When can we start eating our ducks eggs?

[Miss Lydia]

I just got my first duck egg today....Lol. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with the eggs. I've got two pekins....my question is can I pen them up in the backyard with my dogs....? (Golden retrievers)

Can you pen your ducks up with your Golden Retrievers? I don't think I would unless you have introduced your dogs and ducks and know for certain your dogs would not touch the ducks, dogs even playing can get out of control pretty quick and ducks can get killed. I have 5 dogs and the only time my flock and dogs are together is when I can be with them all. and they have all grown up together. Duck eggs are very nutritious and excellent to use in baking. and i also steam them and feed them to my dogs,.

Welcome to BYC

 

[minyahoofi]

Ok, one more thing....we THOUGHT we had two female pekins. And we looked today as we were penning them up for the night...and it dawned on us. One of them might actually be male. One is skinny and has a longer neck, and the other is more thicker, and stout (we just thought she was a bigger girl, yeah, yeah. Being oblivious is definitely a possibility) and didn't really seemed to have a drake feather. My questions are. 1). If we eat the egg/s is it fertile and is it bad to eat? 2). How do we know if 'Bashful' really is a male...?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ok, one more thing....we THOUGHT we had two female pekins. And we looked today as we were penning them up for the night...and it dawned on us. One of them might actually be male. One is skinny and has a longer neck, and the other is more thicker, and stout (we just thought she was a bigger girl, yeah, yeah. Being oblivious is definitely a possibility) and didn't really seemed to have a drake feather. My questions are. 1). If we eat the egg/s is it fertile and is it bad to eat? 2). How do we know if 'Bashful' really is a male...?

If your getting eggs you should be seeing a drake feather if one is a drake. can you post pics? AND eating fertile eggs is no difference than eating non they taste the same.

 

[sunshineelove]

I have three Pekin ducks that are six months old and yesterday I found one duck outside the bed area with an egg on the floor that didn't have a hard shell and it had a small hole in it with the white part of the egg hanging out it was her first egg.
The other two ducks were in their bed area with two eggs that were about a foot apart on the pine chips. We made two nest boxes that are in their bed area but they aren't laying eggs in them.
This was the first time they laid eggs. We didn't know for sure if they were male or female. I thought two females and one male just by the actions of the biggest one. Seeing three eggs at the same time and with three ducks I am thinking three females. Can three females lay eggs without a male? Or can a female lay two eggs maybe hours apart? I found one egg inside their bed area this morning and this evening when I was putting them in for the night I saw two egg yolks outside in their fenced area. The shell wasn't hard but it was like a tuff covering that I could fold over? Now I am wondering if one of the girls is lacking a nutrient or she is laying too early? Do you know what this could mean? They are getting the layer pellets for ducks and free range during the day. The biggest duck gets on top the the smallest one in the pool most of the time sideways and backwards so I suspected it was a male. Up till about a month ago all their tail feathers were straight back but now it looks like the biggest one had a middle feather that is separated from the rest and raised straight forward a little. Oh well I guess in time I will know for sure

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have three Pekin ducks that are six months old and yesterday I found one duck outside the bed area with an egg on the floor that didn't have a hard shell and it had a small hole in it with the white part of the egg hanging out

it was her first egg.
The other two ducks were in their bed area with two eggs that were about a foot apart on the pine chips. We made two nest boxes that are in their bed area but they aren't laying eggs in them.
This was the first time they laid eggs. We didn't know for sure if they were male or female. I thought two females and one male just by the actions of the biggest one. Seeing three eggs at the same time and with three ducks I am thinking three females. Can three females lay eggs without a male? Or can a female lay two eggs maybe hours apart? I found one egg inside their bed area this morning and this evening when I was putting them in for the night I saw two egg yolks outside in their fenced area. The shell wasn't hard but it was like a tuff covering that I could fold over? Now I am wondering if one of the girls is lacking a nutrient or she is laying too early? Do you know what this could mean? They are getting the layer pellets for ducks and free range during the day. The biggest duck gets on top the the smallest one in the pool most of the time sideways and backwards so I suspected it was a male. Up till about a month ago all their tail feathers were straight back but now it looks like the biggest one had a middle feather that is separated from the rest and raised straight forward a little. Oh well I guess in time I will know for sure

