Found newly abandoned duck egg, what to do?

Hi Krag, Been away for a few days so didn't see your post and am surprised no-one has answered. If you are still hanging on to the egg and really do want to do something with it then I suggest you see if you can find a poultry farm (or farm with poultry) or an animal sanctuary near you. Incubating an egg yourself is quite a skilled process - they need just the right temperature and humidity and they need to be turned regularly to prevent patches of the membranes surrounding the embryo/chick from drying out. Not a job to attempt if you don't have an incubator or a broody hen/duck to hand!!

Actually from your description of where you found this egg I suspect the duck is "not in a relationship" and that the egg could well be infertile. Many birds including ducks will lay eggs at this time of year even if they have not mated (just like hens) sometimes they will lay in a 'nest' but often they get caught short and just drop them where ever.

Good luck!

Jenni

Hello krag

I would have left it where it was as there was no guarantee that the duck wasn't going to come back to it. It is a criminal offence within the terms of Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for anyone to remove the egg of a wild bird from it's nest and to have an egg from a wild bird in their possession. It is also a criminal offence to destroy it so if I was you I would return it to where I found it.

Kelly,  I am going to disagree with you on this one.   There is the letter of the law and there is the spirit of the law.   

Krag,  You did what you thought was right after observing the bird.  Noone is going to criticise your actions.  If you can't get it to a sanctuary then so be it.   Ducks will happily lay again until they have their brood and will undoubtedly find a better place to do so.  

Hi Krag

Your post seems to have started a "court room" discussion! I  do think that one should know the law and in particular the "Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981" but when you realyy DO know it you understand that the key passages are that your INTENTION is what matters and in the case of your egg, if you had picked it up with the intention of ensuring its incubation and the resulting duckling's return to the wild you would have been well within the law in letter AND spirit! I say well done for being concerned and thoughtful.

I volunteer at a bird sanctuary as well as with a Bat Group and have had "in my possession" many wild birds, bat, eggs and youngsters of varying ages. My intention in keeping these individuals in my care is to ensure that they are returned to health and the ability to survive on their own. They have all (with one exception) been released or when survival was deemed unlikely they have been carefully euthanased by a very knowledgable vet. I do not feel I have ever transgressed the law and the local police and RSPCA  feel the same way.

Be assured you would not have done anything wrong and every thing right if you had taken the egg with the intention of saving it. You had observed the situation over the space of a day and it did not look as if the egg was in a "nest" or scrape.

Well done you!

Jenni

PS The RSPCA website has some very good readable pages on the Wildlife Act!

Hi krag

Unknown said:

The RSPCA website has some very good readable pages on the Wildlife Act!

The RSPB web-site also has advice on what you can and can't do

Here is the RSPB page that deals with eggs, although admittedly it mentions old eggs and egg collections.

Here is RSPB page that deals with the wild birds and the law

Jenni

With the greatest of respect, because you work at a wildlife sanctuary, you are in a completely different category to the 'ordinary man in the street', and can probably easily provide proof of intent and paperwork that supports all of your actions.

I'm not sure though that you will personally be able to help krag if by any chance he is called upon to explain his actions in the area where he lives. How will he be able to prove that it was his intention to incubate this egg? Is he aware that only indigenous ducks can be returned to the wild?

During the egg laying and chick season hundreds of people will post on here that they have rescued an 'abandoned' baby bird, or an egg, or even a nest full of eggs. The moderators have set up a Baby Bird Season thread that gives advice Here, and there is also information on their web-site detailing what to do when you find baby birds Here

I know that you and Bob are experts in your fields and you are only trying to help krag, so I can only hope that he does the right thing.

For the record, I definitely wouldn't have picked it up and taken it home either.