Cracked eggs

Twhi7

Songster
Feb 9, 2021
87
119
103
Hi everyone,

I am a fairly new duck owner and have 5 female ducks (1 year old, khaki Campbells). I get 5 eggs/day but the past couple days 1 out of the 5 eggs each day had been cracked (picture below). Not really sure what to think of it. Maybe they are stepping on it? The shells themselves don’t seem brittle and they are offered oyster shells every day as well as Purina duck feed and treats like peas, romaine lettuce, and mealworms. They are also allowed to free range during daylight hours and their duck house where they sleep and lay their eggs is plenty big enough. I’m hoping this doesn’t mean I have a rodent problem.

Should I be concerned about this? Any thoughts as to what’s happening? Thanks in advance!
 

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looks like they are breaking them, one of my boys like to play with the eggs (even though he has toys lol) and will sometimes break a piece with his beak like that. not a health issue don’t worry, with my duck he doesn’t eat the eggs just plays with them

i don’t know if this video will load for you but you can see him break a piece before he carries and drops the egg lmao - https://www.instagram.com/reel/CRXN2k4jlkH/?utm_medium=copy_link
 
If the shells feel sturdy, I would think they're just getting stepped on. If I don't collect the eggs early, my girls will step on there sometimes since they all like to nest in the same area.
 
looks like they are breaking them, one of my boys like to play with the eggs (even though he has toys lol) and will sometimes break a piece with his beak like that. not a health issue don’t worry, with my duck he doesn’t eat the eggs just plays with them

i don’t know if this video will load for you but you can see him break a piece before he carries and drops the egg lmao - https://www.instagram.com/reel/CRXN2k4jlkH/?utm_medium=copy_link
Okay that’s adorable 😂♥️
 
Hi everyone,

I am a fairly new duck owner and have 5 female ducks (1 year old, khaki Campbells). I get 5 eggs/day but the past couple days 1 out of the 5 eggs each day had been cracked (picture below). Not really sure what to think of it. Maybe they are stepping on it? The shells themselves don’t seem brittle and they are offered oyster shells every day as well as Purina duck feed and treats like peas, romaine lettuce, and mealworms. They are also allowed to free range during daylight hours and their duck house where they sleep and lay their eggs is plenty big enough. I’m hoping this doesn’t mean I have a rodent problem.

Should I be concerned about this? Any thoughts as to what’s happening? Thanks in advance!
What do you use for nesting box material? Is it possible it's because eggs are getting piled up? Are the ducks trying to eat the eggs?
 
What do you use for nesting box material? Is it possible it's because eggs are getting piled up? Are the ducks trying to eat the eggs?
The ground in their coop is wood and I cover it with pine wood pellets, but they dig a hole for their nest so I guess their eggs directly hit the wood when they lay them. They all 5 normally lay in the same nest, too. But this has never been a problem so not sure why it would randomly start happening.

After collecting this morning I’m thinking I may have an egg eater on my hands. There were 4 eggs instead of 5 (which does happen sometimes), but one of the eggs had a yellow substance on it (picture below) and I don’t think it’s poop. I don’t know why they would start this though. They are well fed and are offered oyster shells daily. I let them out of their coop at 7am daily and I think they lay around 6:30. But also, there weren’t any traces of egg shell laying around so I don’t know 🥴

I did see a rat sneaking around outside their pen last night but I really don’t think a rat could get inside their house and eat a whole egg... but who knows. I’m new to all of this! Any additional thoughts?
 

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The ground in their coop is wood and I cover it with pine wood pellets, but they dig a hole for their nest so I guess their eggs directly hit the wood when they lay them. They all 5 normally lay in the same nest, too. But this has never been a problem so not sure why it would randomly start happening.

After collecting this morning I’m thinking I may have an egg eater on my hands. There were 4 eggs instead of 5 (which does happen sometimes), but one of the eggs had a yellow substance on it (picture below) and I don’t think it’s poop. I don’t know why they would start this though. They are well fed and are offered oyster shells daily. I let them out of their coop at 7am daily and I think they lay around 6:30. But also, there weren’t any traces of egg shell laying around so I don’t know 🥴

I did see a rat sneaking around outside their pen last night but I really don’t think a rat could get inside their house and eat a whole egg... but who knows. I’m new to all of this! Any additional thoughts?
If there is an egg eater, put fake eggs in the nesting boxes to discourage eating. Also take the real ones out as soon as possible. Rats will eat eggs, and try to take them away also. Try looking up a thread or video on how to stop rats from eating eggs.
 

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