All things come to she who waits.

I took this photo on the twentieth of March as part of the "Easter eggs or ducklings post" at that time, Nora had been sitting on her eggs for three weeks. The incubation period for a Muscovy duck is around 35 days, making her hatch date sometime the first week in April. We usually give them an extra week as the outside temperature can sometimes delay hatching. Perhaps the eggs had become chilled and infertile during the March cold snap.We decided this weekend was the cut off date.

Yesterday When Nora was on the pond soaking her feathers (High humidity is very important during hatching) I went to check her eggs and this is what I found. Patience is a virtue.

This morning she was still sitting, so hopefully there will be more ducklings and more photos.
Just two more, but well worth the wait.

Easter Eggs or Ducklings?

In the midst of yet another Nor'Easter, one has to believe that the ducks know best and Spring will not be long in coming.

Caillou, the matriarch of our flock has this year decided to make her nest in one of the chicken egg laying boxes 

which may help contain her eggs, as she has a tendency to scratch her eggs out of the nest.

                                      

Nora, so named because her sister Dora wandered far and wide throughout the woods, until one day her exploring took her to the point of no return.

The incubation period for a Muscovy duck is around 5 weeks, Nora has been sitting for three weeks

Cinco, a daughter of Nora, got her name because she has made her nest under the Pizza oven sink countertop

She has 4 eggs at present and will start sitting when she has a dozen or more, which will probably take another couple of weeks.

The almost identical sister of Cinco, who we named  Mayo, has been sitting for just over a week

and as you can see, has a full clutch of eggs, 17 in total.

Studley, on the left and Sir Francis, are our two drakes.

But don't put away your snow shovel just yet, as Coddle hatched 4 little duckling back in December.