Ducklings - age vs sex

[designbyaleks]

So having our first little khaki cambell flock since June 1 has been working out well so far but after reading up on sexing here, getting duck books and talking to the farmer - everything I think i know - went out the window with the duck water!

The ducks are roughly 5 weeks old this week ... and yet - we have a metallic green head on a quiet male, and a super vocal female who truly quacks - nice and loud. So how can it be so early? I thought 8-10 weeks is when we’ll start seeing the ‘sure’ signs? Are my ducks just older than I thought?

I also wondered about a couple other things - can you use an LED light in their coop in the winter if you opt to add light, or it needs to be an incandescent bulb?

We live in the Ottawa area of Canada - so our winters are cold and long. I also wondered if we went ‘au naturel’ without night light, what’s it mean to see production go down in winter? Is it a time that they completely stop? Or if I have three females can I expect to still get an egg a day - say a 30% output in the winter vs summer?

Also, how long do eggs last in the fridge? for example can you collect enough in advance, can you keep them for a couple months uncooked while the ducks are not producing?

Thanks!

 

[chickens really]

Post pictures of the Ducks.
Lights will continue them to lay in the winter although Ducks will take a break and begin to lay again in the spring. You store Duck eggs the same as chickens eggs.

 

[designbyaleks]

Post pictures of the Ducks.
Lights will continue them to lay in the winter although Ducks will take a break and begin to lay again in the spring. You store Duck eggs the same as chickens eggs.

I’ll try to get them in good light - the green colour is hard to capture in a photo on the drake!

For the eggs - we buy farmer’s market eggs but this is the first time we expect to have our own (chicken or duck - doesn’t matter) so I don’t know - is it possible to keep them 4 weeks+? Maybe by the time we get from the farmer are already a couple weeks old - and we eat them fast so I’ve never tested egg preservation limits!

And when you say a break - do you mean complete stop? Or just slowing down? Thanks!

 

[chickens really]

I’ll try to get them in good light - the green colour is hard to capture in a photo on the drake!

For the eggs - we buy farmer’s market eggs but this is the first time we expect to have our own (chicken or duck - doesn’t matter) so I don’t know - is it possible to keep them 4 weeks+? Maybe by the time we get from the farmer are already a couple weeks old - and we eat them fast so I’ve never tested egg preservation limits!

And when you say a break - do you mean complete stop? Or just slowing down? Thanks!

They will completely stop laying. They will molt and won't lay eggs during that time. Mine all stop laying here by July or August and don't begin till February.

 

[Miss Lydia]

When ducks first begin to lay they can lay non stop sometimes for as long as a year with only slight breaks in between. But forcing them to lay when their bodies need time to rest I don't think is good practice. Okay this is just my opinion and I have plenty of eggs year round with out additional light. It's important for poultry including ducks to have breaks from laying to help their bodies replenish the calcium it uses to make strong egg shell. Another reason for supplementing with oyster shell separately from food but where they can use asneeded. My Indian Runners when first began to lay they laid 18 months straight I know everyday I wouldn't go out and find 6 eggs but boy they were consistent I was so relieved when they took a few months off during the winter.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

The only additional light my Khakis get is from a little solar powered, landscaping light. My girls are three years old and have continued to lay through the winters only taking a month or two off this past year to molt.
Yes, eggs can last 4 weeks in the refrigerator. In fact, way longer than that. I was told that commercial egg people have thirty days to get there eggs to the grocery store and that date on the package is thirty days after that. I do not usually refrigerate my eggs and often eat eggs which are a couple weeks old.