What and how to make nests for Indo-women
Anyone who decides to take up poultry at home needs to prepare nests for Indo-Ducks. Muscovy ducks, as they are also called, are picky, but in order for the birds to reproduce well, you need to provide them with places for laying. You can do this with your own hands at home, because this is a simple and not even too tedious procedure.
Indoor nests
It is possible to understand the intricacies of this work even without video, although it will undoubtedly be easier with it. Nests should be prepared by the end of winter: with the onset of the warm season, the females begin to play with the males and prepare to lay eggs.
What nests are needed
It is necessary not only to make a nest, but also to arrange it properly so that the birds feel safe and comfortable.
- A duck nest is arranged in a remote place in the shade. Females rush only in quiet places, hidden from prying eyes.
- The selection of a place for a nest is influenced by climatic factors: it is necessary that the site be dry and not threatened by dampness. Drafts and temperature changes are dangerous for eggs, and the nest also needs good ventilation.
- The size of the nest must be large enough. The bedding is laid out with straw and hay, and the bird, if she likes the place, will lay it out in addition to her down.
If the owner does not take care to make nests for Indo-ducks with his own hands, the female herself will find such a place, perhaps even outside the poultry house, if she can get out of it. As a result, the owner will not receive bird eggs, but will also lose the mother who finds herself in someone's inhospitable teeth.
General advice for nesting
It is important to observe the iron rule: how many ducks - so many nests, one for each bird. Indo-ducks do not like crowding and can seriously fight with each other, even if their nests are simply located close to each other, so if you keep several females in one duckhouse, as usually happens, you need to make partitions between them. It will be correct to keep other domestic birds away from Indo-ducks at this time.
Indo-duck females are very nervous ladies during the laying period. They do not tolerate not only other females, but also people next to them. Worried owners are better off pacing anxiously outside the duckhouse and trying not to go inside without a good reason. Just in case, so that the birds are not frightened, the nests for Indo-Ducks, made with your own hands, must be placed so that the females do not see the entering owner, and do not touch the birds and their "shelters" when the ducks sit on them: they do not like this and can stop rush.
It is recommended to start equipping the nest for the Indo-female in the fall. You can equip the nest yourself from the materials that come to hand, or even better - take a closer look at the behavior of the ducks. They will love a pot, or a booth, or a box in the yard - these things are easy to adapt to the needs of females for laying. You can take the future nest and move it to the duckhouse: let the female get used to it, sleep in it, and when the time comes, she will arrange eggs there without fear.
When the duck has brought the eggs, you shouldn't pick them up right away.Birds sometimes begin to collect eggs immediately, and this speeds up incubation, but it is better to wait - the female warms each new "baby" with her down. After a while, you can slowly start selection: unfertilized, dirty or damaged eggs are removed. They should be taken when the bird has gone out for a walk, so as not to scare and discourage her from rushing and hatching offspring.
Characteristics of the nests
A laying site is made of almost anything. Look at the photo with different options and be surprised at how varied in appearance and shape the nests can be. The main thing to pay attention to is the size.
- According to the rules, the sills leading to the dwelling of the ducks should not be higher than 10 cm: an adult bird can climb up easily, but the eggs cannot roll out. The size of the nest itself should, on average, be no more than 70 cm, and the height - up to 25 cm. It is advisable to change the straw bedding daily: both the bird and the eggs should not be in the mud. They usually start doing this in the evenings.
- The nest is placed on the floor, although for an Indo-female it can be arranged higher, since these birds can fly. Feeders should be placed at some distance from the place of incubation of eggs - best of all, on the opposite wall opposite the duck shelter.
How to create a nest with our own hands
You can equip anything under the nest, up to old barrels, the main thing is that the dimensions fit. But even if there are some problems with the size, and the duck is comfortable there, you can still use it, as they say there is no dispute about tastes. It's another matter if you yourself cannot get into this shelter to change bedding or pick up eggs. In such cases, it is better to retrain the bird to sit in another place before it is too late.
Any hollow box can be used as a masonry site. It can be put together at home from several unnecessary boards. For convenience, you can use blueprints. Having knocked down the box, you need to turn it into a cozy nest with an armful of straw.
Any light wood can serve as a material for the manufacture of boxes, but in no case metal.
Metal, which is much harder and harder than wood, can damage the eggs when trying to bury them in the litter.
In the video, you can clearly see the whole process of creating a nest.
To arrange a nest, your favorite birds will need a little imagination and a certain amount of patience.