Hello everyone, today my Indian Runner laid her first egg(s).

[TheOneEyedKing]

I’m really happy but I also want to know how I can tell if it is fertile or not? Also will she care for the eggs herself? I know that seems like a silly question but I just have to make sure!

 

[KingD]

I’m really happy but I also want to know how I can tell if it is fertile or not? Also will she care for the eggs herself? I know that seems like a silly question but I just have to make sure!

Do you have a male duck that would've fertilised the egg?
The duck won't hatch the eggs. They rarely do actually. It's the same as chickens. She'll lay an egg almost every day. Remove the eggs from the nest. Occasionally your duck will go broody and will sit on the eggs until they hatch, you will know when she is broody because she'll become protective over the nesting area and will only leave to eat and drink.

 

[KingD]

An infertile egg looks the same as a fertile egg on the outside.

When you use the egg for cooking or whatever, look closely at the yolk (orange bit) and look for a small white dot. If there is a white spot then the egg is fertile.

 

[TheOneEyedKing]

Do you have a male duck that would've fertilised the egg?
The duck won't hatch the eggs. They rarely do actually. It's the same as chickens. She'll lay an egg almost every day. Remove the eggs from the nest. Occasionally your duck will go broody and will sit on the eggs until they hatch, you will know when she is broody because she'll become protective over the nesting area and will only leave to eat and drink.

Yes we do have a male duck, yet every time we see him get on top of her we would try to get him away, as we don’t want any more little ducklings to be running around.

 

[TheOneEyedKing]

An infertile egg looks the same as a fertile egg on the outside.

When you use the egg for cooking or whatever, look closely at the yolk (orange bit) and look for a small white dot. If there is a white spot then the egg is fertile.View attachment 2796594

Is there any way to tell without cracking it open?

 

[KingD]

Yes we do have a male duck, yet every time we see him get on top of her we would try to get him away, as we don’t want any more little ducklings to be running around.

You will only have ducklings if you don't collect the eggs from the nest. If the duck sits on the eggs for a few weeks then they'll hatch.

 

[KingD]

Is there any way to tell without cracking it open?

No

 

[Miss Lydia]

Mating is normal, and birth control is making sure to collect eggs every day. Duck eggs are great for baking and eating.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Are you wanting to hatch fertile eggs? If not, then it's no big deal to gather the eggs daily and eat them, give them away, or sell if you can. I cannot eat duck eggs. So, I gather mine and then redistribute to the chickens and my dogs.
A fertile egg is not an embryo until it's been incubated and that would take a broody duck or an incubator to achieve.
You would not be able to tell if a duck egg is fertile by just looking at it. If the ducks are newly mature most likely the drake would not be performing 100% as of yet. So, at this point it would be best to just gather the eggs until the next full mating season rolls around.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I agree with the others. Look for the bullseye around in the yoke if, but in the end a hen cannot hatch eggs that she doesn't have. Collect the eggs daily and you will never have unwanted ducklings hatching. However, ducks do not go broody nearly as often as chickens and some ducks never do. Also I would highly recommend not chasing your male away when your ducks try to mate. You are only stressing your ducks out and they will begin to see you as an aggressor which will make them more afraid of you. If you are adamant about them not mating keep them in separate enclosures.