Encouraging egg laying

[PaisleyChickMama]

My ducks still haven’t laid. Everyone at my church has been getting eggs from their ducks. Im assuming it’s because we moved them from the garage to outside on the 21st so it’s a new scenery. But is there any way I can encourage egg production. I have a light in their coop. It’s a flock of 7 girlies. Should I get a drake, or put some nesting boxes with decoy eggs? It’s their first year too they were hatched in the late summer/fall so maybe they don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing yet?

 

[Yardmom]

They will lay when they are ready. This is not a process that can be speed up. Even though some ducks lay by 5 months not all do. Your girls are still young.

 

[nuthatched]

They are old enough to lay and they get all day access to food with treats.

What treats and how much? That could be the problem. How old are they, approximately?

 

[nuthatched]

Just scraps like cabbage, mushrooms, sweet peppers, scrambled eggs. I just throw them in the run.

I'd cut those out for awhile, it dilutes nutrition.

 

[nuthatched]

The youngest ones were hatched October 24, they’re runners. The older ones are cayugas and Cayuga mix, they were hatched October 10

Ok, what breeds? Late season birds take longer to lay.

Thank you! I didn’t know that. I thought I was helping them

A little might but not every day, it's like letting kids have free access to pizza rolls right next to a healthy meal, they're going to mostly eat the pizza rolls.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Are you providing crushed oyster shells for calcium ?
I have dog crates as bearing boxes and my girls love them
I have had many start to lay at 4.5 months but also had my last 5 younger girls born end of June just started laying in January. I don’t use lights in my coop

 

[PaisleyChickMama]

Are you providing crushed oyster shells for calcium ?
I have dog crates as bearing boxes and my girls love them
I have had many start to lay at 4.5 months but also had my last 5 younger girls born end of June just started laying in January. I don’t use lights in my coop

Yes also providing powdered egg shells

 

[PaisleyChickMama]

My ducks still haven’t laid. Everyone at my church has been getting eggs from their ducks. Im assuming it’s because we moved them from the garage to outside on the 21st so it’s a new scenery. But is there any way I can encourage egg production. I have a light in their coop. It’s a flock of 7 girlies. Should I get a drake, or put some nesting boxes with decoy eggs? It’s their first year too they were hatched in the late summer/fall so maybe they don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing yet?

They are old enough to lay and they get all day access to food with treats.

 

[PaisleyChickMama]

What treats and how much? That could be the problem

Just scraps like cabbage, mushrooms, sweet peppers, scrambled eggs. I just throw them in the run.

 

[PaisleyChickMama]

What treats and how much? That could be the problem. How old are they, approximately?

The youngest ones were hatched October 24, they’re runners. The older ones are cayugas and Cayuga mix, they were hatched October 10.
So they’re a little over 5 months.