What age do Ducks start to lay?

[jennychick45]

At what age are the ducks sexually mature? I ended up with 8 drakes and only two little hens when I bought my Indian runner ducks. I'm going to have to get ride of the girls or most of the boys as I don't want the girls to deal with that all the time. They were born April 29th so they are now 3 months, 16 days old. That means that the girls might start laying soon? I thought I would be fine until next spring but it sounds like I need to separate or sell now, right?

unless you are raising the drakes for meat, i would sell the drakes or separate all of them. i hope i could help. remember the sooner the better...

 

[jtn42248]

At what age are the ducks sexually mature? I ended up with 8 drakes and only two little hens when I bought my Indian runner ducks. I'm going to have to get ride of the girls or most of the boys as I don't want the girls to deal with that all the time. They were born April 29th so they are now 3 months, 16 days old. That means that the girls might start laying soon? I thought I would be fine until next spring but it sounds like I need to separate or sell now, right?

If you really want ducks get rid of all your drakes and just keep the hens. They will produce eggs without males around, just not fertile eggs. If you want to keep one of the males then you really need to get at least 2 more females (1:5 is a good ratio). Eight drakes and two females will result in two dead females in short time. I have 5 males and 18 females and I really need to get rid of one of my males. You will find that the males will join together and "gang rape" a female. Duck sex is never pretty and you really need to question if you want to breed (have a male) or not (have no males).

As to when they start to lay...depending on the breed anywhere from 18 - 23 weeks of age.

 

[kss1113]

Thank you!

 

[kss1113]

So, from what you say, I shouldn't think of keeping all males and get rid of the hens? Also, what is the best way to get rid of them? Do people want them?

 

[jtn42248]

So, from what you say, I shouldn't think of keeping all males and get rid of the hens? Also, what is the best way to get rid of them? Do people want them?

If what you want is "pretty" ducks then keep the males (drakes) and dump the females. The males of most species are much more attractive than females. As for getting rid of them, try local papers, post on Craigslist, that sort of thing. Re-home them for free to someone who expresses the right attitude, not to just someone who wants to just butcher them. There is also a forum here on BYC for re-homing, etc. If you plan on selling them you may have a little more trouble.

Good luck.

 

[gingermidget]

So I'm a student who did ducks for a school project, and when i went to get my hen from the coop "hiding from young boys who love chasing her" she ran out as soon as it was clear and i happened to look inside and there were two eggs.

I got my ducks late last April and this is the first sign of eggs should i expect more?

 

[Amiga]

You probably can expect more. I am concerned about only one girl duck. Sadly, drakes can overmate a female and in some cases, the females have died from injuries. I would keep her separated from the guys.

 

[ellen1953]

I've read that ducks are 6-8 months before they start laying. Now I'm really confused! I have had chicks & hens before, but this is the 1st time with ducks. I just love to watch them swim in their pond!

 

[jtn42248]

My ducks started laying (at least one of them did) at about 16 weeks. The others caught up at about 20 weeks. Cayugas and Khaki Campbells

 

[SandyM]

From what I read in Storey's ducks don't NEED a nesting box, but can be trained to use one. The free range ones will still lay eggs but you never know where until you happen across the eggs. I was also told by a breeder at a swap meet today that her ducks have tendencies to lay their eggs before 8 am  each day. I don't know if that's a trait for all ducks or not. I'm still learning myself./img/smilies/wink.png

Yes, I also read to let your ducks out of the coop after 10am to ensure they lay eggs in their nest. Before that and you could be searching your property for eggs.

I just read that's wy people buy fake eggs.,. To entice them into a nest. Ahhhhh! I get it. A light bulb went off. I was like why would people waste their $$ on fake eggs?? Now I kno why!