duck eggs

[jtbuck]

I've tried bout everything except a raised pen..How do I keep the eggs clean, and can duck eggs be washed then put in frig. to sell later???

 

[TLWR]

Ducks poop in their nest and their eggs. When I get a clean duck egg, I think the entire neighborhood hears about it LOL
If you are selling them, I'd just wipe them off with a dry cloth.

I wash my ducks eggs before I put them on the counter or in the fridge, but I give them to the neighbors or we keep them. I'm not selling them.

 

[jofanx]

What do you use as bedding for the nest and where is it located? I have a raised nest box that's filled with straw so the only time they use it is for nesting. Got one dirty egg and about a dozen completely clean. I have muscovies though.

 

[jtbuck]

I use hay but they use dirt_go figure-

 

[rainplace]

When I use to sell duck eggs, I made nests out of cat carriers. Each carrier makes two nests. When I collected the eggs in the morning, I cleaned any nest that was in need of it. Dave Holderread told me that most ducks lay their eggs before 9am in the morning. My experience confirms this. I kept the ducks in their duck house with their nest boxes until 9am at which time I would let them out, collect eggs, clean nests.

Some ducks did not like to use the nests, liking to be more sneaky and hide behind things. For these ducks I used plywood laid up against the wall at an angle with just enough room for a duck to squeeze in there. There were quite a few duck who preferred that. I also found these the easiest to clean because the ducks rarely slept in there, only went there to lay eggs, unlike the nests.

Of course there were some dirty eggs. For those eggs that didn't just rinse off, I used a scrubby.

And yes, you can refrigerate an egg after washing. It's recommended.

jofanx asks a good question about where the nests are located. That can have a lot to do with how clean they are.

 

[jtbuck]

They have a enclousure that is half open (wired) on top with the hay on the back wall. They keep laying out in the open.

Does washing mess them up like Chicken eggs?

I don't eat the eggs as I hear the Chloesterol is really high, but I try and sell(no luck) and give away..

 

[rainplace]

I don't what you mean by messing up chicken eggs by washing them. I was required by law to wash all eggs before sale, chicken and duck and never noticed any messing up of the eggs. For personal use I don't wash eggs unless they are dirty.

Duck eggs do have more cholesterol than chicken eggs. Marketing them can be difficult. Asian immigrants tend to like them, however I found giving one or two away to people often had them coming back to buy more. Your location will have a lot to do with market too.

I don't have any ideas about how to keep your eggs clean. My ducks had a separate sleeping area that I locked them into at night that was free of drinking water or food. They didn't really spend any time in there during the day. The few ducks who didn't lay before 9am often dropped eggs right out in the open or worse going off and hiding somewhere to make a nest.

 

[jtbuck]

I don't what you mean by messing up chicken eggs by washing them. I was required by law to wash all eggs before sale, chicken and duck and never noticed any messing up of the eggs. For personal use I don't wash eggs unless they are dirty.

I thought I read that when you wash eggs they lose their protective coating.

 

[rainplace]

It does remove the coating, that's why they need to be refrigerated.

 

[cayugaducklady]

I don't know what the requirements are for selling eggs. Your state's agriculture department / local farmer's market can probably direct you in the right direction, You may need a liability policy for selling eggs. In our area a $1m policy is required to sell to public.

So far my hens aren't pooping in their nest box.

The freshly laid eggs do pick up bits of straw because the cuticle layer is still wet when the eggs are freshly laid.

I harvest them and put them in the egg rack in my fridge. I don't put any other eggs in the duck egg area.

I don't wash them until I'm going to use them.

May I suggest marketing to local bakeries or restaurants that make their own pasta/ creme brulee?

Duck eggs make really poofy cakes/ brownies etc. and nice, tall custards. They make a really rich pasta dough.

In my state there's a huge market for other poultry eggs. You can buy duck eggs, pheasant eggs, turkey eggs and sometimes goose eggs at farmers markets. THey're advertised as alternative protein sources for those with chicken allergies.

People in my area pay a premium for organic eggs and gmo-free corn-free soy-free eggs.