I am house (and duck) -sitting for a friend in the San Francisco area for the next four weeks. I have been instructed to try to get Al and Fresca, her breeding pair of Khaki Campbells, to produce ducklings while she's away. The ducks are kept in a small duck house at night (with artificial light to make a 14-hour day) and are out in the garden during the day. They are fed a laying mash with cracked corn and some type of round seed added, and have a bathtub to swim in.

Earlier this year, Fresca brooded a nest of 24 eggs, stacked three deep. She seemed to be a good mother, turning the eggs and spending lots of time on the nest. Al helped with some of the egg-turning and didn't seem to disturb the nesting. However, a predator of some sort got in and ate all of the eggs. We think it was rats and have poisoned them.

I have read one book on ducks and it says I should not leave that many eggs for Fresca to brood. Apparently 8-14 is a normal clutch, just enough so that they are not stacked on top of one another.

How should I do this - should I mark the old eggs and just take away any new ones? Fresca lays about one a day, it's quite amazing. Should I add anything to the food to help keep Mom's strength up? Does the male have to be kept away from the eggs? Is this even the right time of year to hope for ducklings? What else do I need to know to help this pair reproduce? Does anyone have any links on duck breeding they would like to share with me?

Looking forward to your responses.

Hi - well, unless Fresca feels broody, there won't be anything more you can do to get her to sit and hatch. Is she making a nest? Let her make it, lay all the eggs she wants to in it, then if she starts sitting them in earnest, eliminate some if you think there are too many. 14 is probably o.k. Just take some off the top, don't rummage around in the layers she makes. The male will be fine with her. We have hard winters here, so never hatch this time of year. Even when the ducks are lit, they may lay, but usually don't sit nests until the worst of the winter is over. It's hard to say what motivates them, though, as we have had some mallards (never big ducks) nest in february! Good luck - it takes 28 days for ducks to hatch after she starts sitting. Then you will have a whole new set of problems, depending on what your set-up is. Rats are very attracted to ducklings, and the mom can't possibly save them. Duck mothers are not always too devoted after a couple of weeks. The ducklings bond with each other, and mom is more interested in dad, usually, so care will have to be taken to keep them warm and safe.