Did you hatch/purchase ducklings in April of 2022?

[New duck mommy 2021]

Okay now I have to ask questions, because I'm the odd one out here
What brand are you guys feeding, and how much? Supplemental lighting?

I don’t use any lighting
My ducks go to bed at dark and lights are off
I let them out in the morning after the sun is starting to come up
I feed pro stock chicken grower feed
It’s what I can get in Canada
I put crushed oyster shells in a side dish and add nutritional yeast to my feed daily in winter and a few times a week in the summer
I give a spring mix of greens daily in winter in summer they eat grass and weeds for greens. I give cat food , meal worms fruit and peas a few times a week as a treat and supply grit in a side dish even in summer in case they can’t find natural ones to help digest feed
What are you feeding your ducks ?
I also don’t put feed or water in the coop at night
I’ll add I’m in Alberta Canada
We got really cold way early in November-26 to -48 c and then start of January we warmed up to plus 7 since then only 3 cold days of -23 and back to plus weather
Not sure if they thought it was spring cause of the huge temp changes

 

[David61]

I believe the spring hatch are to close to maturity/hormone and get caught up in the fall molt.
Late summer hatch (July-Aug) have laid January/February for me.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

We got ours late June, and one just started to lay the third week of January. I'm assuming the other two have not come into lay yet, but I have been consistently getting a beautiful duck egg every morning since!

The girls go into the hut at night, which is probably pretty dark save their ventilation windows. They do not have food or water in the hut, but once I move them out into the enclosure with the chickens every morning, they get free feed of Nutrena All Flock, plus whatever random treats I bring out for the chickens (but mostly the chickens hog the treats, I think. Or maybe I just have picky ducks.) I will toss out mealworms or soldier flies, but I feel like they mostly just eat their feed, and then of course there is always oyster shell and/or toasted crushed eggshells on demand. I hope the other two start laying soon! I will be very egg-cited when I start waking up to three each morning! I'm hoping day minute now...

We've had a pretty mild winter here in NJ, apart from a couple of cold snaps.

 

[Everose]

I wouldn't be too worried. If a duck reaches laying age right when winter starts it's not uncommon for them to delay until spring. Since it can take Welsh harlequins up to 30 weeks to start laying that would have put you right at the beginning of winter.​

I thought that might be the case, which is why I was asking if others were in the same situation.

 

[Everose]

What are you feeding your ducks ?

Lonestar 20% is what I've switched them to.

After a couple weeks one of the chickens started laying on this feed. The only other laying hen on my property is a free ranging chicken who eats cat food all day long. The saxony ducks haven't laid since summer.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Lonestar 20% is what I've switched them to.View attachment 3401726
After a couple weeks one of the chickens started laying on this feed. The only other laying hen on my property is a free ranging chicken who eats cat food all day long. The saxony ducks haven't laid since summer.

I don’t use layer feed myself only cause o have drakes in the mix and don’t want to give them to much calcium

 

[Chicken poppy]

Hey y'all
I hatched welsh harlequin ducklings in April of 2022 and they're officially ten months old and I'm not getting eggs. I haven't gotten a single one.
So I was just wondering if this is something others are dealing with, or just me?
Did I hatch them at the worst time of year?!

Also, let me know if your ducks are laying, I'm always curious to see how well they'll lay through winter.

I don’t hatch ducks, but i love the look of welsh harlequins.
(Especially because im part welsh )

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I thought that might be the case, which is why I was asking if others were in the same situation.

It's going to be different for everyone. Breed, genetics for laying, daylight and so many other factors play into it. Daylight from the south side of a state to the north side will be different therefore affect each layer differently. Hatchery ducks have been bred specifically to lay more and more over the years. While quality breeders breed care about breeding to standard and not breeding based off of egg laying so they usually do not start as early or lay as much as that same breed that came from hatchery stock. Even people who have hatched from their backyard flock are not really comparable if their original flock came from a hatchery and not a breeder.

 

[KimberBee]

Hey y'all
I hatched welsh harlequin ducklings in April of 2022 and they're officially ten months old and I'm not getting eggs. I haven't gotten a single one.
So I was just wondering if this is something others are dealing with, or just me?
Did I hatch them at the worst time of year?!

Also, let me know if your ducks are laying, I'm always curious to see how well they'll lay through winter.

I’m in Texas. Warm climate. I just started getting eggs from my new welshies. It depends on the number of hours of sun they get. Don’t worry. The older hens started laying earlier that the new ladies.

 

[Everose]

I’m in Texas. Warm climate. I just started getting eggs from my new welshies. It depends on the number of hours of sun they get. Don’t worry. The older hens started laying earlier that the new ladies.

So far I've gotten two eggs within a week. I don't know who it is but I'm pretty sure it's a Welshie since the Saxony ducks lay some whoppers and this one was only the size of a large chicken egg.

I've started feeding a lot more fermented feed, and also raw milk and cat food.