Mallard ducks are good at choosing nesting sites, even if sometimes these sites are hard for us to understand. My ducks always lay their eggs in the duck house in the same area. The nest was clean, no broken shells. This allows them to see ultraviolet light. Will a duck move its eggs? Was the egg in a nest or just on the ground. Usually ducks will lay all their eggs in one place...in a nest built by the female. They always bury the first they lay, then cover them lightly and lay another layer. The Muscovy lays 60-120 large white eggs per year (a low number for ducks). Nature makes up for that by providing enough living chicks for the duck to care for without becoming completely overwhelmed. This is how they calibrate all the eggs so that they hatch together. I had 9 duck eggs behind a small bush in my yard. Ducks can see in full color, and due to the sideways placement of the eyes on their heads, they have a nearly 360-degree view of the world around them. In the months of July to December when daylight is short, they slow down their production of eggs. The stray eggs frequently make meals for racoons and black snakes, so these are also part of nature's plan. The most logical thing I can figure is that the duck gave up sitting and all ducks were outside, leaving the eggs in the house alone all day, and then maybe the rats made off with them. The mating season of the Muscovy can last from August to May. Mallards like sheltered spaces with a lot of vegetation, where the female can stay safe and camouflaged while she incubates her eggs. This is why most breeds of duck and chicken don't lay many, if any eggs during the winter months. 0 0. They can have a larger hatch that way and they need the space to move eggs around to cool them or warm them. I checked all over my property (only 1/3 acre) and no eggs. Sometimes, ducks stop laying eggs completely during these months. Males reach sexual maturity in 29 weeks and the female matures in 28 weeks. Yes, it is possible for a duck to move her eggs. Most likely she hid them out of sight they often lay their eggs where they can have privacy. Ducks are frequently careless with their eggs. Later that day we checked her nest and she was no longer on it, she has been gone for 3 days now. Although these animals have poor night vision, a duck’s eye contains cones that we do not have. Can ducks pick up eggs in their beaks and move them far distances? Ducks choose their nesting site. Muscovy Duck Eggs, Nests and Mating. 2 days later the eggs were gone. But 100 feet is a very far area to cover. To prevent this from happening, farmers use artificial lighting so that the ducks have about 17 hours of light a day to produce eggs efficiently. Ducks have two to three times better vision than humans. One night my dog freightened the duck away. we had a momma duck on a nest of about 9 - 10 eggs, the other morning she was off the nest and in the yard with two males. Wild mallard ducks like to lay their eggs in areas with tall grass or shrubs.