When can we start eating our ducks eggs?

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

I remove "foreign matter" with a dry paper towel if I can, or by rinsing them under WARM water and rubbing with my thumb. (Cold water draws surface bacteria in through the shell.)

 

[Tahai]

This is a good site by the Colorado Extension office on how to properly clean and store eggs for food safety purposes.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09377.html


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[linen53]

I have about 5 or 5 girls laying right now. It's to early to let them hatch the eggs because of the cold so I pick them up daily. But I always leave a fake egg in the nest so they don't feel like they have been violated. It keeps them laying in the duck house rather than outside. Thank goodness ducks can't count.

cuz they only get one fake egg per nest.

 

[minyahoofi]

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)

 

[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