Ducks not laying

[lynss94]

I have two 20 week old ducks and neither one has lain an egg yet. I've been looking on BYC and online and I've seen that they will usually begin laying between 16 and 24 weeks. They are outside all day. From 8 am till 9 pm so they're in the sun A LOT. I've started feeding them layer as well but it hasn't help start the production of eggs. Is there anything I can do to help kick start them? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[seashoreduck]

20 is still really in the "safe zone" of not ready to lay yet. There's a reason for the 16 to 24 week period. Muscovies and others sometimes don't lay until week 26 or later. Poking around anxiously may stress your ducks out more than anything.

Please remember, that while you are ready for eggs, they are still living creatures and are not machines to be "kick started". It will come in time and the first ones will be quite odd, I'm sure.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

I have two 20 week old ducks and neither one has lain an egg yet. I've been looking on BYC and online and I've seen that they will usually begin laying between 16 and 24 weeks. They are outside all day. From 8 am till 9 pm so they're in the sun A LOT. I've started feeding them layer as well but it hasn't help start the production of eggs. Is there anything I can do to help kick start them? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

I'm thinking my KCs started laying closer to 6 months, but it was long enough ago that I don't remember for sure. I don't think it's a cause for concern, regardless. It depends on the breed and even the strain of the ducks. You could even have two ducks hatched from the same duck and drake, and those two ducks (the offspring) could start their laying weeks apart.

@seashoreduck also makes a good point. If you're stressing the ducks, that alone can delay their laying. Even ducks that are reliable layers will come to a dead stop on laying if they get stressed. Feeding them layer feed also won't cause them to lay eggs, and I don't recommend layer feed for non-laying ducks. I'm really sure you (and they) will be fine if you just let them start in their own time without trying to force it (which isn't going to work anyway).

 

[lynss94]

I can assure you both my ducks are not stressed. They live very happy lives and nothing/no one bothers them. I let them out of the house in the morning, give them their food, they are alone all day with no one messing or "stressing" them out. They have a large fenced in back yard to play in and explore. I come home say hello, leave them alone, then at night I have play time with them and they come inside to bed.

The reason for my asking was I wasn't sure when to start looking for eggs and I was worried about them. I want them to lay eggs and I was simply giving them layer food because they became old enough to begin eating that. I was under the impression that it would "kick start" their egg production and when I didn't notice any eggs lying around I became suspicious and was only making sure I was doing things correctly.

Thanks.

 

[enola]

Make sure they are not laying outside, some ducks will cover their nests for camoflage.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

I can assure you both my ducks are not stressed. They live very happy lives and nothing/no one bothers them. I let them out of the house in the morning, give them their food, they are alone all day with no one messing or "stressing" them out. They have a large fenced in back yard to play in and explore. I come home say hello, leave them alone, then at night I have play time with them and they come inside to bed.

The reason for my asking was I wasn't sure when to start looking for eggs and I was worried about them. I want them to lay eggs and I was simply giving them layer food because they became old enough to begin eating that. I was under the impression that it would "kick start" their egg production and when I didn't notice any eggs lying around I became suspicious and was only making sure I was doing things correctly.

Thanks.

Sounds like you're doing the right things and they just haven't yet come to the point that they would have started laying no matter what you did. If you've only just recently started them on layer feed, that's probably fine as well since they're close enough to expected laying age. Please remember to come back and let us know when you get your first egg!!!

 

[lynss94]

I have searched around in the yard and under the porch where they will sometimes nap but I have not seen anything. Both my ducks seem petite. Will that affect laying?

 

[lynss94]

Sounds like you're doing the right things and they just haven't yet come to the point that they would have started laying no matter what you did. If you've only just recently started them on layer feed, that's probably fine as well since they're close enough to expected laying age. Please remember to come back and let us know when you get your first egg!!!

Thanks for the help! These are my first babies and I want to make sure I do everything right for them so they're happy!

 

[JadeComputerGal]

I have searched around in the yard and under the porch where they will sometimes nap but I have not seen anything. Both my ducks seem petite. Will that affect laying?

I wouldn't imagine so as long as they're healthy and not small from illness or malnutrition, which obviously isn't the case. KCs are small ducks, in the lightweight class. The only class smaller than that is Bantam, which is the smallest ducks like Calls and East Indies. My KC that bonded with my Rouen drake looked very small next to him even though he wasn't that large as far as Rouens go.

One thing I have seen in ducks that are small for breed is that they're more likely to lay soft eggs or eggs with soft spots, and to sometimes lay misshapen eggs. I've never had one, though, where being small for breed completely prevented them from laying.

 

[lynss94]

I feed them their layer and they have the back yard full of bugs. Do your khaki's fly?