Is it safe to eat these Mallard Duck Eggs?

[Sarah956z]

Hello,
My Mallard Duck just turned 6 months and I realized she has been missing going places a lot and doesn't return till morning to eat some food...well, one day I saw her getting food out front so I watched her and she ran to a bush in front of my view. When I went after her to see where she's going I looked threw the bush and found her in top of Duck Eggs! I have no experience of cleaning or eating them..checking if there safe or not. We just wanted a pet lol. So I just got like 8 eggs from there and how do I clean, check if there good, and cook? Like said, I have no clue. There kind of dirty and have a few of her feathers on them. There is also NO male duck. I just put them in cold water to soak. Was that ok? Please I need answers ASAP (and is it good to put them in a carton in the fridgerator?

 

[buff goose guy]

well dealing with her going off for a while to brood i would think that the babies have begun life so if you ate them you would probably see little babies beginning to form, seeing as there is no male idk why she is hardcore brooding, was there a wild mallard male that could have come by bred her then left.

 

[Sarah956z]

well dealing with her going off for a while to brood i would think that the babies have begun life so if you ate them you would probably see little babies beginning to form, seeing as there is no male idk why she is hardcore brooding, was there a wild mallard male that could have come by bred her then left.

Nope...I haven't seen ANY where I live...

 

[buff goose guy]

then idk why she is that broody try to open one and see .

 

[jducour]

I wouldn't eat any of the eggs. If you want to clean the eggs, it is best to do it with warm water, as cold water opens the pores of the eggs and lets bacteria inside. There are a lot of opinions on cleaning eggs. I am in the do not clean camp. I use a dry sponge to buff off any dirt or poop, and put them in the fridge. Eggs have a natural antibacterial coating called a bloom. When this is washed off, the shelf life decreases sharply. I store them unwashed, and if they are visibly soiled, I will rinse in warm water right before eating. I wouldn't eat your eggs because they are being stored in cold water, and also because you don't know how long they have been sitting outside. It is still warm where I live, so I won't eat any egg that has been outside for more than a few hours. I have one duck that likes to hide eggs, and since she is the only one that lays green eggs, I know when I need to go check her usual spots Just check her bush every day, and bring it inside and put it in the fridge. Then eat it! Use it any way you would normally use a chicken egg.

 

[jducour]

Here are what my eggs look like when I store them - this is what I mean by storing them dirty.

 

[Duckchick2011]

With no male there shouldn't be any babies in them BUT you can candle to find out if some wild male did happen to find his way to your duck. Who knows right? What you do is take a few of the eggs into a closet or other dark room with a flashlight. Place the light right on the egg...try to position it until you can see inside the egg. If the egg is all black inside, you might have VERY developed ducklings. If you see a little red dot, or red veins, they are fertile. If you just see and empty egg(no veins, no blackness) then you have unfertile duck eggs.

I would have said: place them in water. If they sink they are good; if they float don't eat them. But if they have been soaking in cold water for a while I'd boil them and feed to any animals you have OR even back to your duck(not all at once). She may start laying again since you have taken her eggs. If she does those eggs will be safe to eat. Just make sure to store and clean them properly. There is plenty of information on the web about these things. Don't be afraid to do your own research.