Rowly, it looks like you are doing real well. I would suggest a small enclosure for the young ducks in the pen. This allows them to get out of extreme weather like heavy rains or a particularly hot sunny day. They also have a very strong instinctual fear of large flying birds and would appreciate the ability to have someplace to hide when the alarm is sounded. It is very amusing to see them tilt their heads sideways to look in the sky. I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for natural production. You might try providing nesting cylinders on your islands. These are made of chicken wire and straw. Make them about 3 ft long and 18" in diameter. You make a double roll of the mesh with straw sandwiched between the layers. Put a nice bed of straw on the floor of the cylinder to finish it off. They work extremely well at encouraging the hens to lay in them. Unfortunately, without adults to teach them they don't really get brooding the eggs. The foolish hens will also drop eggs anywhere they happen to be when the urge hits them. This includes in the water and randomly all over the banks of your pond. You should know that the hens lay their eggs only in the morning and normally by about 9 AM. Knowing this makes collecting the eggs a little more predictable. I doubt that you will see any eggs this year. You can expect to start seeing eggs in February.
Jim
