FIRST EGG!!!!!

[Patty43]

Let the ducks out of their coop this morning and found the first egg. How exciting is that! Just wondering what is the best thing to do regarding their diet . If I understand it correctly, I can change diet to layer, or just add a supply of oyster shell and continue feeding their regular diet. Is one better than the other. Their current diet is multi-waterfowl grower (17% protein) . I have 1 drake. Would it be healthy for him to eat layer food, or alternatively will he eat the oyster shell, and if he does will it be harmful. Also what is the best way to store the eggs, in regards to washing them off before refrigerating. Any input would be appreciated as I need to buy food in the next day or two and want to get the right stuff. Thanks

 

[Patty43]

Any suggestions?

 

[Kevin565]

I'm not a fan of male poultry on layer feed. I would feed a all flock feed like flock raiser and offer oyster shells to the side.

 

[melissamerry]

Do drakes ignore the oyster shell or do you have to feed it to the ladies separately?

 

[Amiga]

From what I am told and now what I see, the drakes tend to avoid the oyster shell.

I think Kevin565 has good advice. I will say I am finding that one of my ducks was not getting enough calcium even with layer feed, and I thought we had bumped her Ca levels up sufficiently so that when I fed a mix of non-layer and layer to the now-mixed flock (added a drake), she was covered.

Wrong.

So now she's getting Ca medicine and he's getting some extra calcium. I make an effort to give him extra non-calcium treats to lower the percentage calcium in his diet, but it is not a perfect system. The feed routine changes around here once or twice a year as I adjust to how the flock members are doing.

 

[Patty43]

Thanks for the advice. Thats exactly what I will do.