When can we start eating our ducks eggs?

[mischievouslady]

We want to eat some and hatch some when the time is right. We have never tried duck eggs before. They are runners.

 

[haileebucket]

Found an egg in the pound but the shell was hard is it safe to eat if it was layer in the pond?

 

[mischievouslady]

Found an egg in the pound but the shell was hard is it safe to eat if it was layer in the pond?

I wouldn't eat the one from the pond. Bacteria from the water could have bled in to the shell and gotten in to the yolk. Always when in doubt rather be safe then sorry.

 

[needlessjunk]

I got my first eggs today 4 in total. One extra small the other 3 about the size of a chicken eggs. Ok my questions are. What do I do? Keep them in the coop, through them out, ahh I'm excited about this. I know they probably not good. Not sure yet who is the mom. No one is claiming them. I picked up all my girls and turned them over and only one felt like her pelvis might have open a bit. I seen this technique on YouTube. All seem the same but one. This is new for me and my ducks..

Eat them! There really isn't a reason why you couldn't unless you don't know how old they are.

Found an egg in the pound but the shell was hard is it safe to eat if it was layer in the pond?

Nope, not safe. Once an egg gets wet or washed it needs to be directly consumed or kept in the frig. When washing an egg it needs to be washed in warm water and not scrubbed that way bacteria isn't brought in through the shell. Eggs laid in pond water would be open to all sorts of bacteria since egg shells are pours.

 

[plymouthduckmum]

Hi! Our ducks have just started laying, we have 2 female Cayuga and 1 drake, and I was wondering how you know which ones to eat and which ones to hatch? We've found 4 so far in 2 days so I think both girls are working together!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi! Our ducks have just started laying, we have 2 female Cayuga and 1 drake, and I was wondering how you know which ones to eat and which ones to hatch? We've found 4 so far in 2 days so I think both girls are working together!

@plymouthduckmum Even if fertile you can still eat them they taste no different than non fertile. But if your thinking of doing some hatching I believe you should wait 2 weeks from start of lay before incubating to make sure the drake is hitting his mark.

Lets ask @WVduckchick if she knows

Congrats on fresh eggs.

 

[WVduckchick]

Hi! Our ducks have just started laying, we have 2 female Cayuga and 1 drake, and I was wondering how you know which ones to eat and which ones to hatch? We've found 4 so far in 2 days so I think both girls are working together!

@plymouthduckmum
Even if fertile you can still eat them they taste no different than non fertile. But if your thinking of doing some hatching I believe you should wait 2 weeks from start of lay before incubating to make sure the drake is hitting his mark. 

Lets ask @WVduckchick
if she knows

Congrats on fresh eggs.

If he is doing his job, the very first eggs she lays could be fertile. They are all edible. Sometimes young layers take a while to get the egg ideal for hatching... Size, shell quality, etc. Even first yolks may not be as big as they get later.

But technically, the very first egg "could" be hatched.

I would suggest cracking the first couple or few, and check the yolk for a "bullseye" to determine fertility. Unless you are wanting to incubate them. If you want to incubate them, then pop them in the incubator and check them in 5 or 6 days!

 

[dotknott]

Hi! Our ducks have just started laying, we have 2 female Cayuga and 1 drake, and I was wondering how you know which ones to eat and which ones to hatch? We've found 4 so far in 2 days so I think both girls are working together!

Hi! Generally, you don't know which ones are fertilized. There isn't a way of telling unless you crack open the egg or incubate it..

Here's a good photo of the bullseye that you want to look for in the eggs you're going to eat. If you see that bulls eye, your drake is doing his job. http://herouxpotager.com/2016/blogposts/how-to-hatching-duck-eggs/#sourcingeggs

 

[plymouthduckmum]

Hi! Generally, you don't know which ones are fertilized. There isn't a way of telling unless you crack open the egg or incubate it..

Here's a good photo of the bullseye that you want to look for in the eggs you're going to eat. If you see that bulls eye, your drake is doing his job. http://herouxpotager.com/2016/blogposts/how-to-hatching-duck-eggs/#sourcingeggs

This is all fab thank you!
I'm so new to this and didn't want to crack one open and discover it was meant to be a baby!
We don't want to breed from them, just have the eggs although my husband feels weird about eating them!

I said 'you eat chicken eggs!' And he said ' I didnt know their parents!'

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is all fab thank you!
I'm so new to this and didn't want to crack one open and discover it was meant to be a baby!
We don't want to breed from them, just have the eggs although my husband feels weird about eating them!

I said 'you eat chicken eggs!' And he said ' I didnt know their parents!'

The egg doesn't have a duckling in it till she starts incubation.