Help with new ducks please!

[Nikkumz]

I got two ducks from a farm around my house i believe they are mallards, was told one is a male and one is a female. I was also told that the female has been laying and has hatched out a whole clutch once already this year. And that she was still laying, BUT i have had her for over a week and she hasnt layed one egg??? Someone please tell me, do i need to feed her something different? She's on del's all purpose poultry feed, same as my chickens....
Can you all tell me if im right about the breed? and i know she may just be getting used to the new place, but its been over a week!
The ducks have a nest box i made out of a big plastic tub in the chicken coop, on the floor, it has hay in it,m she doesnt even wanna sit in it.
The person told me when i got her that she wanted to sit and she was on a nest when i got her so I put some fertile chicken eggs in there just to see if she would take to them at all and she nudged them with her beak then walked away.

here is both of them

and here is just the female

 

[Nikkumz]

Anyone please?

 

[Kschwartz]

Hmm.. They look more like Rouens to me, as they seem a little bit too big to be Mallards. As for the egg laying issue, I'm not sure.. My ducks haven't started laying yet ( only 5 wks!!)

 

[evansacres]

They look like my rouens, but it is difficult to say how big they are exactly from the picture. Mallards are small 2 or 3 pounds (I think) and rouens are like 7 to 9 lbs. She may not be laying if she already hatched out some ducklings. Mine hatched out six ducklings about a month ago and hasn't laid since. The change in environment may have also put her off. Give her some time and she may start again...

 

[LostGosling]

I would guess the male as a Rouen by his larger size. Did the seller say how old he is? He looks like he's either still very young, or is molting into eclipse plumage. He doesn't have a sex feather on his tail, green on his head, or primary feathers on his wings is why I ask. The female may be a very young Rouen, or she could be an adult Mallard. If she's a Mallard, she should be able to fly. If she's a Rouen, she's young enough that she doesn't even have a Keel yet (A Keel is a thick strip of fat and skin developed after maturity that stretches from the rump to the under-side of the breast. Adult Rouens always have these.). It is possible that the seller may have lied to you about age. I bought 2 geese from a man at a traders fair one year and he said that they were both yearlings. Upon examining my new geese and gaining further info on the birds, I realized that there was no way "Fe Fe" was a yearling since she already had a brooding ponch (the rounding of the abdoman and rump with excess feathers and fat for brooding). They where also sold to me as pure Toulouse, and they later produced 3 Saddle-Back goslings with blue eyes. Definatley crosses. Anyway, your laying problem is probably not due to your duck's diet if she is out on the yard. She may either be a Rouen who is too young to lay as I discussed above, or she may be a Mallard who has went out of season. She may also be hiding a nest outside somewhere. Broody ducks will nest literally anywhere. As with the fertile hatching eggs, I wouldn't suggest setting chicken eggs under a duck at all. A setting duck frequently wets herself to keep the eggs moist during incubation. This kind of exposure to moisture will ruin chicken eggs. Good luck with your new ducks and I hope I helped!

 

[Nikkumz]

Quote:
Wow, thank you so much! This is alot of i didnt knows! lol
I called the seller and went back and was told that yep, they are both females, and they think they are not laying because of th change so they sent me nack home with a 'FOR SURE; black male duck to 'entice' them to lay and said to keep whichever female lays first then take the other back! Which was very awesome of them to help me like that. I guess ill give it another week or two then see what happens and give them a call