Got my first egg today!! I have questions though.

[Crazy Duck Lover]

Ok I am SOOO excited!!! I got my first egg today! WooHoo! I have questions about egg laying and all that stuff.

1 - All my girls hatched on the same day. When should I expect the other girls to start laying?

2 - The egg is a dark color with white splotches on it. How to I get white eggs?

3 - When will consistent egg laying start? I read that right now they will be of all sizes, and they may skip some days and whatever.

4 - Does the shape look good on the egg?

5 - I posted some pics of it being candled. Is there something internally I need to look for right now?

6 - WHEN CAN I INCUBATE THEM?

ETA: Forgot to add the pictures

 

[cheezenkwackers]

The brown is the bloom. Young layers seem to put more on the eggs than older birds. The eggs will get larger and more white. Your other ducks could start laying soon or they could wait until spring -each duck is an individual. If your drake is as young as your hens the eggs are probably not fertile yet. It will be a few months. You cannot tell if an egg is fertile by candling unless you incubate the egg for at least a week. Personally, I would eat your eggs right now. When you break them open you can tell if they are fertile or not by the size of the white dot on the yolk (large = fertile). When you see the eggs are fertile you can then start saving them and try to hatch them. What kind of ducks do you have? Many domestic ducks are not interested in hatching their own eggs so an incubator is your best bet.

 

[KaleIAm]

Congratulations on your beautiful egg! It looks like a cayuga egg to me. Do you have any black ducks? My cayuga gave me black to light grey eggs all the time and never gave me white eggs. I cherished those special eggs.

If you have other kinds of ducks they might/probably will give you white eggs. All my other ducks give white eggs/slightly off white eggs.

When my ducks were young egg laying was daily in the spring-fall, with a winter break.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Ok I am SOOO excited!!! I got my first egg today! WooHoo! I have questions about egg laying and all that stuff.

1 - All my girls hatched on the same day. When should I expect the other girls to start laying?

2 - The egg is a dark color with white splotches on it. How to I get white eggs?

3 - When will consistent egg laying start? I read that right now they will be of all sizes, and they may skip some days and whatever.

4 - Does the shape look good on the egg?

5 - I posted some pics of it being candled. Is there something internally I need to look for right now?

6 - WHEN CAN I INCUBATE THEM?

ETA: Forgot to add the picturesView attachment 2871718View attachment 2871719View attachment 2871720

1. That depends on what breeds they are and with the time of year some do not lay until spring.

2. The "dark color" is the bloom. It's the waxy protective coating that helps keep bacteria out of the egg. If you want bright white eggs like you buy in the grocery store you will have to wash them, but if you do not wash correctly you can actually push bacteria into the pores of the egg. I don't wash my eggs and I leave the bloom. Any eggs with any soiling I feed to the dogs or toss in the compost.

3. It usually take a good month for consistency in new layers. However, it can sometimes take more or less time depending on the duck.

4/5. The egg looks good both inside and out.

6. You can crack them open and look for a blastoderm that will appear like a small white bullseye. If the bullseye is there they are fertilized. You technically could incubate right away however, I always wait until new layers are out of the quirky new egg laying stage. I wait because shell thickness, shape and size all do play a role in the chances of a successful hatch.

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

The brown is the bloom. Young layers seem to put more on the eggs than older birds. The eggs will get larger and more white. Your other ducks could start laying soon or they could wait until spring -each duck is an individual. If your drake is as young as your hens the eggs are probably not fertile yet. It will be a few months. You cannot tell if an egg is fertile by candling unless you incubate the egg for at least a week. Personally, I would eat your eggs right now. When you break them open you can tell if they are fertile or not by the size of the white dot on the yolk (large = fertile). When you see the eggs are fertile you can then start saving them and try to hatch them. What kind of ducks do you have? Many domestic ducks are not interested in hatching their own eggs so an incubator is your best bet.

Yeah, I’ve incubated before and this egg is actually a product of hens I incubated… feels so much more rewarding! I have blue runners and rouens

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

Congratulations on your beautiful egg! It looks like a cayuga egg to me. Do you have any black ducks? My cayuga gave me black to light grey eggs all the time and never gave me white eggs. I cherished those special eggs.

If you have other kinds of ducks they might/probably will give you white eggs. All my other ducks give white eggs/slightly off white eggs.

When my ducks were young egg laying was daily in the spring-fall, with a winter break.

No cayuga hens here! The only dark females I have are blue runners. Thank you!

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

1. That depends on what breeds they are and with the time of year some do not lay until spring.

2. The "dark color" is the bloom. It's the waxy protective coating that helps keep bacteria out of the egg. If you want bright white eggs like you buy in the grocery store you will have to wash them, but if you do not wash correctly you can actually push bacteria into the pores of the egg. I don't wash my eggs and I leave the bloom. Any eggs with any soiling I feed to the dogs or toss in the compost.

3. It usually take a good month for consistency in new layers. However, it can sometimes take more or less time depending on the duck.

4/5. The egg looks good both inside and out.

6. You can crack them open and look for a blastoderm that will appear like a small white bullseye. If the bullseye is there they are fertilized. You technically could incubate right away however, I always wait until new layers are out of the quirky new egg laying stage. I wait because shell thickness, shape and size all do play a role in the chances of a successful hatch.

Thank you very much! Very helpful information!!

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

Ahh I’m so excited!! There were 2 eggs this morning!!

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]

Quick question guys. Is it normal to see the air cell from the outside of the egg? I’ll attach a picture

 

[Crazy Duck Lover]