How to tell?

[Farmerboy16]

This is my first year on ducks, chickens 9 years, anyway I got Khaki Campbells, and Pekins on the first week of March, so they are 4 months old now, yesterday I saw the Khaki Campbell males trying to breed the females, so they must be close to egg laying, So my question is how can you tell when the duck is old enough to lay? I free range them, and can they be train to lay in the coop like chickens? Thanks for the help!

 

[animalpro24]

Usually ducks lay in the early mornings so if your letting them out around 6,7,or 8 they may lay their eggs outside. Can't answer your other question....sorry.

 

[Oregon Blues]

[[[......how can you tell when the duck is old enough to lay?.......]]]]


It's really easy to tell. When they are old enough to lay, they start laying eggs. Happens every time. It's 100% reliable method.

 

[TLWR]

Quote:
When you find a duck egg, you know they are old enough to lay

as seen above, which I didn't notice when I posted lol

 

[animalpro24]

Quote:
When you find a duck egg, you know they are old enough to lay

as seen above, which I didn't notice when I posted lol

Hahahaha! Exactly!!

 

[gofasterstripe]

 

[Farmerboy16]

I know, but I want to move them to their permanent coop before they start laying, as they are in a brooder coop now. What I meant, do they show signs like a chicken's comb, wattles developments.

 

[gofasterstripe]

You will go out 1 morning nd there it will be, no letter of notice or nothing

 

[mangled]

I bought my ducks as chicks last spring, and just began getting eggs steadily from them this spring. So, for me, it was at about 9 months. My 4 hens are Khaki Campbell, Pekin and Runner, and I generally get 4 eggs every day.

They do lay early in the morning, and my girls lay right in the nestboxes like the chickens do. Once in a while, I'll find a duck egg out in the flower bed or out by their pool, but for the most part, if I keep them in past 8, their eggs are in the nestboxes.

My drakes mounted my hens for months before I got eggs.


HTH-
Blessings-
Em

 

[Amiga]

Farmerboy16,

I had the same question last year. My runners started displaying breeding behavior - hopping on top of one another - about four to six weeks before the first egg was laid. At that time, I began setting out a few handfuls of oyster shell free choice so that those that were ready could begin eating it.