 Both sexes incubate , changing over once a day , with the male often taking the greater share of this duty . The eggs hatch in about 24 – 29 days , The downy ducklings are grey , with paler upperparts , and a white band on the neck , and weigh 22 – 38 g ( 0 @.@ 78 – 1 @.@ 34 oz ) within a day of hatching . Like all ducklings , they are precocial and leave the nest after a day or so , but the parents protect them until they fledge around nine weeks later . Eggs and duckling may be preyed on by mammals , birds and reptiles , although one parent may try to distract a potential predator with a broken @-@ wing display while the other adult leads the ducklings away . Birds are sexually mature after one year , and the maximum known age is 6 @.@ 5 years . 
