Need Advice!!! First Egg!!!

Hello everyone!

So this morning, I went outside to do the usual routine before work.

I put feed in their bowl put out fresh water and let them out of their pen for freedom!!!

However, this time as I opened their pen gate, I noticed an egg! It was just sitting there on the ground right by the door not in the coop.

It was about the size of a chicken egg but tougher. Speckled a little on the bottom. Daisy is a Mallard/mix or "Mutt" I've assumed.
Bo my drake is a Cayuga.

This would explain why Bo was being so aggressive with me the past week! Usually they love attention and still do but he would nip at my feet and legs and chase me. I would pick him up and set him down a few feet back to let him know I am not another Drake and that I wasn't there to be competition.

Also they have started mating quite a bit. I wanted to keep them as a pair. I'm hoping for now they will be fine just the two of them until we move and have more land to get a better male:female ratio!

My question is this.... What should I have done with the egg? I deff do want to use them to eat and eventually let her naturally sit on them if she chooses. She had made two nests in her coop with hay and so naturally I just put the egg in one of the nests inside the coop.

Was this an okay idea? Otherwise I was nervous it would get trampled on or just rot sitting on the edge of their pen.

I appreciate any feedback!

Thank you!

She will start to lay in a nest as she lays more. Sometimes I think the first couple eggs are a suprise to them. LOL!

You can certainly eat that egg or leave it in the nest to help her figure out where to lay a little faster. That is up to you.

Congrats on your first egg!

Haha! Thats what I was thinking! She must have been like "Oooh!" LOL

Sounds good! I'm at work right now, and I'm dying to get back home to see if there is anymore hiding or if she has went in the coop to investigate!

How long can the egg be outside before it is bad to pick up and eat? Im leaving it outside to help guide her right now but it would be nice to know for future eggs!

Thank you!

I don't eat first eggs. I also don't eat first eggs after a time of not laying. I will give them back to the chickens/ducks or the dogs. But I skip them just so I'm comfortable (mentally) that their system is working fine and I'm less likely to find blood spots on the yolk and whatnot.


But you can keep it, eat it, toss it, or leave it. She may see the egg in the nest and think about laying the next one there. Or not.

It would depend on the weather as to how long it can be outside. I've had some that were left out all day in 100 degree weather and they were fine, other times not so much.

Put the egg in a deep bowl of water, if it sinks it is good. If it stands on end, eat it now. If it floats, throw it out.

Okay thank you! That's actually great advice. I live in FL so right now its perfect outside! Appreciate it!