HOLY DUCK EGG!

[Tevyes Dad]

Wow! Those are giant eggs daily! She laid her normal of 2.50oz this morning. Yes, I would say she weighs in at about 8lbs. You're saying she will get bigger?

Mine sure did. I got mine from Metzer. By their list I would expect her to at least add on 1 more pound. Mine stabilized around 11 lbs (10 lbs, 15oz actually). And it wouldn't be crazy if she worked her way up to 13 lbs. Now those weights are based on weight controlled layers at Metzer. A fat Pekin could get even bigger (but you want to avoid that). My next heaviest ducks are my Swedish, they both weigh 6lbs, 6oz, my lightest duck is my Faun & White runner at 3 lbs, 13oz and all of them were hatched on the same day as Snow. So I would say if your baby is under a year, definitely yes she will get bigger. If she is over a year... maybe??? Look at her stompers compared to your Khaki Campbell...

 

[lynss94]

Mine sure did. I got mine from Metzer. By their list I would expect her to at least add on 1 more pound. Mine stabilized around 11 lbs (10 lbs, 15oz actually). And it wouldn't be crazy if she worked her way up to 13 lbs. Now those weights are based on weight controlled layers at Metzer. A fat Pekin could get even bigger (but you want to avoid that). My next heaviest ducks are my Swedish, they both weigh 6lbs, 6oz, my lightest duck is my Faun & White runner at 3 lbs, 13oz and all of them were hatched on the same day as Snow. So I would say if your baby is under a year, definitely yes she will get bigger. If she is over a year... maybe??? Look at her stompers compared to your Khaki Campbell...

I will say Ollie (the Pekin) has very "thick" legs

(if that is what you're referring to as stompers)

I got them both at tractor supply in February. They were only a few days old when I got them. I was very close on this guess based off of when they began laying. August 31st they will be 27 weeks old so they're not quite 7 months

this photo was taken July 31st. I don't know if you can get a good look at her. I don't think she is going to be ginormous but she isn't petite like my Pepper is.

I have been wondering. They BOTH laid eggs way larger than their "norm" (for right now) and since then, have gone back and both been at their norm. Why would they both have done that the same day? I fed them the same amount of food as always and they roam in the same backyard every day. Do you have any ideas?


Love 'em!

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I will say Ollie (the Pekin) has very "thick" legs

(if that is what you're referring to as stompers)

I got them both at tractor supply in February. They were only a few days old when I got them. I was very close on this guess based off of when they began laying. August 31st they will be 27 weeks old so they're not quite 7 months

this photo was taken July 31st. I don't know if you can get a good look at her. I don't think she is going to be ginormous but she isn't petite like my Pepper is.

I have been wondering. They BOTH laid eggs way larger than their "norm" (for right now) and since then, have gone back and both been at their norm. Why would they both have done that the same day? I fed them the same amount of food as always and they roam in the same backyard every day. Do you have any ideas?


Love 'em!

Not a clue! Moon? I do think Ollie will get bigger, you have to remember though a duck is a 3 dimensional object so to add 50% (which would put her at 12 lbs even bigger than Snow) she would only grow by 14% in all 3 directions so she won't get much "bigger", she will just fill out a little and get much heavier. Likewise those monster eggs will be noticeably bigger, but you have already seen A pretty darn big egg! So they will seem similar until you put them on the scale. She is beautiful and still has that sleek look of youth. Here is a picture of Snow fully filled out - not much bigger, but definitely heavier...




The white duck in front of her is Tevye. He looks like he is about the same size, but he is super fluffy and only weighs just over 5 lbs. The Black and white duck next to her is a Swedish who weighs almost 6-1/2 lbs and the black duck is a Cayuga who weighs just over 5-1/2 lbs. I would guess they are about the size of your Khaki Campbell. So if you look at your KC in your picture, she has the kind of round look that is "normal" duck. Ollie still looks kind of long and sleek. Snow has the same overall shape as your KC and I think Ollie will too. Believe it or not that will probably pack on 2-3 more lbs over the next 7/8 months.

 

[lynss94]

Not a clue! Moon? I do think Ollie will get bigger, you have to remember though a duck is a 3 dimensional object so to add 50% (which would put her at 12 lbs even bigger than Snow) she would only grow by 14% in all 3 directions so she won't get much "bigger", she will just fill out a little and get much heavier. Likewise those monster eggs will be noticeably bigger, but you have already seen A pretty darn big egg! So they will seem similar until you put them on the scale. She is beautiful and still has that sleek look of youth. Here is a picture of Snow fully filled out - not much bigger, but definitely heavier...




The white duck in front of her is Tevye. He looks like he is about the same size, but he is super fluffy and only weighs just over 5 lbs. The Black and white duck next to her is a Swedish who weighs almost 6-1/2 lbs and the black duck is a Cayuga who weighs just over 5-1/2 lbs. I would guess they are about the size of your Khaki Campbell. So if you look at your KC in your picture, she has the kind of round look that is "normal" duck. Ollie still looks kind of long and sleek. Snow has the same overall shape as your KC and I think Ollie will too. Believe it or not that will probably pack on 2-3 more lbs over the next 7/8 months.

