Ducks Laying at 21 weeks?!?!?!?!?!

[mahsmaj]

I was very surprised to find six eggs from my 2 female white pekin ducks on Saturday because they are only about 21 weeks old!!! There is one male in the pen with them... sooo I was questioning hatching them.I don't know if the hen would sit on them or if I should go buy an incubator... but I dont really want to spend very much money to buy an incubator with an automatic turner which is around $95 at my local hardware store. I think I will just wait and see if I can find an incubator anywhere else for cheaper and then try and hatch the eggs!

 

[mahsmaj]

anyone???

 

[newnanchic]

My ducks have not started to lay yet. I got them in March so I guess I need to keep an eye on them. I would wait about trying to incubate them this early in their cycle you want to make sure the male is doing his job first. Have you broke one open to see if there is a bullseye in it ?? That way you will know if they are fertile or not.

 

[mahsmaj]

anyone else had this happen???

 

[mahsmaj]

The male has been doin his job PLENTY... I think I will check the egg for a bullsye... I HOPE IT DOES!!!

 

[WelshHarlequinDuck]

21 weeks is a normal age for ducks to begin laying I believe. I too would wait until the ducks are more mature to begin incubating. I'm still learning about incubating and hatching eggs but I believe you get your best hatchability in the spring....anyone care to elaborate on incubating duck eggs??

I noticed you are in Hannibal....I used to live in Mendon, IL, just north of Quincy. Fond memories of Farm and Home

Katy

 

[mahsmaj]

I lOVE Farm & Home!!!

 

[ruth]

I just found one of my female Mallards sitting on a hidden nest of eggs in the duck house. There were four duck eggs and 11 chicken eggs in nest. I have two Araucanas and their roo that hang out with the ducks a lot so the 11 green eggs belong to the Araucana. I've put them in bator and they are fertile. Amazing thing is the Mallards just turned 4 months old. I got them as day olds for my Birthday/Mothers Day on May 11th. I've never seen the males doing their thing but obviously at least one of the 12 males is doing something. I had no idea they would start laying at 4 months.

 

[DuckLady]

Mallards will start laying earlier than others. I think it is a long ingrained wild instinct bred into them by the need to get as many babies into the world as soon as possible.

My bad bad mallard, Fudgie, appeared from the neighbors one day with 13 babies. She had hidden a nest under a bush and we only found her about a week before they hatched. We thought she was taken off by a predator or something.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
That's encouraging Terrie because I had a female Mallard disappear two days before this one disappeared. I thought what are the odds that something is mysteriously getting my females - I only had 5 out of 17 turn out to be female (yeah I know I've gotta do something with the 12 males but so far they aren't fighting and aren't mating that I can tell). They do fly in and out of the fenced area a lot lately. Anyway when the second female disappeared for a day I went looking and I found her flattened under the low lying wooden "sofa" in duck house. At first I thought she was hurt but then I saw the nest. Now that I've taken all the eggs she has dug and built another nest in the corner and is laying more eggs. I'm hoping the other missing female flew out to build a nest, lay eggs, and shows back up with babies. That would be so cool. It's acutally what I plan for the Mallards anyway. I've raised them as close to "wild" as I can. I've never handled them and they will trample one another running away from me if I go in their yard. I want them to reach maturity and fly in and out of fence till they are comfortable enough to venture over to nearby pond and then set up house and raise their own truly wild babies. There's a dock on the pond and we go there in evenings and during day and I'm looking forward to the ducks swimming on the pond. It will beat the kiddy pool, any day.