Laying Age and other questions

[Kerry Harrigan]

I now have 5 female and 3 male ducks. They are 6 months old. When will the females begin laying? Also, they are housed in a 100 sq ft coop with my 15 hens and 1 rooster (Bantam). They sleep in an area under the 6 hen nesting boxes, so I'm guessing they will lay their eggs there? Also, do all female ducks 'laugh'? It does keep my husband and me laughing.

 

[sourland]

A lot will depend upon the breed of duck that you have.

 

[cosbackyard]

My campbells started laying around 4 months old, so as mentioned it'll depend on your breed.

100 sq feet is a little small for them to be in there with the chickens if you keep them in there 24/7. Do they have space to free-range or a run? That could help prevent any behavioral problems that might develop.

Also - duck owners tend to recommend at least two females per male. Drakes are very aggressive breeders and that can lead to injured birds if there aren't enough females to go around. Keep a close eye on them. In particular make sure that your drakes are not trying to mount your chickens. That can kill them.

As for where the ducks will lay - People say anywhere but mine have always built nests and laid in the same spot consistently.

 

[Kerry Harrigan]

They are in the coop just during the night and for laying, but otherwise, they have quite a bit of space to run around during the day. We have two ponds for the ducks, but with two mornings now of single digits, there is a lot (2 inches or so) of ice. We managed to free one pond of the ice this afternoon.

I don't know what breed of ducks I have, but they are very low to the ground. The males (now I know they are called drakes), look almost like mallards. Four of the females are brown and two of them are white. I still need to know if they will nest in the hay I put down for the chickens.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are in the coop just during the night and for laying, but otherwise, they have quite a bit of space to run around during the day. We have two ponds for the ducks, but with two mornings now of single digits, there is a lot (2 inches or so) of ice. We managed to free one pond of the ice this afternoon.

I don't know what breed of ducks I have, but they are very low to the ground. The males (now I know they are called drakes), look almost like mallards. Four of the females are brown and two of them are white. I still need to know if they will nest in the hay I put down for the chickens.

Yes they will if you give them a quiet safe place with nice soft bedding they will lay when the time comes.