First time eggs

[QuackInn]

Hi everyone! This is my first time raising ducks. I have 2 crested ducks that are about 7 months old. Yesterday I found 2 eggs and today 1 egg. I THINK I have two girls but not sure. How do I know if these are eating or hatching eggs? I was so excited to have eggs I took them out when I found them but have since marked them and put them back. We are in PA so the temperatures are cold enough that they don't seem 'rotten'. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA!

 

[blayt90]

Best way to tell is crack your first couple and look for a bullseye on the yolk. If it is there they are fertile and you have a male and female. No bullseye and two females.

 

[Miss Lydia]

All eggs are good to eat though fertile and non fertile no difference in taste.

 

[QuackInn]

Best way to tell is crack your first couple and look for a bullseye on the yolk. If it is there they are fertile and you have a male and female. No bullseye and two females.

Thank you! I will check. Will the bullseye be red? Also, my husband thinks because the duck's bills are slightly different colors this means they are a boy and a girl. Any truth to this? Which color would be which?

 

[MerryMeridional]

All eggs are good to eat though fertile and non fertile no difference in taste.

This clears up something that wasn't making sense in my head. I wasn't sure you could eat a fertile egg!

 

[blayt90]

Thank you! I will check. Will the bullseye be red? Also, my husband thinks because the duck's bills are slightly different colors this means they are a boy and a girl. Any truth to this? Which color would be which?

The bullseye will be white. Not sure about bill color. I have a couple different breeds of ducks and some of my males of one breed have different color bills. Also some of my female of same breed bills are different shades. Could depend on what breed you have.

 

[quackiemama]

I am eating 2 fertile duck eggs right now. This thread was making me hungry so I just made myself an omelette.

 

[QuackInn]

The bullseye will be white. Not sure about bill color. I have a couple different breeds of ducks and some of my males of one breed have different color bills. Also some of my female of same breed bills are different shades. Could depend on what breed you have.

Thank you!! Here is a pic of my 'girls' Pee Wee and Waddles. This was taken in Nov. 2018

 

[mixedUPturk]

Thanks for the pic i dont see any 'drake feather' thats when the tip of their tail curls upward by this age that should be an indicator. You dont want to leave your eggs outside to freeze. If theyre tryn to sit on a nest theyll be laying the eggs in the same spot and laying onto of them flat as a pancake. They might be mean trtn to defend the eggs. Theyll simply lay and ignor the eggs if theyre not tryn to hatch them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don’t see a green head either. Not sure if that has something to do with time of year? They sure a beautiful ducks!