Giffs Farm - Nest Box Photo Blog
| Nest Box 2 - 2007 |
| I was able to begin recording images on 03/27/07, the program (DVD Xpress) gave me alot of trouble at first, I could not get it to recognize the cameras through the converter box.........once I got everything going, much to my suprise the Wood duck hen had already been busy and from what I could tell there were at least 6 eggs that I could count in the nest. |
03/27/07
- 10pm, 1st image
03/30/07
- 9:20pm 
 04/01/07 - She was out in the first photo, her clutch of eggs is covered with down and bedding, photo taken at 7:20am, second photo shows her returning, there is no perch on the outside of the box so she goes in quickly, she was out for about 20 minutes eating and on the pond. Third photo she is looking up before beginning to set again. |
 
 04/03/07 - First real view of the eggs, after watching the video a few times it seems as though she has 11 or 12 under her. This sequence of photos shows her covering the eggs before leaving the nest. Photos taken at 8:33am. |
 
 04/06/07 - Weather has changed, temperatures during the day have been in the upper 20's the past few days. In this sequence she first landed in the opening of the nest, looked in a few seconds and then lowered herself down onto the nest by pushing her wings and body against the sides of the box. Next photo has her preening followed by her setting again. She was off the nest a total of 13 minutes to eat and be on the pond. It is amazing to see her adjust her time off the nest according to the temperature and conditions. Photos taken at 5:02pm |
 
 04/09/07 - Weather still cold. Photos taken at 8:40am, temperature 29 degrees and it is snowing. In this sequence I had entered the pen to bring in the feed. I had started the recording before I entered the pen. I never saw her poke her head out but after watching the video she had kept herself low enough for me not to see her but I would imagine she knew where I was. Photos show her covering the eggs, looking out of the nest and returning. She was off the nest a total of 13 minutes. In the third photo you can see one of the eggs not quite covered. She has alot of down on them that she has pulled from herself.
|
  04/11/07 - Weather temps in lower 40's. I was able to take this photo of her leaving the nest followed by a photo of the nest box opened. This is the first time I have opened the box........still not sure if the cold temps have damaged the eggs. Photos taken at 2:05pm. |
 
 04/14/07 - Weather temps in lower 40's. As can be seen in these photos the eggs get shifted/moved alot, she is constantly shifting herself back and forth on the eggs, you can hear the eggs rubbing together......another thing noted is the sound of these cameras is great. She was off the nest only 7 minutes, photos taken at 8:15am.
|
 04/18/07
- Weather still in the upper 30's to mid 40's although it is to begin
getting warmer over the next few days. A few notes: the male
has
never been observed going in or even perching on this nest box but he
does come right by her side as soon as she comes out. I am
limited on the amount of time I can monitor them but the longest I have
noticed her off the nest is around 25 minutes at a time. The
pen
and nesting sites are all in an area that gets very little if any
disturbance. Video clip is of her adjusting and pulling the
down
around her. Length: 1 min/3 sec, size less then 1MB.
|
 04/21/07
- Weather has been in the lower 60's the past couple of days and looks
like it will stay warmer for a while. She continues to cover
all
eggs when she is setting, she hasn't disgarded any. The video
is
very similar to the clip from the 14th but I have included sound in it.
|
 
 04/25/07 - Weather still cool during the night, no sign yet of any hatches but it should be happening soon. I have gotten my brooders ready, as soon as they leave the nest I plan on moving them into the brooders. Photos taken at 6:15pm, she was off the nest about 19 minutes. |
 04/28/07 - No sign of
hatches yet, I am estimating that she began setting around 29 days ago
and I imagine the hatch will happen around day 32 or 33. She
has alot
of down around her, the following video clip shows how much she has
accumulated. Length is 1 min 56 seconds and the file size is
2.77MB.
Just a note, I am noticing that the video is not as clear, I believe it may be dust starting to accumulate on the lens. Originally I had thought about putting a piece of plexiglass in between the camera and the setting duck but I was afraid of moisture buildup. At this point I do not want to cause any disturbance. The cameras are situated high enough so they will not get hit but alot of dust is moved around when she enters and exits the box. |
| ~The Hatch~ 05/02/07 - At around 6pm she was off the nest for a very short time, the monitor showed no hatches..........by 10:30pm she was moving around in the nest alot, shuffling the eggs around and communicating alot. Between 10:30 - 11:00pm is when the first  duckling appeared.
The video clip was taken at 5:50am (05/03/07), it will show a
couple of the little ones. She is still shifting around alot
and there seems to be more ducklings appearing every time I check.
It was difficult to measure the exact time she first started to set..........amazing how it is done so perfectly by them and how we struggle at times trying to hatch poultry in an incubator.
Some last notes: She hatched 10 of 11 eggs. I had a short time that I was not able to monitor them this morning and of course it was during that time that she called them out to the big world, needless to say I was disappointed that I was not able to photograph them leaping from the nest box. The Wood duck mother was an '05 hatch. I have decided to leave them in for her to bring up, more for what I can watch and learn. The nites are still quite cool and when I last checked they were all tucked under her in a tall grassy area for the nite.  The whole process was fascinating to watch. I have hatched domestic ducks and chickens using a bator many times but to watch the dedication she put into it from start to hatch was a learning experience.  |
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