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A female mallard duck incubates her eggs. Egg incubation is the process by which an egg, of oviparous (egg-laying) animals, develops an embryo within the egg, after the egg's formation and ovipositional release. Egg incubation is done under favorable environmental conditions, possibly by brooding and hatching the egg.
Removing eggs each day, out of the sight of the hens, helps avoid broodiness not only in domestic poultry but also in some wild species in captivity. This continued egg laying means more eggs are laid than would occur under natural conditions. [9] [10] Poultry farming in battery cages also helps to avoid broodiness. [11] [12] [13]
Brood patch of a sand martin. A brood patch, also known as an incubation patch, [1] is a patch of featherless skin on the underside of birds during the nesting season.Feathers act as inherent insulators and prevent efficient incubation, to which brood patches are the solution.
The female will lay a clutch of 7–15 eggs but only begins incubation when the last egg has been laid, thereby permitting synchronous hatching. All hatchlings are consequently of the same size, which facilitates efficient parental care. During incubation, the female may lose anywhere from 8% to 16% of her body weight.
A group of female eider ducks and several ducklings In zoology , a crèche (from a French term for childcare ) is an animal behaviour where offspring are cared for as a group by multiple females. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Many species such as common eiders , [ 1 ] lions , [ 2 ] and penguins [ 3 ] form crèches and exhibit group behaviours.
Average egg size is a breadth of 42.6–44.0 mm (1.68–1.73 in), a length of 58.1–60.6 mm (2.29–2.39 in) and a weight of 61.2–66.6 g (2.16–2.35 oz). [2] The incubation period ranges from 28 to 32 days. The female does all the incubating and is abandoned by the male about 1 to 2 weeks into incubation.
The freckled duck has a standard incubation period of between 26 and 28 days, though some sources have recorded incubation periods of up to 35 days. The female is solely responsible for egg incubation and only leaves the eggs for short periods to feed. The average clutch is seven eggs, but can range between four and 14 eggs. [19]
The northern shoveler (/ ˈ ʃ ʌ v əl ər /; Spatula clypeata), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, [2] is a common and widespread duck.It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, [3] wintering in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.