First egg!!! Now what?

[duckface]

My pekin hen, Splash, layed her first egg this morning! Strangely she laid it in their old house we used for them when they were ducklings. They haven't used it in a long time. In fact, it's not weatherproof anymore and it rained all night, but she still lay it in there on the hard floor with all the soaking wet hay pushed away.

So here are my questions: she's not laying on it and I want to take it. Will she continue to lay in the same place? Should I replace it with a dummy egg? If so, what do I use? How quickly does it need to be refrigerated? How often will she lay now, every day?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just so excited...

 

[meriruka]

Congrats!
Go ahead & take the egg. She may or may not lay there again but if you don't want her laying there, maybe you could block the entrance for a while until she chooses another place.

Many different opinions on how long you can keep eggs without refrigeration. Some just don't refrigerate eggs and some do immediately. I'd say you a day or two at room temp won't do any harm.

 

[Willowbrook]

Aren't first eggs great?!!! Congrats!

I'm a little confused as to what you're asking. Do you want her to make a nest and sit her eggs or are you looking to eat the eggs?

If you want her to sit and incubate, let the egg there and she will lay more.
If you're looking to eat, take the egg, don't put anything in to replace it, and more than likely you'll have another egg tomorrow. Duck will continue to lay if you take their eggs without a dummy egg provided.

If you were considering letting her raise a brood, and I'm assuming you have a drake, let her pick the spot regardless of how shabby it might seem to you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Congratulations.

This is kind of long but it tells you a lot about storing eggs.

Storing Eggs
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sust...ggs-a-Year-or-More-Without-Refrigeration.aspx

She might and might not lay in the same place if you take the egg. Golf balls, plastic eggs, or wooden eggs make good dummy eggs. I do not like leaving an egg in a nest overnight. It is an invitation to egg eating predators; rats, possums, snakes, etc. Leaving eggs in the nest also increases the chance for a hen to break the egg accidentally. That can lead to bad things.

There are way too many variables for anyone to tell you how often she will lay now that she has started, especially right at the start of her laying, but I would look for an egg every day. How often depends on breed, nutrition, water, stress level, excitement level, light, molting, and the individual hen, among other things.

 

[duckface]

Quote:
Oh, ha ha, sorry! We're looking to eat them. I don't mind her laying there, we can make it rainproof again, I just didn't know if she'd pick a new spot every time I took an egg. I don't want to have to scan the whole property every day in search of eggs. I didn't know golf balls could be used. They don't know the difference?

Thanks for the link, RR, storing fresh eggs is something I definitely need help with.

Thanks for the responses! I didn't think I'd be this exited about an egg! I told myself I wasn't going to post a picture of it either, but I'm going to anyway.

 

[headred]

Congrat! My pekin also layed her first egg last week. I have khakis that have layed for quite a while so I can tell you they lay all over the place. I consider it an Easter egg hunt everyday and it make my mornings fun! I'm pretty sure you can leave an egg at room temp for a day or two. I refrig mine soon after they lay. Mine NEVER come back and sit on an egg. Enjoy your eggs!!

 

[headred]

And hey, I wouldn't worry about it being rain proof. Mine never go in their shelter and lay eggs outside all day long. They LOVE the rain.

 

[FenDruadin]

Awesome! Congrats.

Now, I wonder, how deep would the bedding have to be to prevent a duck from laying on the bare bottom of the shelter? Mine dig under about six inches to reach bare dirt. Why do they do this? And how deep would they dig if they never reached bare bottom?

 

[duckface]

Quote:
You know, that would be an excellent job for my three girls, wouldn't it?

So true about them loving the rain. I gave up trying to shelter them from the weather, they don't want anything to do with a house or pen. The mallards (originally thought they were rouens) started flying out and even the pekins fumbled their way over the 4 foot fence. We will reconstruct something for them for the winter, though.

Mine dig under about six inches to reach bare dirt. Why do they do this?

I wondered why mine lay that egg on the bare floor, too.

(I just realized I misnamed her in my first post. Splish lay the egg, Splash is the drake.)​

 

[streemers]

i have 4 girls laying now and 3 of them lay in a plastic dog house and they moved all the straw and lay on the bottom also. 1 of them lays outside by a wood pile. she dug a big hole and for now that is where she lays