Ducks First Eggs!

[vicks2401]

I have 2 ducks and a drake, all miniature appleyard around 4 months old. Today I have found 2 eggs (the females first ones) and I don't know what to do with them. The drake has been mounting recently so I don't know if they will be fertilised or not. Do I need to wait a bit before candling? Should I incubate them as soon as possible?
Im very new to this and am really unsure, any advice will be much appreciated xx

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

 

[PirateGirl]

This is exciting! I got my first egg from one of my spring ducklings today too at about 4 months old! I have never incubated eggs, so I cannot advise you on how to store them or how long you can/can't wait to put them in an incubator. I would consider eating the first few eggs in which case you will have an opportunity to check their fertility. There is no way for you to tell if the eggs will/won't be fertile without cracking them open. Once you establish that you do in fact have fertile eggs, then you can begin collecting them for incubation. Fertilized eggs will have a bigger white spot on the yolk like a bulls-eye.

 

[alexa009]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens! We are glad you joined the flock! BYC is a helpful site providing all the information you need to know about poultry! Is the duck in the mating position to let the drake mate her? Usually when mating first occurs in birds, eggs will not be fertile because the rooster and hen are not used to mating. I don't know if it is the same as with ducks. Hope you enjoy it here as much as we all do!

 

[vicks2401]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!

Thank you! x

 

[vicks2401]

This is exciting! I got my first egg from one of my spring ducklings today too at about 4 months old! I have never incubated eggs, so I cannot advise you on how to store them or how long you can/can't wait to put them in an incubator. I would consider eating the first few eggs in which case you will have an opportunity to check their fertility. There is no way for you to tell if the eggs will/won't be fertile without cracking them open. Once you establish that you do in fact have fertile eggs, then you can begin collecting them for incubation. Fertilized eggs will have a bigger white spot on the yolk like a bulls-eye.

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Thank you for he advice, i’ll probably end up doing that just to be sure x

 

[vicks2401]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens! We are glad you joined the flock! BYC is a helpful site providing all the information you need to know about poultry! Is the duck in the mating position to let the drake mate her? Usually when mating first occurs in birds, eggs will not be fertile because the rooster and hen are not used to mating. I don't know if it is the same as with ducks. Hope you enjoy it here as much as we all do!

Im not sure about the mounting position as it is mostly in the water but they are very new to it so they could not be fertilised, thank you xx

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Howdy! Welcome to our FUNomenal Flock! Best wishes and have lots of fun!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. If they are mating, the eggs are very likely fertile. As mentioned candling can not determine fertility on unincubated eggs. I would wait until the eggs are somewhat larger before incubating. Collect eggs and store in a temp and humidity controlled environment (app. 65 F and similar humidity) turn eggs daily and place in the incubator once you have collected up to 2 weeks production. Good luck.

 

[vicks2401]

Welcome to BYC. If they are mating, the eggs are very likely fertile. As mentioned candling can not determine fertility on unincubated eggs. I would wait until the eggs are somewhat larger before incubating. Collect eggs and store in a temp and humidity controlled environment (app. 65 F and similar humidity) turn eggs daily and place in the incubator once you have collected up to 2 weeks production. Good luck.

Thank you so much i’ll wait another week and collect some more x