Rusty Fury III
In the Brooder
- Dec 7, 2019
- 11
- 27
- 39
Hello all!
We received our newest batch of ducklings on May 27, 2020. Hatched May 25, 2020.
We ordered and received 4 Pekin hens and 5 Pekin drakes from Metzers.
Of the four Pekin hens we were supposed to receive, one of them is actually a Fawn/White Indian Runner we've named Indie.
She's a lil cutie for sure and since she was raised with the Pekins, everyone is happy and they're one inseparable flock.
Indie is significantly smaller than the Pekins by a large margin. How she wound up in a batch of Pekins, is well, yeah, it's a hatchery.
Here's my dilemma. A few weeks ago, Indie began laying. She's now laying 2 eggs a day on occasion. We're fairly certain of this because we rip apart her nest each day, looking for her eggs. We do this because her eggs are so small. And on occasion, there are two small, Indie eggs on top of the straw. in the barn in the morning. She's even laid two eggs in one evening after she's laid one egg the previous day. I know Indian Runners are prolific layers, but two eggs a day?
The ducks are put away each night in the barn and let out in the morning to bathe, forage etc. They have no access to the barn during the day.
Each morning, the barn is inspected for eggs, the eggs are collected as the ducks exit the barn. Each evening, we return the ducks to the barn, and we inspect the
brooding/laying boxes prior to bringing them back in in case we missed something from the morning.
We've weighed her eggs and the weights are as follows. At least we believe these to be her eggs.
57g 53g 51g 55g 59g 55g 51g 60g 57g 55g 61g 59g 51g 52g 53g 50g
The Pekin's eggs have weighed as follows.
96g 89g 96g 85g 94g 92g
Indie started laying about 2 weeks before the Pekins. All of the ducklings we received in this batch were two days old when we received them. It was obvious from day one, Indie was different, Pekins are not supposed to resemble bowling pins. And yet, there she was! She's the charmer of the bunch. Cute as a button she is.
Anyway, am I missing something? Is it possible the Pekins are laying really small eggs? I've seen small eggs from our other Pekins, an older flock by a year, but not this small.
Could someone chime in? If Indie is indeed laying 2 eggs a day on occasion, is this normal? Is this OK?
All of our ducks are fed New Country Organics duck feed. Non GMO, no Soy. Every other day, they get Black Soldier Fly larvae. They also free range in the yard for whatever leafy greens, vegetables, grubs, worms, fruit etc that we either put out for them or they find on their own.
Our flock consists of...
1) 6 pure bred Silver Appleyards from Dave Holderread; 4 hens 2 drakes. Received as adults November 2019.
2) 5 mutts and 2 pekins from Metzer's. 3 mutt hens, 2 mutt drakes and 2 Pekin hens. Received as ducklings March 2019.
The mutts were supposed to be Silver Appleyards but they are obviously a mixed breed.
3) 2 Pekin hens. Received as 1mo old ducklings May 13, 2019. These were rescues. But are Tractor Supply ducks.
4) And of course the 8 Pekins and 1 Indian Runner from Metzer's as mentioned above that I referenced in the beginning of this post. Hatched May 25, 2020.
Of note - The 8 Pekins and 1 Fawn/White Indian Runner are housed in the barn, by themselves at night. The remaining three "flocks" are housed in two separate, large duck tractors at night. Everyone mingles together during they day in the same large yard. One big flock party for sure.
Thanks for your insight, input and thoughts on the matter in advance.
Rusty FuryIII
We received our newest batch of ducklings on May 27, 2020. Hatched May 25, 2020.
We ordered and received 4 Pekin hens and 5 Pekin drakes from Metzers.
Of the four Pekin hens we were supposed to receive, one of them is actually a Fawn/White Indian Runner we've named Indie.
She's a lil cutie for sure and since she was raised with the Pekins, everyone is happy and they're one inseparable flock.
Indie is significantly smaller than the Pekins by a large margin. How she wound up in a batch of Pekins, is well, yeah, it's a hatchery.
Here's my dilemma. A few weeks ago, Indie began laying. She's now laying 2 eggs a day on occasion. We're fairly certain of this because we rip apart her nest each day, looking for her eggs. We do this because her eggs are so small. And on occasion, there are two small, Indie eggs on top of the straw. in the barn in the morning. She's even laid two eggs in one evening after she's laid one egg the previous day. I know Indian Runners are prolific layers, but two eggs a day?
The ducks are put away each night in the barn and let out in the morning to bathe, forage etc. They have no access to the barn during the day.
Each morning, the barn is inspected for eggs, the eggs are collected as the ducks exit the barn. Each evening, we return the ducks to the barn, and we inspect the
brooding/laying boxes prior to bringing them back in in case we missed something from the morning.
We've weighed her eggs and the weights are as follows. At least we believe these to be her eggs.
57g 53g 51g 55g 59g 55g 51g 60g 57g 55g 61g 59g 51g 52g 53g 50g
The Pekin's eggs have weighed as follows.
96g 89g 96g 85g 94g 92g
Indie started laying about 2 weeks before the Pekins. All of the ducklings we received in this batch were two days old when we received them. It was obvious from day one, Indie was different, Pekins are not supposed to resemble bowling pins. And yet, there she was! She's the charmer of the bunch. Cute as a button she is.
Anyway, am I missing something? Is it possible the Pekins are laying really small eggs? I've seen small eggs from our other Pekins, an older flock by a year, but not this small.
Could someone chime in? If Indie is indeed laying 2 eggs a day on occasion, is this normal? Is this OK?
All of our ducks are fed New Country Organics duck feed. Non GMO, no Soy. Every other day, they get Black Soldier Fly larvae. They also free range in the yard for whatever leafy greens, vegetables, grubs, worms, fruit etc that we either put out for them or they find on their own.
Our flock consists of...
1) 6 pure bred Silver Appleyards from Dave Holderread; 4 hens 2 drakes. Received as adults November 2019.
2) 5 mutts and 2 pekins from Metzer's. 3 mutt hens, 2 mutt drakes and 2 Pekin hens. Received as ducklings March 2019.
The mutts were supposed to be Silver Appleyards but they are obviously a mixed breed.
3) 2 Pekin hens. Received as 1mo old ducklings May 13, 2019. These were rescues. But are Tractor Supply ducks.
4) And of course the 8 Pekins and 1 Indian Runner from Metzer's as mentioned above that I referenced in the beginning of this post. Hatched May 25, 2020.
Of note - The 8 Pekins and 1 Fawn/White Indian Runner are housed in the barn, by themselves at night. The remaining three "flocks" are housed in two separate, large duck tractors at night. Everyone mingles together during they day in the same large yard. One big flock party for sure.
Thanks for your insight, input and thoughts on the matter in advance.
Rusty FuryIII
Having her alone, actually vieuwing her doing it because the coop has a big glass window that is attached to the living room, and we have her for a period of time only with 1 other duck that laid a different colour, etc.
