I have newish ducks one female one male. We do not want to raise baby ducks although they are adorable and fun. When is it too late to grab the eggs. They will not start laying until around August. I have a concern about hiding the laying spot, our chickens have started doing that.
Welcome! Glad you joined us. From what I understand (I've done a bit of research as I'd love some ducks) ducks lay in the early morning, so if you leave them shut up until about 8am your girl will have laid her egg and you can collect it then. As long as you collect her egg every day she shouldn't decide to sit, and even if she does go broody, as long as she's on an empty nest you won't end up with babies.
Thank you for replying, we do not lock our chickens/ducks up at night they put themselves to bed in a coop. The ducks prefer to hang out under a bush but the information is good. I can take a walk each morning and look.
You may want to consider at least putting them into a secure run at night. They are very vulnerable to predators sleeping under a bush. My ducks don't put themselves to bed either so I have to go out every evening to make sure they are in and shut the door. Though it's not at all difficult. My ducks like to find a spot and lay their eggs there every day. Sometimes they will decide they don't like that spot anymore and find someplace else. They have gotten better about staying to the same spot longer as they have gotten older.
