I have a pair of rouens and cambells-my cambell female is crippled following a dog attack but she still lays. My problem is both females want to set but none of the eggs appear to be fertile. We have caught both couples "in the act" in their pool but see no blood in the fresh eggs. How old do the eggs have to be to see a blood spot and is there any other way I can tell if the eggs are being fertilized?
I would hate to waste the eggs by just leaving them in our louisiana heat if they are not fertile. Any ideas would be a great help.

Hi - A blood spot does not indicate a fertile egg. Without a microscope, there is no reliable way to tell if an egg is fertile right after it has been lain. If you let the ducks sit, or incubate them, after 10 days you should be able to see the start of blood vessels when you candle the eggs. Then you will know if they are fertile or not. Good luck - Colleen

Colleen-thanks for the advise. The rouen kinda took it out of my hands though and made a nest behind a tree. When we finally discovered it we put the eggs in her nest in her house and now i guess we will play the wait and see game.
Both the rouen and cambell were laying in the same nest-will they share a nest after one starts setting or do you think i'll have to hunt for a second nest?-We get a lot of coons and possums(not to mention rats) so I don't want to leave eggs out in the yard. Thanks again for your help. Melinda

Hi Melinda - our rouens love to share nests - it's the parenting part they're not always so interested in, so you might want to keep an eye on the hatch (about 28 days) and consider brooding the ducklings yourself, or confining the the best mom with the ducklings for awhile. Ducklings bond to siblings, and duck parents aren't always so attentive, particularly after a few weeks. We take them away, always - otherwise the ducklings seem to "disappear" or don't get to food and water in time to survive. Good luck - Colleen