How easy is it to screw up fresh eggs?

[bayyjayy]

My two females lay right out in the open....next to the fence that seperates my yard from the pasture. They have made a bit of a hole...so there is MUD at the bottom of it. I put hay in the hole, but everyday when I go out there they have messed up their nest while doing their laying thing. So, my eggs are always dirty. I am going to get a bit of landscape fabric to put at the bottom of it to help with that, just gotta go find it. Anyway.....their eggs are laid in a spot that gets hit with the sprinkler. I had heard that you shouldn't wash the eggs in cold water because it opens the spores (is this the right word?) and it allows bacteria in. Well, the sprinkler water is cold. I bring the eggs in, wash in lukewarm water with a titch of soap, stick them in the fridge and use them as I need to. But....I worry every single time I use them....how do you know if bacteria has gotten in? I am assuming since none of us have gotten sick that it hasn't happened yet, but....still....I worry!

I have gotten some good advice on cleaning eggs and all, but...........how easy is it to do the wrong thing? I have a neighbor that does not worry at ALL about her eggs and I seem to be the exact opposite, I worry about every part of how my eggs get from duck belly to MY belly.

 

[Eroc1_1]

If any bacteria gets in, they will more than likely get killed when you cook them. Try not to eat raw eggs. We wash our eggs with warm water and some soap.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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I usually don't wash the duck eggs till I get ready to use them, which may not be the best either, but we haven't gotten sick and I've been doing it for about 7 years now. and yes duck eggs do get dirty. if it's poop then I do use a cloth and wipe it off.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

When it's muddy weather my birds track the mud into their nests and get them muddy. I wash them with 100+ water and detergent and refrigerated immediately. I occasionally find an egg out in the mud. I wash it as well as I can and hard boil it feeding to the dog or chickens.
I think you should try discouraging where they lay and encourage laying in a proper nest.

 

[jdywntr]

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X2

When I had runners they would occassionally lay out in the yard. I built them a nest in their run and put fake eggs there(the plastic easter egg ones that you put candy in). They immediately started laying where I wanted. I would still sometimes find an egg in the middle of the yard but not often. Maybe try leaving them in until a little later so that they lay in a protected nest?

 

[bayyjayy]

I would LOVE for them to lay in a nest in a coop....but these girls came to me from someone else, and I have never locked them up. They dont' even have a nest...I just happened to look down one day when I was mowing and an egg was just sitting there! Someone told me to mark it and leave it and they would continue to lay there. I have since put a couple of golf balls there to encourage them to lay there.

I have thought about making a little nest for them in some kind of shallow container (so they dont' realize it is any different) and then moving it a couple of feet every few days until I have moved it to where I want them to lay. I have a dog house I bought when I first got ducks...got it so they would have protection in bad weather....yeah, they have NEVER used it. THought about trying to maybe move the nest bit by bit until it was in there. What do you think?

 

[FarmrGirl]

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Hey Bayyjayy,

If you want them to use the doghouse (or any house) repetition is the only effective learning tool for waterfowl. Ducks like to be outside. Period. But if you put them in the house every night at the same time, and let them out in the morning and the same time, within a week (or less if they're smart) they'll go in at the time you've designated as "duck:30". I also find that since I lock mine up at dark (which will be a different time during different seasons) that putting a faint light - like a nightlight or a weak flashlight - in the coop helps. The entire barnyard is dark except for this faint, soft light coming from their pop-door and they just sort of gravitate in that direction once they suddenly realize it's gotten dark. This really helps when I put up my breeding yards in the spring and the ducks each get their own small house, they learn faster where to go because they follow the light (usually).

The first few times you'll have to physically pick them up and stuff them in the house, but before you know it, they'll see your flashlight bobbing in the distance and the designated spokes-duck will give the warning quack signaling everyone to boogie it on inside. Then you just have to close the door. Done.