First eggs - there are four?

[LittleGreyFarm]

Hey all! I have four ducks - two Pekins (one drake) and two Golden 300 Hybrids.

It’s been nasty rainy here in the PNW for two days, so I stupidly let myself be lazy and not clean the run for two days. OF COURSE, I come out this afternoon to clean, and find FOUR eggs in a little nest. My these are our first eggs, and I’m not sure if one duck has laid them all and will sit on them, or if all three ladies started laying in the same nest. Will they do that? Two of the eggs DO appear to be much smaller than the other two. None of the girls seem to be broody... when I open the gate to let them free range they eagerly run out.

So here are my questions:

Is it okay to take the eggs if they’ve been in the nest for two days?

Will I emotionally damage one of the females if I take their first eggs? This may seem silly, but they are pets first, bonus food providers second.

Should I provide a different nesting box type situation? I’ve read ducks will just randomly hide eggs or lay in various places, but, again, new duck mom... with apparently many questions!

Thanks so much.

Ash

 

[DukesDucks]

Not sure about your breed of duck but my Muscovy females lay eggs in a shared nest, and then share sitting duties. They don't start sitting until there are enough. I guess it depends on whether you want eggs or ducklings. I tried lovely nesting boxes which were ignored. If you plan to leave the eggs, I would start dating them with a pencil. Count down starts when duck consistently stays on nest. I don't think you will emotionally damage them. Poultry loose eggs to us and predators every day.

 

[SolarDuck]

My muscovy girls also lay in the same nest. I have a little kitty litter box filled with straw that they both cram their bodies into at the same time. So far I've gotten all my eggs in the nest boxes and none randomly laid all over the place. I think a good way to make sure they lay in the same place is to use wood shavings as most of the bedding, but fill a couple nesting boxes with straw. This encourages them to use the boxes because straw is a better nesting material and a better insulator. And yeah you won't emotionally damage them lol they will be fine.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Your ducks are not muscovys and are very unlikely to go broody. They don't usually care about the eggs. Take them and eat up. You will likely not want grocery store eggs again. Unwashed duck eggs are good at room temp for a week. I keep mine on the counter for three days before they hit the fridge. If you wash the bloom off, they need to be chilled. Enjoy first eggs are so egg sitting.

 

[FernbergFarms]

So your ducks aren’t broody. They’re just still happy ducks starting to lay. The first couple eggs your ducks lay won’t usually be fertile. You will not emotionally damage your ducks at all, don’t worry. Ducks usually go broody in spring (March, April, May)
Sounds like 2 girls started laying eggs and that’s the two small eggs were their firsts. And no u don’t need a new nesting box. They usually lay eggs wherever they want. So it won’t matter too much anyways.
So you can take the eggs and they’ll be okay.

 

[LittleGreyFarm]

Not sure about your breed of duck but my Muscovy females lay eggs in a shared nest, and then share sitting duties. They don't start sitting until there are enough. I guess it depends on whether you want eggs or ducklings. I tried lovely nesting boxes which were ignored. If you plan to leave the eggs, I would start dating them with a pencil. Count down starts when duck consistently stays on nest. I don't think you will emotionally damage them. Poultry loose eggs to us and predators every day.

Thank you so much! We got one egg today, so I think they must have been sharing the nest, and I probably missed it the two days I didn’t go out there.

 

[Yardmom]

I will just add that eggs on a counter (unwashed) last several weeks. Ducks tend get sloppy so if you decide to wash use Water and scrub lightly. Then store them in the fridge for several weeks or use immediately.

 

[KaleIAm]

I'm a bit late to the party, but being sensitive to the emotional health of my ducks I thought I would add my thoughts.

I've had ducks for 6 years now, as adored pets, and I was initially concerned that they may be displeased with me for removing their eggs. I thought I would see how they felt. So I squatted down and held out an egg in my open hand to see what their reaction was. My ducks ran over, pecked the egg, and broke it. Then they looked up at me expectantly.

After I got over my shock I realized that I was in my mealworm feeding position. Squatted down, hands held out. They had run over expecting delicious treats, and they didn't care about the egg. They care about snacks.

The exception is when they are broody. My ducks first accumulate about 10 eggs. They spend all day and night on the nest, except for very quick breaks. And if I approach their eggs they'll hiss at me.

 

[SolarDuck]

My girl Penguin just went broody for the first time. I've been collecting her eggs every day and move her off the nest. Just went out there to check on them and she is sitting back in the nest protecting the 0 eggs under her with her life.

 

[LittleGreyFarm]

Thank you all so much for the replies! I only gently rubbed the eggs with steel wool to remove dirt, and then this morning the one egg we got was beautifully clean, but had a small hole in the shell so I tossed it. We will just dry clean any eggs and store them on the counter. This is very exciting! I use to have a friend with ducks and chickens who would give us eggs, so I was familiar with not removing the bloom and how flipping delicious fresh eggs are!! I think I’ll use some to bake my son’s birthday cake this week.