Duck Eggs and Salmonella.

[IndyGail]

I purchased two ducks from a Fleet Supplies. I heard they can carry salmonella. Because I live in Indiana it still is too cold for them to be outside. I bought them the April tenth. They are 4weeks old now. I want to eat the eggs. How do you get the possible Salmonella off the eggs to make them suitable for consumption? At what temperature can they live outside?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Do apply common sense: Wash your hands with soap after you handled the ducklings and keep their poop away from food items (do i really have to mention that?).
Not all ducks and ducklings carry salmonella, clean hatched ducklings usually don't. But when they start foraging outside they inevitably pick up that bacteria.
Are salmonella bacteria dangerous? Yes, but only if you ingest large amounts and your immune system is weak.
My five week old ducklings went outside at the end of February when temperatures here still dropped into the freezing range. They had an infrared lamp and a heat pad and did fine.

 

[Kkrista123]

There isn't salmonella in a form on the eggs that you wash off or anything like that. If the duck has salmonella, it's in the egg. Scrambling the eggs assures the bacteria is fully cooked off if you are worried about your ducklings. If it's that cold near you, there's a chance the salmonella bacteria can't even survive. Just take @WannaBeHillBilly's advice. Wash your hands, apply common sense, rinse eggs well before consumption. You can purchase an egg cleaner which I think is a great idea. Clean all your eggs throughly before consumption. The salmonella would also be in their poop so keep everything clean and tidy.

It is unlikely they have salmonella though. Lot's of animals can carry it. Turtles are more likely to have salmonella than ducks! At least where I am from.

 

[Loopeend]

Cook the eggs, or like Kkrista123said; scrambled eggs.

It has to be thouroughly cooked and then it is fine. Don't chuck them down raw like an 80's dude-getting-in-shape-eye-of-the-tiger movie, and no runny yokes.

In some country's some vets have shots for ducks that makes them immune for salmonella. Over here if you want to sell your eggs or the meat you háve to get it. I still haven't found one that comes over for only a handfull of ducks though...unfortunately. But maybe where you live it is possible.

For the rest;
Like WanneBehillbilly said; try to handle everything hygenic. Wash your coop, your hands, your eggs, etc. (and raw fruits and vegetables by the way...people tend to forget that it is not just a 'meat-thing'.)
Thoroughly cook till the yoke is also cooked.
IF you want to have runny yokes; most of the time IF it has salmonella ánd it works out bad for you; you will have stuff running out of two ways of your body (like a short stomach flue). This is something most people cán survive. Do not feed non-thouroughly cooked/baked eggs to children, pregnant women, elderly, sick people, or anything that might have a less strong immune system.

 

[Loopeend]

They can live outside;
A. when they have their adult feathers.
or
B. When your outside temperature is a temperature where you can walk around in a sleeveless-shirt the whole day. (too lazy to go to my celcius to fahrenheit calculator).

 

[IndyGail]

These were all helpful. Thank you for taking the time to respond. You were very prompt.