Duck Eggs

[SnyderFarm55]

when do ducks start laying eggs?

my ducks will be 4 months old in the beginging of August 2012.

ai have 3 ducks and they all QUACK really load so i think they are all boys??
but non of them have the curly tails...??

i have 1 Cayuga & 2 Pekin

 

[Nebraskagirl]

If they quack loudly, they are not drakes; they are females. Also drakes can take awhile to get their drake feathers. And four months is still pretty young yet for some to start laying.

 

[BarneyChick97]

This video is great to show you how drakes sound:

It's how I learned "who" I had.

I have a rouen duck who didn't start laying eggs (that I know of) until she was approx. 10 months old. Watch out, ducks lay eggs wherever they want--unlike chickens who like a box. My duck was laying eggs in the woods, and in other not-so practical places. She could of been laying some for a while, and something could of been eating them. Keep them in a confined area until noon or so, by then you would know if you were going to eggs. So to my knowledge, I say- 10 months.

 

[SeasideDuckMan]

My ducks started laying at around 5 months. But at first, they may lay really small eggs, eggs without shells, HUGE eggs,...etc... Also, if they quack, then they are hens, not drakes. Drakes make a raspy noise...Hope this helps.

 

[dominicsaturday]

As everyone else has already said: female ducks, like female humans, are much louder than their male counterparts!

I can remember our Pekins started laying around 5-6 months.

Good luck

 

[Mum]

As everyone else has already said: female ducks, like female humans, are much louder than their male counterparts!

You cheeky thing!!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

You cheeky thing!!!!

X2

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

it also depends on the breed, some mature more slowly, some only lay seasonally so you see eggs until breeding season 2013.

 

[gaitngirl]

I just stumbled upon the Duck thread here . . . I thought my ducks were too young to start laying. They aren't even 5 mos. old yet. I have found 7 eggs so far, and there may be some out there I haven't found yet. With the exception of the 2 I found this morning that weren't there yesterday and the one I that was being laid as I walked around the corner tonight (a weird egg with a full membrane but missing 1/3 of the shell!), I pitched the rest. I don't know how many days they had been sitting out exposed to the sun and heat. I thought about cooking them and feeding them to the chickens but was worried they might be spoiled (the eggs, that is - I know all my chickens and ducks are spoiled, lol). I have 2 female Pekins and 1 Pekin drake. The eggs were pretty much laid wherever - neither hen is broody (yet). And I let them free-range on 2+ acres. Guess it's past time to set up an enclosure for them. Also, I've been giving them some of my chickens layer feed - they love it. I will start adding a bit of oyster shell, too. One of the Pekin hens has been raiding the cat food for awhile now - I've tried hiding it, putting it up on a small table in the garage, under a covered table in the garage, etc. She always either sniffs it out or watches the cat - and then bullies the cat away from it and pigs it down. She loves it but I'm worried that it's too high in protein for her. Does anyone else have a duck that eats cat food???

 

[SnyderFarm55]

Thanks for the help mine will be 5 months in September so we will see but I'm pretty sure i have 2 females and a male