Feeding duck/goose eggs to chickens?

[thomaschickens]

My mother in law has A LOT of duck and goose eggs that she does not plan on eating. She was wondering if it would be ok to scramble them up for the chickens. I told her to just scramble them up for her ducks and geese, but for some reason she wants to know if it's ok to feed them to the chickens. I scramble up chicken eggs and feed them back to the chickens without any issues, but I don't know about feeding duck or goose eggs to the chickens. I know that there is a difference between the eggs and some people can eat some but not the others. I didn't know if it posed any harm to the chickens because of the different proteins. Thank you!!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I think that it is unlikely to cause a problem for the chickens if they are cooked. If you want to be cautious, start with just a couple duck eggs one day and one goose egg another day and look for any allergic reactions. Honestly, I don't think I have ever seen an allergic reaction in a chicken to something eaten.

 

[BuffOrpington88]

It's good you're scrambling them, because if they resemble eggs that may cause a habit of egg eating.

 

[gryeyes]

I learned recently of an easier way to feed eggs back to the flock: baked egg treat!

I have a LOT of excess eggs for which I haven't developed paying customers. I donate flats of chcicken eggs to a local church pantry, every now and again. The eggs stacking up were bothering me.

Anyway, my flock of ducks are also laying... Leaving their eggs just about anywhere.

I crack open eggs, chicken and duck, into a 13 X 9 roasting pan. Other folks who actually cook in their kitchens and have cookware usually utilize glass baking dishes; either will work.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until the top isn't gooey any longer. A whole LOT of eggs can fit into a pan that size. Don't have to worry about the occasional shell shard falling into it. If the yolks break, no problem.

It makes a very nice baked egg loaf and is easy to cut into chunks to parcel out in different pens or parts of the yard so everybody in the flock gets some.

When the turkeys start to lay, I'll use those eggs in the mix, too. My flock goes nuts for this treat. It's good for them and solved a problem for me.

Plus, you can use up a whole lot more eggs at once, you don't have to stand at the stove scrambling a few eggs at a time. Bake, cool, serve at your leisure.

 

[thomaschickens]

Thanks y'all, those are great ideas!