sitting down on command.
Most often the question is something like: "How long will it be before I can use my front door? or "How can I Help?" Sometimes the question is just "Why?" And then, because many of these nests fail, well-intentioned homeowners write to ask about incubating the eggs. Sometimes the question is "HELP…I've been incubating the eggs and now they are about to hatch and I haven't a clue what to do?"!
OK, the following is for all you folks with a duck on the deck, in the front yard, or where ever.
Table of Contents
- Mallard Nesting Behavior
- What You Can Do To Help
- Fences and Courtyards
- But the Nest is in the Middle of My Driveway...
- But What Can I Do if "Ma" Abandons the Nest
- One More Question...
