Bought new ducks that are yet to lay

[Kartay]

I bought 2 8 month old anconas a little over a week ago. The lady I bought them from said they laid up until a cold snap that happened about 3 weeks ago. Anyone have some advice? Will they start laying on their own in time or do I need to do something?

 

[Majd]

Hi Kartay, welcome to BYC.
Congrats on your new ducks. Given they are 8 months old and were laying eggs and stopped because of the cold, they should resume laying when they deem suitable. Besides when ducks(and other fowl) move to a new home they generally stop laying for a short period until they get accustomed to the new placed and feel like it's home. That should take around 4 to 8 weeks.
By the time they get used to their new home, the weather should also be warming up with longer days. So expect eggs maybe in March/April at max. Oh and ensure they are healthy/comfortable/happy.

Keep us updated,

Cheers

 

[Kartay]

Ok perfect. I was hoping it was just a combination of those 2 things. They seem to be enjoying themselves. My male is certainly happy to have the company.
But if that's all they need is time then they can have all the time they need lol.

 

[Majd]

Yup!! And they'll definitely be a joy!
Tell us how it goes, and ask if anything makes you wonder.
Good luck!

 

[Ren2014]

Hi Kartay, welcome to BYC.
Congrats on your new ducks. Given they are 8 months old and were laying eggs and stopped because of the cold, they should resume laying when they deem suitable. Besides when ducks(and other fowl) move to a new home they generally stop laying for a short period until they get accustomed to the new placed and feel like it's home. That should take around 4 to 8 weeks.
By the time they get used to their new home, the weather should also be warming up with longer days. So expect eggs maybe in March/April at max. Oh and ensure they are healthy/comfortable/happy.

Keep us updated,

Cheers

X2

 

[Kartay]

Well that didn't take so long. One of the females laid tonight. It's really big and oblong. I'm wondering if that's just because it's her first egg in a while? I know my Runner laid a giant double yolk egg when she first laid.
Otherwise they all seem pretty happy. Loud though. The anconas seem very vocal haha.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Well that didn't take so long. One of the females laid tonight. It's really big and oblong. I'm wondering if that's just because it's her first egg in a while? I know my Runner laid a giant double yolk egg when she first laid.
Otherwise they all seem pretty happy. Loud though. The anconas seem very vocal haha.

Congrats! It's great that it worked itself out like that...I've been pining for duck eggs, but have resigned myself to not seeing any until spring (I have seasonal layers and a Runner mama who's still raising her mixed babies - who are now bigger than she is). The shape of her egg may change, but each of my ducks laid eggs that were shaped slightly differently.

 

[Kartay]

Ok that's good to know about the eggs. I couldn't imagine caring for ducklings in winter. Was it difficult? Spring here was bad enough for my ducklings.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Ok that's good to know about the eggs. I couldn't imagine caring for ducklings in winter. Was it difficult? Spring here was bad enough for my ducklings.

I picked up the family of two adults (Runner and a Pekin) and their ducklings back in mid-Nov, when the ducklings were 3 weeks old. I kept them in a (hoop) tractor with a coop inside of it for a few weeks, then moved them to an outside run with a larger coop. The ducklings weren't more difficult to care for than my adult ducks - there's a lot of hauling warm water and making sure the bedding in the coops are topped up for the really cold weather, and when it's below freezing, there are no kiddie pools - just buckets of water for drinking that are refreshed a few times a day. The hawks and foxes are more active at this time of year around here, so there's always the risk that they're going to be taken by a predator since they free range, but the hawks have been more interested in my juvenile chickens.

What happened in spring with your ducklings?

 

[Kartay]

We had a really cold spring. My ducklings were only a week old when I got them, so I had a tough time keeping them warm. I'd bought a heat lamp but I needed to get a second because they couldn't handle the cold.
But I guess at 3 weeks they are almost fully feathered. And with the whole family they'd be able to huddle up.
I do the same for my ducks now, I've a heated water dish that I haul water out too. Unfortunately they still think they should try to swim in it. So once a day I have to put them back in the coop to thaw out. But they have a heated coop inside a barn, so at least they are out of the wind and I don't have to worry about predators.
We're supposed to get back in the pluses next week which will be nice.