Ducks & their eggs

[blenderbender]

Howdy.... I have a pair of Indian Runners and this my my first experience with ducks. They're almost a year old and the female never started laying last year before winter set in. It's still not quite Spring here in NW Pa, and we've still had mostly cold, freezing nights and I hadn't been checking to see if the gal was laying until yesterday. I was quite surprised to find a dozen eggs in her box. I can't imagine how old they might be, or at least the first ones she laid...... I wish she'd pop em out with a date stamp

. There was a freshly laid one this morning which went straight to the frying pan for me. I'm guessing that I should pitch the rest but am looking for ideas for other uses rather than just throw them out. I'm assuming they'd be okay (cooked) for my dogs in limited quantities?

thanks.... Gary

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

I've had ducks do that too...they are pretty good at hiding them!! I have cooked old eggs for my chickens with no bad effects...they love them. I throw them in a skillet shells and all and scramble them up...make sure they don't resemble the eggs that they lay when you feed them or the chickens might start eat their eggs...not a fun thing to un train! I've done the same for the ducks, but i baby the ducks and they usually get the fresh eggs. I guess your dogs would like them too, and should be fine but if you open one and it smells like really rotten sulfur kinda smell, i would chunk it.

 

[blenderbender]

Thanks...... the dogs are loving them. I never would have thought of feeding ducks their own eggs, guess it just sounded too weird.

 

[Kaessa]

Try putting them in a bowl of water. If they sink or just one end slightly floats up, they're fresh. If they float, toss 'em.

 

[blenderbender]

Ya know... I used to know that.... it's a moot point now as they're all frozen. I wonder if that's still meaningful once they're thawed.

 

[Kaessa]

Ya know... I used to know that.... it's a moot point now as they're all frozen. I wonder if that's still meaningful once they're thawed.

Probably depends on whether they've cracked or not. If they're not cracked, I think they'd be ok.