# pigeons on duck egg... can they do it?



## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

Hi all,

I have some pigeon eggs that I do not want, and i was wondering if i could put one duck egg under them.

i know that they can hatch out chicks, as it has been done, but they only rake about 20 days, and duck eggs take an average 28 days, and so i was wondering if they would sit for that long, or if the ywould just get off after 20.

Thanks,

kevin


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Come on now, Kevin...


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

a little confused... wow ... i feel like i am supposed to be gettign something... but im not..

help?


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)




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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

It will never work---do the math----pigeons "may" sit 20 days. But then again we are talking to a 13 Y/O.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I doubt they would sit on them for that long, plus, depending on what kind of duck it is, you could have some other issues. For example, muscovy eggs have a very thick waxy shell that makes it difficult to even hatch in an incubator because it's hard to get the humidity right. Muscovy eggs also take 35 days to hatch, but then again, they are a different species from all other domestic ducks (which originated from mallards).
Duck eggs are quite large as well. Seems like a pigeon would have a rough time turning the egg  Haha.


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

Ok, because I have a voorburg pair on a duck egg, and I am wondering when they will stop sitting. This is a Rouen egg, about the size of a chicken egg. You know what? I will give it a go, and at day eighteen, I will switch it under another pair... lets see what happens!

Kevin

P.S This is my choice, so please don’t give me a hard time!  Thanks for all the comments!


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## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

I know back in the mid 1960s Some poeple I knew did put chicken eggs Under pigeons on the nest and they hatched just fine Those were banty chickens eggs SO it may work Because those people hatch guite a few chicks using pigeons.


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## doveone52 (Aug 3, 2009)

Let us know what happens!


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

I will, and and definetly get some pics of the little one!


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## drifter (Oct 7, 2009)

It probably will be sort of uncomfortable for a pigeon to set on an egg of that size.


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

I am thinking of getting a banty hen (chicken) and lettign her brood it... just a thought! anyone one here use banties?


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

sky tx said:


> It will never work---do the math----pigeons "may" sit 20 days. *But then again we are talking to a 13 Y/O.*


Excuse me?


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

sky tx said:


> It will never work---do the math----pigeons "may" sit 20 days. *But then again we are talking to a 13 Y/O.*


Regardless of the question, there is simply no need to be rude or make comments about someone's age on this forum. There have been others here who have talked about and shown pictures of their pigeons raising chick eggs and sitting on the chicks. To me, this seems a very logical question, in fact.

What if you asked a question and someone said, "What do you expect from an old guy like that?" 


As for the duck egg, IF IT DIDN'T GET SWITCHED (to hatch under the duck parents)for some reason, a few things could go wrong. I would be careful because ducklings imprint on their "parent"--whatever their parent is--and pigeons can be aggressive to a youngster that is not acting "properly" (as in, not acting like a tiny squab and sitting in the nest!). If the duckling imprints on the pigeons who hatch it, but they don't want it around because it's a duckling, that could lead to big problems for you all. Also it is helpful for ducklings to have a real duck to teach them how to BE a duck lol, especially learning to swim (a duckling can actually drown before it knows how to swim), find food, etc. Short term it would likely work, but I see long-term problems if it does. You probably know all this but just in case.


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## rackerman (Jul 29, 2009)

sky tx said:


> It will never work---do the math----pigeons "may" sit 20 days. But then again we are talking to a 13 Y/O.


So rude........


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

*Thanks!*

Thank you for all your kind answers everyone.

Maryjane,

In fact, I did not know that a duckling could drown, and it actually had to be taught to swim. 

Today, I bought a silkie hen, and she is actually sitting on the duck egg! Like I mean, just brought her home, and she goes and sits on the egg that I had under the pigeons! So now the silkie is brooding and I will try to find a way to teach it how to swim. Start with a shallow dish and go from there… I think.

Has anyone had a silkie go broody? What are the common breeds of chickens that do go broody?


Thanks a million,

Kevin


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

silkies are some of the best broody hens... my husband found some duck eggs that were to be destoyed at a construction site and brought them home to put under a bantam hen we had that was broody and most of them hatched and we raised them up or she did.... and when they were old enough took them to a nice pond where more ducks were ,and where people fed them.


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

Spirit Wings,

Great story! Do you have some pics of yours? I think mine may be a croos between a Cochin.

Lets see what happens!

Kevin


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

What breeds of chickens often go broody?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

most of the good egg layers seem to not sit the eggs, not always but they bred them for eggs not hatching. alot of bantams are good sitters, esp the silkies. here a pic of the baby ducks and their chicken mom, she is a nankin hen.


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## Jimhalekw (Jan 1, 2010)

Good luck with that Kevin. I have a Golden Pheasant egg under a pair of pigeons right now. It was under another pair and I switched to a pair that layed later because of time issues to hatching. Your Silky will be a better parent than a pigeon but your duck will imprint on her as well. When I was a kid I had a bantam rooster that thought he was a duck. He would stand on their backs on the pond so he could swim with them. Jim


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

Wow! Great pic Spirit Wings! So were those just common mallards?

Jimhalekw, what a silly rooster! Well, it is evident that my silkie is broody! She went to get all the other laying hens eggs, and is now sitting on them! I do not have a rooster, so they will not hatch. Silly girl!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yopigeonguy said:


> Wow! Great pic Spirit Wings! So were those just common mallards?
> 
> Jimhalekw, what a silly rooster! Well, it is evident that my silkie is broody! She went to get all the other laying hens eggs, and is now sitting on them! I do not have a rooster, so they will not hatch. Silly girl!


yes they were mallards, when they were ready we took them to a reservoir down the road not far from the house and they flew back! soooo we had to take them to a nice pond furthur out where folks feed the ducks, they did not come back... yet. I have heard stories of ducks being hatched at a place, fly away or taken away, only to come back the next season and perhaps nest themselves.. not sure if this will happen but so far they have not returned.


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

Spirit Wings,

Yes, it is very common for ducks and geese to come back and nest where they were hatched, because THAT is their home! you may see your babies' babies!


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

I also have a white rock banty, a man had her for 1 year, said she never nested, is it common for them to nest, or just other banties?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Great pic, Michelle. What a wonderful story.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yopigeonguy said:


> I also have a white rock banty, a man had her for 1 year, said she never nested, is it common for them to nest, or just other banties?


not sure, even within a breed some are broody and others are not... like mine I have nankin, japanese and serama. only two nankins sit and the serama does too when they get the broody bug, but the others never have... the thing is if you want eggs a broody hen stops laying to sit, so most of the "egg layers" like rhode island reds and leg horns and black stars and such do not brood, most of the time there is always exceptions... usually the heritage breeds of chickens will sit.. there is a list of heritage breeds Im sure somewhere... to me the silkies are the best sitters and parents of all the bantams or small chickens, cochins I think do a good job too, Im sure there are many more.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Trees Gray said:


> Great pic, Michelle. What a wonderful story.


thank you, it was a lovely experience. wish we could of kept them, but being wild I felt they needed to go. It did make my husband and I want domestic ducks someday. they really are a pleasure if you have the space.

I hope yopigeonguys does well, he may want to keep that one if it hatches as it is a lone duck, and then find it a friend.


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

*Sad!*

Hello everyone,

when I went to check on the hens, the egg was cold and some were broken, guess there was a fight!

This sucks!


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## Jimhalekw (Jan 1, 2010)

Put it back under something and it might still hatch. Depending on the temp they can get cold for at least a day and hatch. Jim


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## yopigeonguy (Oct 22, 2009)

she waz the only broody hen, and all the pigeons are on good eggs, oh well, next time!


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