So Ollie is still in her "gangly" stage and not fully filled out is what you're telling me.

Snow has a much brighter bill than Ollie. Did Snow get the hormonal freckles? She definitely looks heftier than Ollie too. What do you feed your laying ducks?

 

[Tevyes Dad]

So Ollie is still in her "gangly" stage and not fully filled out is what you're telling me.

Snow has a much brighter bill than Ollie. Did Snow get the hormonal freckles? She definitely looks heftier than Ollie too. What do you feed your laying ducks?

Snow definitely got freckles. And her bill is still kind of yellow - Tevye's bill is very orange (but he doesn't lay eggs now does he).


All my ducks get Nutrena All Flock (I have drakes too) plus free choice oyster shell on the side. They free range during the day and in the summer that means lots of grass hoppers (so they also have grit available). They get spoiled rotten with Romain almost every day plus occasional watermelon, tomatoes, goldfish, grapes, and dried meal worms. (Ok, the meal worms are pretty much daily too, but we try to keep them down to reasonable levels.) Also in the winter (it gets pretty cold here in Montana) they get some cracked corn to help provide those calories for extra heat. I understand that corn can make their bills more orange for the same reason laying eggs uses up the orange pigment and gives them freckles but since it is higher calorie, lower nutrient, they just get it in the winter.

 

[lynss94]

I provide layer food and oyster shell along with THEIR ABSOLUTE FAVE as a treat, mealworms and oats. They go nuts! If I leave the bag on the floor they attack it like ravenous dogs on meat.

not even joking. Mine have access to a fenced in backyard and forage all day unless they nap. It is amazing how they catch grasshoppers. They are so fast and will just gobble them right up. I don't even know how they seem them sometimes.

What do you do with your duck eggs?

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I provide layer food and oyster shell along with THEIR ABSOLUTE FAVE as a treat, mealworms and oats. They go nuts! If I leave the bag on the floor they attack it like ravenous dogs on meat.

not even joking. Mine have access to a fenced in backyard and forage all day unless they nap. It is amazing how they catch grasshoppers. They are so fast and will just gobble them right up. I don't even know how they seem them sometimes.

What do you do with your duck eggs?

Your not kidding on meal worms! I joke with my wife that my ducks would walk through a field full of flaming raccoons to get a meal worm.

Sounds like your setup is similar to mine. It is probably better to feed them layer food like you are as long as both ducks are laying. This will ensure they get enough calcium and they probably don't eat that much oyster shell. I have heard the extra calcium isn't good for drakes or non-laying (juvenile / broody) ducks. So I use the feed without the calcium and my layers chow down on the oyster shell like it was candy.

This year wasn't so bad, but last summer there were grasshoppers ALL over the rest of the property. Sides of buildings had grasshoppers evenly spaced about every 3 inches - just tons of them. There wasn't one in the back yard where the ducks were. You could look for hours... Not one. I am sure as soon as one came in, one of the ducks nabbed it.

As far as the duck eggs we eat them, bake with them and give them away. There are plenty of takers. People either tend to love duck eggs or hate them. They are definitely a stronger flavor than chicken eggs but even if you don't like them, they are fantastic for baking!!! If you can't do any of those things, you can always scramble them with the shells or boil them then crush them with the shells and feed the ducks (or so I've heard - I tried it once and they didn't seem to like it - however they have a pact that if anyone lays a soft-shell egg in the evening, they will probably eat it.

)

 

[lynss94]

I've already given a bunch away and used them for cupcakes! Oh my goodness. Those were no joke the best cupcakes I have ever had. We tried them fried and I could definitely taste the difference but it wasn't bad.

I have heard that giving them back their own eggs even if they're baked and scrambled up has given some ducks the tendency to EAT their eggs..

I don't know about feeding them back to them after that!


I take pictures of all my duckie adventures or anything involving my ducks so I of course took photos of the cupcakes that my babies helped make

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I've already given a bunch away and used them for cupcakes! Oh my goodness. Those were no joke the best cupcakes I have ever had. We tried them fried and I could definitely taste the difference but it wasn't bad.

I have heard that giving them back their own eggs even if they're baked and scrambled up has given some ducks the tendency to EAT their eggs..

I don't know about feeding them back to them after that!


I take pictures of all my duckie adventures or anything involving my ducks so I of course took photos of the cupcakes that my babies helped make

We both love their eggs. They make the BEST egg salad! And waffles!!!! and crepes. We eat them over easy, poached, scrambled and as a patty in a sandwich with rye bread and mustard. Funny enough we have never made omelets with them. Don't know why... I would like to do a quiche, but I haven't tried that yet.

I think if they are smashed up or scrambled the ducks don't recognize them as eggs. Even with my evening soft shell incidents (mostly Pocahontas who does that), I haven't had any ducks eat their fully shelled morning eggs and many of them have been laid for hours by the time I get them.

 

[lynss94]

Have you done deviled eggs with them?? I want to try that!!