Duckling help

[NuggetTheChicken]

I'm in England

It doesn't get that cold there hopefully they start laying by the end of October. Be sure to post pics of your ducklings. We love duckling pics!

 

[DaphneTheDuck]

It doesn't get that cold there hopefully they start laying by the end of October. Be sure to post pics of your ducklings. We love duckling pics!

I will! Good luck on yours laying

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Thanks for the answers and what age are you white hybrids and do yours still lay?

My White Layers are 15 months old and are laying one egg per day.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I also have some white layers. Mine are about 13 weeks old. @WannaBeHillBilly , should I up their calcium levels by now?

Opposed to what every book and eggspert is saying, i gave my 2019 Spring Ducklings reasonable doses of Calcium Gluconate to support the growth of strong bones. Excess Calcium will be peed out, causing no harm at all. All my Ducks eat Layer Pellets, including the drakes and last year's Summer Ducklings. Plus all have access to Oyster Shells and they are in high demand here: One 50lbs bag lasts barely a year with 18 Ducks. I have even seen the drakes snatching some extra Calcium and i guess they know what they're doing.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Nope, but are hopefully a few weeks away. I'll let you now if they do start laying

You can start feeding them some extra Protein - mealworms, fly-larvae or simple dry catfoot to trigger egg development. Laying ducks need a lot of protein!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hopefully they should start laying by September or October. They may also lay after winter. Are you in a mild area?

The influence of the temperature is not very high, it is the length of daylight that influences the egg laying process most. More than 10 hours of light and they're laying, less and laying will slow down, less than 8 hours of daylight and it will stop.

 

[Isaac 0]

Opposed to what every book and eggspert is saying, i gave my 2019 Spring Ducklings reasonable doses of Calcium Gluconate to support the growth of strong bones. Excess Calcium will be peed out, causing no harm at all. All my Ducks eat Layer Pellets, including the drakes and last year's Summer Ducklings. Plus all have access to Oyster Shells and they are in high demand here: One 50lbs bag lasts barely a year with 18 Ducks. I have even seen the drakes snatching some extra Calcium and i guess they know what they're doing.

Sadly it isn't, liquid calcium is something that should be given using the correct dose, and given when birds need it (at the point of lay). Excessive amounts of calcium for a prolonged period of time can cause kidney damage, and interfere with the absorption trace elements such as manganese and zinc, this is especially true with ducklings, as they don't need much.

Just because you gave your ducklings calcium, and they didn't show any ill effect to it doesn't mean there wasn't damage being done inside. There should be plenty of calcium in feed for ducklings.

 

[Isaac 0]

I also have some white layers. Mine are about 13 weeks old. @WannaBeHillBilly , should I up their calcium levels by now?

Offer a source of calcium and they will eat as needed, some soft-shelled eggs will most likely occur during the first few weeks of egg production, but if it continues you could add either calcium citrate or calcium gluconate to their diet.

 

[DaphneTheDuck]

My White Layers are 15 months old and are laying one egg per day.

How many eggs do they lay a year? Some said 280 some said 180

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

How many eggs do they lay a year? Some said 280 some said 180

Sorry for the late reply, i somehow dropped the ball...
The higher number is more likely and again it all depends on where you live. Areas closer to the equator with more daylight hours during winter and higher temperatures let them produce more eggs. Dark and cold winters keep the egg production down. From my 18 ducks i get an average of 14 eggs per day, that makes 0.777 eggs per duck per day times 365 makes 283 eggs per duck per year. - BUT if your duck goes broody during the summer, that's it for the rest of the year! Usually. Some duck continue to lay eggs even while sitting on their nests…