When ducks first start to lay things can be a bit wonky till they get things worked out. They will lay soft shell eggs even eggs with out a shell. So most likely what your seeing is normal. and if your seeing a drake feather then you must have a drake. I have even read where a duck will lay 2 eggs in one day, I have never seen it in any of mine but they should have this all worked out in a couple weeks or sooner. But I will say ducks will mount ducks so if your not sure, next time the one you think maybe a drake starts to mount another stay and watch, after mating you should be able to see the drakes male part it looks like a cork screw. I would offer some oyster shell for your girls even though you are feeding layer. Some just need a bit more calcium put it in a separate bowl from feed and your girls will use it as needed. Also post a pic of your ducks when you can a pic can say alot. My ducks don't use a nest box they just lay inside their house on the shaving I provide for them. sometimes when they first begin to lay they will lay just about anywhere too. They'll soon get the hang of it. lol

Welcome to BYC!

 

[sunshineelove]

Thank you so much for your time and knowledge

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you so much for your time and knowledge

Keep us updated on all that's happening.

 

[Shally]

My question about ducks laying is this......

As some of you know already I rescued 2 Aylesbury's that were not being cared for ...they are doing really well and I am pleased with their progress ....I still think they are both female as no drake feathers in sight and they sound the same! ........I want to put the 3 bigger ducks into the same duck house at night but ....Bobby-Girl is laying already but the 2 rescue ducks have not yet .....so...question is.....will their eggs be ok to eat as soon as they start laying because once they do start laying I wont know who laid what egg and don't want to have to discard Bobby-Girls eggs as well as the rescue ducks eggs....i wondered if the rescue ducks would be late in laying due to their poor care (or rather lack of) ...and because they were under nourished will they lay anyway or only if they are healthy and well balanced nutritionally wise? ....I was told they are 6 months old but not sure how accurate that is!

 

[Miss Lydia]

My question about ducks laying is this......

As some of you know already I rescued 2 Aylesbury's that were not being cared for ...they are doing really well and I am pleased with their progress ....I still think they are both female as no drake feathers in sight and they sound the same! ........I want to put the 3 bigger ducks into the same duck house at night but ....Bobby-Girl is laying already but the 2 rescue ducks have not yet .....so...question is.....will their eggs be ok to eat as soon as they start laying because once they do start laying I wont know who laid what egg and don't want to have to discard Bobby-Girls eggs as well as the rescue ducks eggs....i wondered if the rescue ducks would be late in laying due to their poor care (or rather lack of) ...and because they were under nourished will they lay anyway or only if they are healthy and well balanced nutritionally wise? ....I was told they are 6 months old but not sure how accurate that is!

They may need to catch up a bit since they weren't cared for properly, so they may not lay till spring which maybe better anyway give them even more time to get their health good. But unless they were on antibiotics or other kind of meds, if they do begin to lay their eggs should be fine to eat. Just watch for soft shell or other shell problems it may mean they need extra calcium which can be helped by oyster shell given in separate dish, they will eat as they need it. I keep it out year round for mine even though they get a good diet. So sweet of you to give these girls a good fresh start I know they have to be happier.

 

[Shally]

Thank you Miss Lydia

I know they are happier I can tell by their quacks when they greet me!

When they lived with the neighbour and I would go out every morning to let Bobby-Girl out, and bring the babies from indoors to the outside pen for some natural daylight they would call to e over the fence across the gardens....I would call over "hello duck ducks" and they would quack back, but now they live with me they are so much louder and more vocal ...and they even sound stronger in health if that makes sense? They have come from a dirty pen with no food or water, no straw to bed down on and only roofing felt to walk on!....to free ranging all day long, food and fresh water available constantly, treats daily, a bath of water to swim in and a new pen filled with straw to sleep in every night.....so I should hope they are much happier lol

DuckDuck (aka DD) couldnt even walk!....she would crawl around on her stomach and couldnt even flap her wings I had to carry her to and fro for bed, swim time and food etc it was heartbreakng to see I didnt think she would make it......she is now happily foraging around with her buddy Big Bird (aka BB) and Bobby-Girl swimming and flapping her wings....a joy to see now and she will soon be fraternising with Betty & Babs, the ducklings, when they are allowed into the 'big playground' from the kindergarten lol