HOLY DUCK EGG!

[Tevyes Dad]

Yes it is very good, but it is difficult to get pretty hard boiled duck eggs... If you haven't boiled duck eggs yet a hint: use your older eggs for boiling and then wait at least a day before opening them. The membrane on duck eggs is much stronger than the chicken eggs' and the outer 1/8 " of white tends to peel off the rest of the egg. With older eggs that have sat a little longer (even a few days) the white seems stronger and the membrane weaker. This is only for the aesthetics, You can eat a hard boiled egg right away it just won't be as pretty.

 

[lynss94]

I'm thinking about getting half a dozen and trying this with them. So you would suggest maybe getting half a dozen then waiting a week from when the first one was laid to prepare? Not really picky about how it looks, but definitely do not want eggs shells in the yellow.

I accidentally dropped one of Pepper's eggs, not from too high up maybe a foot and the shell cracked but didn't break like a chicken egg would have. I was sad but also impressed at the strength of the shell. I definitely know what you are saying about it being strong.

Have you noticed a fishy taste to your eggs because of foraging? Only reason I am asking is because in my ample amounts of research, I have read that if they're allowed to forage all day and eat crickets, grasshoppers, slugs, etc. it may have a fishy taste. I did not notice this myself but just wondering about your experiences.

 

[LadyIsadora]

NICE Egg!

I don't weigh mine (scales of any kind are not allowed in my house) ;-) But I do get a double yolker from my Pekin (name: Sum) about every two to three weeks. The other 6 girls I have are 4 weeks younger but took much longer to start laying. Their eggs are about regular chicken egg size right now. Sums eggs keep getting bigger. But the babies have only been laying for a week or two. Not all of them are laying yet, but I do get an average of 5 eggs per day out of a possible 7.

Lately I have been finding 1/2 soft shell eggs in the pen at night, and yep they eat those. But if they have good hard shells they leave them alone. I bake my egg shells on a cookie sheet at lowest oven setting for a few hours, put them in an old blender to crush them. then store them in a zip lock baggie. I feed them "free choice" back to the ducks.
Do not use your favourite blender or food processor, it scratches the heck out of things. Ask how I know that

Congratulations on your egg, may you be blessed with many more!

 

[lynss94]

Awh why thank you! Thank you so much for the advice! How much does your Sum weigh?

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I'm thinking about getting half a dozen and trying this with them. So you would suggest maybe getting half a dozen then waiting a week from when the first one was laid to prepare? Not really picky about how it looks, but definitely do not want eggs shells in the yellow.

I accidentally dropped one of Pepper's eggs, not from too high up maybe a foot and the shell cracked but didn't break like a chicken egg would have. I was sad but also impressed at the strength of the shell. I definitely know what you are saying about it being strong.

Have you noticed a fishy taste to your eggs because of foraging? Only reason I am asking is because in my ample amounts of research, I have read that if they're allowed to forage all day and eat crickets, grasshoppers, slugs, etc. it may have a fishy taste. I did not notice this myself but just wondering about your experiences.

Maybe wait 3-4 days from the last one (might be the same thing) then boil them and put them in the fridge the day before you want to use them. Even better, if you have one at least a couple days old, boil it and eat it - then you will know what to expect. I really like hard boiled duck eggs, the yolks are a little fattier so that translates into moister in a hard boiled egg. The reason that egg you dropped didn't break was the membrane - the shell cracked but those outer membranes are STRONG. Drop one of those no shelled eggs outside. It will probably bounce... When baking, I used to crack eggs on the corner of the counter or pot or skillet then open them by prying the crack apart. The membranes on our duck eggs are so strong that you can crush the whole egg shell that way before you get to the goods, so now I give the egg a sharp whack with a knife - just enough to cut a small hole in the membrane - then it splits open easily just like a chicken egg. I have noticed the fishy taste a couple times. It must have to do with the ratio because some days they eat fish and it isn't so fishy. Maybe it is accumulative and/or depends on who is laying. I can positively identify about half of my eggs, the other half are similar enough that I haven't been able to tie the egg to the duck. You have a Pekin and a Khaki Campbell so I could probably identify which egg was which from here

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Here are some of the eggs I spoke of:

This one was 134g.


This is the same egg next to either Noir's or Mystique's. They both lay eggs that are in the "normal" chicken Jumbo range.



This is one of the two teeny eggs. A peewee egg from a chicken is 30-40g... This one was 20g (no yolk inside).

 

[lynss94]

As you can see, she has many freckles!

 

[LadyIsadora]

I love the freckles! Here are a few pics of my weird eggs. Such a variance in size!

[/IMG]

 

[lynss94]

Wow! That last one is quite strange! What type of ducks do you have?

 

[LadyIsadora]

They are very strange. I think that was the first attempts at the golden300 to lay eggs. Every one of my ducks laid a soft egg first, this is quite normal, then go on to lay regular eggs. More or less. Not really sure who is the culprit in this case but Im guessing its the goldens. my layers are 3 Pekin, 2 Rouen, and 2 Golden 300's I have been getting 5 eggs with good strong shells, though sometimes one eggs is not perfectly shaped, then I got these soft eggs in addition to the 5. So I know they are all getting enough nutrients & calcium, sometimes it just takes a few eggs for their bodies to get the hang of it I guess. a few times when I penned them earlier in the evening I have caught them eating a soft laid egg. but there is no evidence of it by morning so Im hoping it is just them getting used to laying and not a genetic issue. They should not be laying so many soft shelled eggs. One day this week I got 6 good strong eggs but have not yet collected from all 7 in one day. If I havent gotten 7 in one day by the end of the week Im going to separate them and find out *for sure* who is/are the weak layers.