how to improve laying

[Mr Eggcentric]

I currently have eight ducks and two chinese geese. Of the ducks I have five drakes and three females (two runners and a rouen). Every evening the waterfowl are put to bed in a 12x30 "duck house" which has a concrete floor, covered in lots of fresh shavings, a infrared heat lamp in a corner for the coldest nights, and couple of nesting boxes for them ( litter boxes and there upturned lids filled with clean shavings). Every morning they are turned out onto a large grassy yard with a year round creek. My concern is I only get an egg or two a week from the ducks and I feel like I should be getting more. I feed good feed and I don't see eggs being laid along the creek because I look for them all the time. Any suggestions?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

How old are the ducks?
What part of the country are in?
What do you feed exactly?
How long have you had the ducks?

 

[fisharescary]

Also, can I suggest that you trade at least one drake for a duck, or get a couple more (hen) ducks, or separate two drakes into a separate 'bachelor pad'? You should really have fewer drakes than you do for 3 ducks. That's a general health and happiness thing more than egg-laying concern, but I suppose stress could be preventing optimum egg-laying as well.

 

[Taylor]

my ducks lay every day! and they don't have no artificial light or nothing! I will tell you the secret to get eggs in non-laying months if you want eggs. feed them high protein feed, yep thats the secret to it! my ducks get 12 hrs of daylight and its freezing temps and rain and snow and i get an egg a day from everyone! I feed them 21% layer pellets and corn, now if you don't want them to stop laying just cut back on the protein. Turkeys are the same way, at least mine are, but i don't like my turkeys to lay in winter, only in the warm months. so i feed them straight corn in the winter. I keep my ducks laying all year cause i like selling the eggs when other duck raisers aren't getting any. LOL I get $12 a doz out of them easy. these things have always kept mine laying daily. I don't know for sure if it'll do the same for you! so don't blame me if it don't work, but it does for me.

 

[Taylor]

P.S daylight is not the key, protein is.

 

[Mr Eggcentric]

Thank you all for the advice. To give more info; I live in Washington state, and I bought my ducks as day old ducklings last february.

 

[Mr Eggcentric]

PS I feed purina flock raiser and layena and scratch as a treat.

 

[Tahai]

Dave Metzer posted a blog entry about increasing laying. pulling from memory, I think he said some egg guru from ages past says it's not at all about light, as long as they have sufficient amount. It's about the quality of feed and amount of protein.

I found it!
http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/08/domestic-duck-production-science-and.html

 

[Tahai]

Also, you might be interested in this link.

http://www.metzerfarms.com/MaximizingEggProduction.cfm

 

[Rosecomb-Ryan]

Quote:
That was the exact link I was looking for!