I'm getting sick from eating duck eggs

[Melina]

A few years ago I got an food intolerance test that said that I was intolerant to chicken eggs but duck eggs were ok. That's when I decided to start raising ducks. I've had muskovy ducks for a few years now and I've been eating their eggs without any problems. Recently though, I notice that I was getting sick after eating the duck eggs. It started with some mild stomach ache. But it has progressed to stomach cramps, nausea, hot flashes and chills, and most recently vomiting. This just started to happen now after eating the eggs for so long.

I do not feed my ducks organic feed. Could that be the reason? Has anyone experience something similar?

I'm really bummed because I like having the ducks but if I can't eat the eggs it doesn't make much sense to keep them and it make me really sad to get rid of them.

Can anyone help me out there?

 

[Wobbles]

Sadly, new food intolerances can pop up at any time in life. You might try having another food panel done.

I have celiac disease, so I cannot have gluten. I know that technically you should not be reacting to the eggs because of that the ducks eat BUT I also know that despite what science says some people who eat eggs from birds who eat barley, wheat or rye get sick.And if they get eggs from ducks or chickens on a gluten free feed they do just fine. It makes no scientific sense but it does happen on rare occasions. I am not one that reacts from ducks eating gluten, thankfully. My point is, you could try a different feed and after a week or so of them eating that try the eggs again. You may get lucky and not react if they are eating differently.

Another thing you could try is eliminate eggs for a couple of weeks and then eat them again. See what happens.

When you eat eggs is it just eggs? Or do you add veggies, spices, cheese or anything like that? It could be an ingredient you are adding if not just plain eggs.

Good luck.

 

[duckyeah]

I have this too. Very sad indeed. I can eat chicken eggs but I got ducks because of their overall hardiness, foraging ability and healthy eggs. Turns out I developed an intolerance to the eggs. Severe stomach cramps for about 6 hours!!! BUT, I can eat the yolk, not the white. So try that, if you dare. Now I try to just use the yolk in recipes if possible, and the dogs or my boyfriend get the white.

 

[halfwildacres]

I have the same thing! I love to bake and I got ducks for their fabulous eggs. Like everyone else I get nausea, chill, sweating, stomach cramps, and it all ends in vomiting. This happens within 15 minutes or less from the time I have eaten the eggs. Typically after I vomit, I feel better fairly rapidly. I can eat chicken and quail eggs without any problems though. I have kept my ducks and I just sell their eggs.

 

[Melina]

Thanks for your responses everyone, makes me feel like I'm not crazy to know it's happened to other people. As an experiment, I stopped eating them for a week and I tried again yesterday, scrambled with a tortilla. And I got so sick that I'm not sure if I want to experiment again. And it seems to be getting worse. At first it only lasted for a few hours, but yesterday it lasted for like 6-7 hrs.

@duckyea and @halfwildacres, were you able to eat the eggs before and then you started to get sick after eating them for a while? And are you keeping your ducks even though you can't eat the eggs? I love having them around but does it make sense to keep them just for that reason?

 

[dekel18042]

Thanks for your responses everyone, makes me feel like I'm not crazy to know it's happened to other people. As an experiment, I stopped eating them for a week and I tried again yesterday, scrambled with a tortilla. And I got so sick that I'm not sure if I want to experiment again. And it seems to be getting worse. At first it only lasted for a few hours, but yesterday it lasted for like 6-7 hrs.

@duckyea and @halfwildacres, were you able to eat the eggs before and then you started to get sick after eating them for a while? And are you keeping your ducks even though you can't eat the eggs? I love having them around but does it make sense to keep them just for that reason?

What about other eggs like guineas? Wonder if you could tolerate them. Duck eggs are terrific for baking so tyou might have a market for them.
Unfortunately allergies can develop over time.

 

[halfwildacres]

I've never had a problem with eggs until I tried duck eggs. The first couple of times it happened, I thought that I had gotten a horrible case of food poisoning. Not only have I kept my ducks, but I have added more lol. I do sell their eggs to others since I can't eat them, but I love watching them do their ducky things lol. It's worth it to me to keep them for the entertainment value alone.

 

[duckyeah]

My intolerance developed after about 2 months. At first I thought I was crazy, but I isolated it down to the eggs. I have kept my 3 girls and added two new ones this spring. I know, I'm guilty of "duck math". I just love the birds though. They are so fun to watch and there is not a single weed in my yard! I sell some of the eggs, but I also trade them to people as payment for little things. I have been thinking about getting a couple chickens so at least I can have some eggs to eat!!

 

[janieps]

One of my ducks just started laying a couple of days ago. I was so excited. The first egg was in the pool and the second two were on the ground and muddy. I discarded the pool one as I found it hours after it was laid but I washed the other two and scrambled them. Now I am sick. Kind of a bummer. Not sure if I can't tolerate them or could it be a food handling issue? They were pretty dirty.

 

[Shewholovesducks]

My son is alergic to as the doctors call it "direct" chicken eggs, meaning he can eat food containing eggs like cakes, cookies bread etc but he cannot eat friend, boiled or straight egg products. So you might have that sort of an allergy, do you react if you bake them in bread or things? Is it only when you eat them directly that you're effected? It could also be what they're eating, so far he hasn't reacted to the duck eggs but you can never be too careful. Sorry that's happened to you! I would keep them as pets and sell/trade the eggs for something if you find you absolutely cannot eat them!