FIRST EVER DUCK EGG!

[Amiga]

It does my heart good to hear Zehn yell, "ah AH ah ah!!" at the top of her lungs. I see her little dappled tongue when she runs up to me and "ah AHs" in my face.

She has been a pip since she was a tiny duckling. What a character. And everyone else has their own two cents to contribute to the discussion, of course.

 

[blondiebee181]

It does my heart good to hear Zehn yell, "ah AH ah ah!!" at the top of her lungs. I see her little dappled tongue when she runs up to me and "ah AHs" in my face.

She has been a pip since she was a tiny duckling. What a character. And everyone else has their own two cents to contribute to the discussion, of course.

Haha, of course...it's fun to stick my head out the back door and get them going...I start quacking at them and they both start chatting back at me, lol. In other news, I ate 2 of the duck eggs this morning and they were tasty! It's true what people say about them. They are richer in flavor, but not in a bad way...in more of a buttery, satisfying way. Mmmmm...I had them fried, but I am eggcited to try cooking with them.

 

[blondiebee181]

The eggs were good! It's hard to describe the difference between them and chicken eggs. It's like....if you eat chocolate cake....and then next time you eat chocolate torte...they are just richer and more succulent maybe, and more buttery. I'm going to have more this morning! Good duckies!

 

[tankerman]

How old were your ducks when they started laying?

 

[blondiebee181]

Let's see....They were born July 7th 2012 and Feb.10th was egg #1....so 7ish months? 28 weeks? I think that's pretty average...however my youngest chicken layer was 16 weeks!!! Idk if ducks are different....how old was your first Runner that laid, Amiga?

 

[ems appleyards]

Our mini appleyard Dilys laid her first egg yesterday and another today shes been a good girl and made a nest in their house to lay, we had our appleyards Dilys and Derek last spring as ducklings so we are new to the 'egg thing', should I place a pretend egg in the nest when I remove the real one? We would like some ducklings but is it too early for her to sit? How should I clean the eggs to eat? Ahhhh all help gratefully received!

 

[blondiebee181]

Our mini appleyard Dilys laid her first egg yesterday and another today shes been a good girl and made a nest in their house to lay, we had our appleyards Dilys and Derek last spring as ducklings so we are new to the 'egg thing', should I place a pretend egg in the nest when I remove the real one? We would like some ducklings but is it too early for her to sit? How should I clean the eggs to eat? Ahhhh all help gratefully received!

My beautiful little Willow laid her first egg this morning right alongside Ivys in their little duckhouse nest. It was so cute when I found them this morning, covered in a light layer of straw

I have an all-female flock of ducks and chickens for eggs so as far as the setting thing, I'm not the right person. But I DO know that yes, most people say you should wait a while until their eggs are fully uniform and they have been laying for a while before allowing them to set. It sounds like she isn't too broody yet anyway, a true broody will NOT leave the nest and will do almost everything to keep you from taking her eggs. Runners tend not to be broody because they are bred mostly for egg-laying so probably if I take their eggs each morning they will just continue to lay in the same spot. It is natural for them to want to lay in a warm, dark, secluded spot, BUT I have heard stories of broodier types of ducks hiding their eggs in different spots after finding that the humans are taking the ones from the usual nest. I don't know about Appleyards for sure, I think where I heard this was about Muscovies. I have found that my duck eggs do tend to be a little bit messier than my chicken ones, mostly because the place they sleep is the same place they lay, however they do not have access to food or water in the house so that keeps the poo down. I do wipe the poo off of mine with a damp towel. I wouldn't wash them per se because all eggs are laid with a protective outer film that dries to the shell and keeps bacteria out. This also keeps the eggs from spoiling sooner (though I always eat or give away all my eggs within a week) Good luck with your duckies!



Ivy egg on the left, Willow egg on the right

 

[ems appleyards]

Fab thankyou for that, so im gonna keep taking the eggs for a couple of wks? or until she protects them and then let her sit? shes a clever girl lol we are so proud lol x

 

[blondiebee181]

Right? Proud moms, lol...like I said, I'm not sure what a good age is to let her sit...I would search the forum for duck broody threads...

 

[ems appleyards]

Dilys laid for the first 2 days but nothing since.??? 2 days on 2 days off? ??