Her First Lay!

[wallawu]

I walked outside last night doing my usual routine herding the ducks into their house. They're 5 and a half months old, currently 2 male (Black Swedish & Welsh Harlequin), 1 female (Black Swedish. We have 4 young females waiting in the "wings" to be grown up enough to join them). I decided once they were in to take my flashlight and with ignorant hope look through the window. And what did I find?!?!



I was so excited, it made all of this work so worth it to know that these ladies will be able to lay in the environment we provide. Then I went out this morning, and BAM!!





So, now I have a few questions.:

1. Is that a normal color for Black Swedish eggs
2. They're smaller than I thought they'd be. Those are jumbo chicken eggs next to them. Will they get any bigger? Is there something I can do to help that?
3. You'll see in the second picture that the color can be scratched off of the egg. Is that ok? Is it because it hadn't full "dried" or something?

Either way, I hope these are healthy eggs, and I REALLY hope that we enjoy the taste. Otherwise we're going to be baking a lot more.

 

[blairctchickens]

Congrats!! I do not have much knowledge on duck eggs but I think the color will improve and the egg size should get bigger as the bird continues to lay. As for the scratching that I do not know. Did you wash the egg right before you took the picture? they look real shiny.

 

[wallawu]

Congrats!! I do not have much knowledge on duck eggs but I think the color will improve and the egg size should get bigger as the bird continues to lay. As for the scratching that I do not know. Did you wash the egg right before you took the picture? they look real shiny.

Thanks! Yeah, I washed them before putting them in the carton, so they were still a little wet. If she keeps going at this rate until Saturday, we'll have enough for some scrambled eggs! I can't wait!

I'm glad they'll get bigger. If for no other reason, I've been telling everybody that duck eggs are noticeably larger than chicken eggs. I don't want to look like a fool!

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

Yeah they should get bigger, especially after the first molt and then they will start their second lay season. Also make sure you dry the eggs thoroughly and wash them with slightly cooler water( thats supposed to draw bacteria away and warmer water draws it in to the egg. Supposedly

) Also if they arent dirty there really is no need to wash them, it removes the bloom which keeps the egg fresher.
'Gradulations on the eggs!

 

[wallawu]

Yeah they should get bigger, especially after the first molt and then they will start their second lay season. Also make sure you dry the eggs thoroughly and wash them with slightly cooler water( thats supposed to draw bacteria away and warmer water draws it in to the egg. Supposedly

) Also if they arent dirty there really is no need to wash them, it removes the bloom which keeps the egg fresher.
'Gradulations on the eggs!

Thanks! She's 3 for 3 today! I made sure I washed this one in cold water with very little soap and then dried it thoroughly. I'm looking forward to 6 months down the road when we'll have 3-5 eggs a day!

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

Don't use soap! If the egg is that dirty it needs to be throw away

Also do the ducks have nestboxes?

 

[dotknott]

Re: Egg Size Those suckers should size up a bit as your duck matures. Starting this year, I started logging the eggs I was getting (until May when my last layer decided it was time to go broody.)

If you are curious enough get yourself a kitchen scale and a notebook!

 

[wallawu]

Don't use soap! If the egg is that dirty it needs to be throw away

Also do the ducks have nestboxes?

No boxes. They all sleep on one side of the house, and she goes to the opposite side to lay in the corner on a pile of pine shavings, then goes back with the others. I've read about the bloom and all that, but I think about it like this: I've always eaten much thinner, commercially pushed chicken eggs that are probably bleached and touch who knows what while being transported miles and never have gotten sick from it. Compare that to much thicker (even thicker than expected), free range duck eggs that are washed with a mild soap after personally walking them 30 yards. I just don't think it can hurt that much. I could be totally wrong.

Re: Egg Size Those suckers should size up a bit as your duck matures. Starting this year, I started logging the eggs I was getting (until May when my last layer decided it was time to go broody.)

If you are curious enough get yourself a kitchen scale and a notebook!

I still have her first one from last Tuesday. It's definitely smaller than the TWO she had ready for me this morning. She took a break yesterday, but I guess wanted to make sure she went 7 eggs in 7 days.

 

[Bills vs Beaks]

I guess thats true lol. I'm just referring to how fresh they keep, if you remove bloom they will age faster. I don't think soap will make a difference in taste, other than taste like soap...lol

Making a box is a good idea, I just made my ducks a tray, no roof or sides necessary. Just something to keep the shavings in and makes it easy to dump out and change

Wow and you got two in one day! You lucky duck!
Some times ducks will bury them under their bedding so you should dig around...maybe you will find one on a day you thought she skipped,like I have.

 

[wallawu]

I guess thats true lol. I'm just referring to how fresh they keep, if you remove bloom they will age faster. I don't think soap will make a difference in taste, other than taste like soap...lol

Making a box is a good idea, I just made my ducks a tray, no roof or sides necessary. Just something to keep the shavings in and makes it easy to dump out and change

Wow and you got two in one day! You lucky duck!
Some times ducks will bury them under their bedding so you should dig around...maybe you will find one on a day you thought she skipped,like I have.

I've gone through the shavings with a little rake, but only in the area I keep finding them. I was a little worried she was hiding them out in the yard somewhere because we're pushing 6 months old without a trace of one! The tray is a good idea. I need to get in there this week or weekend and clean out all the current shavings and add some fresh ones, so maybe I'll add it in there then.

It's wild because the first egg she laid was substantially smaller than the jumbo chicken egg next to it. Today, her 8th egg was as tall and almost as full/round as the jumbo chicken one. They get bigger at a much faster rate than I expected!