Caring for a brooding wild duck?

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you for this.

Are wild ducks eggs good to eat (is there any difference between those and domestic ducks)?

Also, is it safe to assume that if one egg is/is not fertilized that the rest of the batch will / will not be too?

I've never ate wild ducks eggs before so I can't answer that question . and as far as all eggs being fertile or not being I really can't answer that one either, but i can tell you that my domesticated ducks are not mating right now and i imagine in the wild they aren't either so I think you can probably assume they aren't fertile, but we do eat fertile eggs when my ducks are laying. honestly you cannot tell any difference at all. It's not a duckling till mama begins sitting and they start to develop.

 

[gingaskunk]

Okay, thank you for your help!

Wanting to know if they're fertile has less to do with taste, if I am honest, than simply the fact that I would rather have new baby ducks swimming around than an omelette ;-)

 

[desertdarlene]

I can understand not wanting the eggs to go to waste, but I don't think it's legal to gather wild duck eggs except in certain areas during certain times of the year with a permit. So, I don't know if anyone can really answer your question. But, I assume they taste the same as free-range domestic mallard eggs.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Okay, thank you for your help!

Wanting to know if they're fertile has less to do with taste, if I am honest, than simply the fact that I would rather have new baby ducks swimming around than an omelette ;-)

I betcha come spring you'll have more ducklings than you'll know what to do with.

 

[Kadjain]

If she has started laying again I would take the eggs and put them in the incubator instead of taking another chance on letting her waste them. Candle them at 3-4 days and you should be able to see veins spreading on the inside of the shell. If there are no visible signs of veins then I would take the fresh ones that she lays and eat them. But if there are signs of development that would be so cool to raise ducklings and release them into the wild on your own!! !
I think any type of eggs, wild or domestic are edible unless they have embryo development.