In the breeding season I inspect the boxes at least once a week to see if there are any eggs. Once I find eggs I try to see who goes into that nest. What normally happens is that she will start laying an egg a day (on average). Sometimes you can recognise which duck it is by the feathers she plucked from her breast to hide and protect the eggs. Once she finished laying her clutch she will start sitting on the eggs on a 24/7 basis. This is the time that you should start counting the days so you can be ready for the day the ducklings hatch. A rule of thumb for most ducks is 28 to30 days BUT it varies so better make sure of the exact amount of days for each specie. In this time she will only get off for short periods (not longer than 15 to 20 and maximum 30 minutes depending on the temperature outside) to eat, drink, swim and preen herself. It is quite normal for the eggs to cool down in this period but she makes sure they do not get completely cold by pulling a blanket of down feathers over the eggs before she leaves the nest. It is important for her to be able to swim because when she goes back on the eggs she takes much needed moisture with her to keep the humidity just right for the eggs to develop. You can help the process along by spraying the eggs with luke warm water from about 4 days before they hatch. This will help the humidity in the box to rise considerably and thus soften the eggs so that the ducklings can break through. PLEASE NOTE that this should only be done when you see the mother off the eggs. Do not disturb her unnecessarily!
When the eggs start hatching you will probably see and hear them in the nest box opening. Resist the temptation to pick them up and handle them. They normally spend the first day under the mother so that the oil on her feathers rub off on them so that by the time they leave the nest they can go directly on the dam. Don’t be alarmed when you see them on the water the next day. They will not drown. They will get a bit wet and it is most important that they can get to the mother easily so she can keep them warm. I always say that when the ducklings hatch they are litterally skin and bone and about one breath away from death. It is only by day 4 to 6 that I relax and know that the one’s that have survived it thus far has a great chance of making it further.
Once I see them off the nest I make sure that I put out some starter crumble in a clean flat bowl and some clean water in a drinker next to it. Some ducklings (in fact most wild ducklings) like the Mandarins and Carolina ducklings do not know how to eat. They need their mother with them so she can show them how. She will start pecking at the food and they follow. Once your little ducklings made it through the first 4 to 6 days and especially if you see them feeding you know they should survive!
If for some reason you had to take the ducklings away from the mother it is good to get a baby chicken because he will start pecking at the food and your ducklings will follow.