Nest Box Selection of Wood Ducks as Influenced by Color and Site Factors

Nest Box Selection of Wood Ducks as Influenced by Color and Site Factors
Author: Thomas Earl Morse
Publisher:
Total Pages: 96
Release: 1969
Genre: Wood duck
ISBN:

Selection of colored nest boxes by wood ducks (Aix sponsa) was evaluated during the breeding seasons of 1967-68 in Benton County, Oregon. No color or site factor influence was observed in 1967 when nest boxes were erected in sets of eight boxes served in 1967 when nest boxes were erected in sets of eight boxes adjacent to water. Color and site factor influence was observed in 1968 when the nest boxes of a set were erected on a diagonal plane extending from water's edge into the woods. Nest box selection by adult hens in 1968 was influenced by a strong fidelity to color of the box in which they had successfully nested in 1967. Nest box selection by yearling hens in 1968 was not influenced by color of the box in which it hatched but was related to an interaction of color and vegetational obstruction in the foreground of the box. Bright colors (white, yellow, orange and red) appeared to offset the adverse effects of vegetational obstruction on nest box selection. Nest box selection and inspection was found to be influenced by visibility of the entrance hole. No relationship was determined between the location of the first nest selected within a set and selection of subsequent nest boxes within the same set. It appears that erecting boxes painted conspicuous colors will enhance utilization of boxes in woody areas and will increase the available nesting habitat away from the margins of a pond or a stream.

Nest Site Selection by Pekin Ducks

Nest Site Selection by Pekin Ducks
Author: Maja MaƂgorzata Makagon
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2010
Genre:
ISBN: 9781124509105

Floor laying, meaning the laying of eggs outside of designated nest boxes, poses an economic problem for the poultry industry. Understanding factors that influence nesting choices of birds in commercial flocks has therefore important implications for poultry management. The studies described in this volume assessed factors affecting the nesting choices of Pekin ducks, the most common breed of duck used within the US duck industry, and evaluated whether incorporating these factors in nest box design may serve to increase nest attractiveness thereby decreasing the incidence of floor eggs. Chapter One presents evidence of the ducks' preferences for highly enclosed nest boxes and nest boxes that contain an egg. Forcing ducks to lay on the floor by delaying the introduction of nest boxes for up to thirteen weeks past the point of lay was not found to affect nest box use or the preference for nest box enclosure. The nest choices discussed in this chapter were established based on individual preference tests. The study described in Chapter Two tested the effects of nest box enclosure and nest box to duck ratio on the frequency of floor laying among group-housed ducks. The hypothesis that increased nest box enclosure will decrease floor laying was rejected. Floor laying frequency did decrease with time and with increased nest box to duck ratio. While some ducks laid all of their eggs within nest boxes, 55% of ducks floor laid occasionally, indicating that floor laying is not reflective of the behavior of a subset of habitually floor laying individuals. Taken together these results suggest that nest box competition may contribute to the floor laying problem. However, as egg distributions were clumped, and not all nest boxes provided typically contained eggs, other social effects such as conspecific attraction are suggested to also play a role. To that effect, Chapter Three discusses tendency of ducks to enter occupied nest boxes. Such gregarious nesting behavior is found to be widespread among the ducks. However, gregarious nesting did not always result in ducks laying in a common box, and did not predict whether a duck laid in a box or on the pen floor. Taken together the three studies presented in this volume provide direction for managing the floor laying problem in the duck industry. Additionally, when discussed in light of nest choices of wild Mallards, from which Pekins were domesticated, they stimulate new questions about changes in nest site selection processes which may have taken place as a result of domestication, selective breeding, or management practices.