Update on the Mallard 'tube' !!
I watched the tube closely and no activity. We went on a road trip for spring break for 10 days and had a fair amount of rain when we were gone. We came home and the roll of wire with hay had gotten a bit water logged and had rolled over off the wood 2x4 base and was hanging over the edge. It looked squished and the wooden post was leaning due to the odd weight distribution. I decided it would be better to buy big worm gear clamps and clamp it more securely to the wooden base.
When unfastening the 2x4 from the vertical mount post I jostled the cage and out dropped 3 eggs!! Unfortunately they dropped into deeper water where they were hard to retrieve but I managed to get 2 of the 3 before one was covered with muck and leaves.
(Question, how long can these eggs be submerged before the embryo suffocates? Seconds? Minutes?)
Working some more and carefully feeling inside and found 2 more eggs inside so there were 6 eggs in there!! Amazing! I wonder if when the tube got water logged and rolled over if the nest was abandoned?
Anyway, worked quickly to make the hoop look more like a circle again, relined the bottom with hay so eggs won't fall through the metal mesh, reinstalled the pole and tube and carefully put the eggs back in a depression in the hay in the middle and packed hay around the rear of the tube for 'privacy' again.
Not sure if eggs are viable (they were dunked for about 2-3 minutes) and not sure if momma already abandoned but am very excited that the tube was accepted within a couple weeks time in the first season!
I raised wild waterfowl, Pheasant and Quail for many years.. First, Eggs are porous but have an air sac that acts like a diaphragm..
When eggs are collected, you never rub them to clean if planning to hatch out. dirt/mud/poop fills the pores and THEN you have problems. Mud can be rinsed from eggs, soaked in a 5-6oz dish of water with a tablespoon of clorox to sanitize even, without bothering embryo. They could be under water for 10-15 min and not hurt anything unless covered with mud. They can be rinsed but not wiped clean.
