Laying eggs unusually

[Lauren84]

Hello all,
On Tuesday when I came home my 8 month old Indian Runner Custard seemed very quiet and still. Not her usual cheeky self. Shortly after this she laid an egg without a proper shell, it had a sort of soft membrane. Now this was unusual because Custard has been laying 2 eggs a day for around a month now but they always have a hard shell & she only lays in her house during the night/ early evening.

I was concerned that maybe Custard had not consumed enough oyster shell grit or vitamins that day so made sure to give her some food with rooster booster and her grit. I waited a few hours but she was still not herself and I was concerned that she appeared to be standing still and pushing her vent. I was worried but she was still going to the toilet which I took as a good sign.

Yesterday morning I did wake the ducks up earlier than usual and I saw no egg in their house. I fed and watered them, letting them free range and Custard laid a healthy egg whilst she was eating her breakfast. She then kept going into the flower beds and their run, nesting seeming like she would lay a second egg.Shortly after she did, this one had large lumps of calcium on the shell and was a bit mishapen. She then started nesting again but did not lay any more eggs.

I’m a first time duck keeper and was not sure if this was normal or if it was something I should be more concerned about. Custard has never behaved like this before with the nesting & only had problem laying the day that she started. Its also pretty cold in England this week which I thought might be the cause? Is there anything that I can do to help Custard?

Many thanks

 

[Jenbirdee]

custard is adorable !​

she’s still pretty young and pretty new at laying so i think she’s working out the new beginner “ kinks” in her system. It’s not good for her to keep laying two eggs a day anyway so maybe she’s in transition now to one per day. . keep her oyster shell flakes in a separate dish from her food and let her eat as much as she wants to. @Miss Lydia @cheezenkwackers​

 

[Lauraduck]

I have 4 female runners and mine are prolific layers. I have found that no matter what I do, their egg laying doesn't slow down, so the only way to manage it is to give them tons of extra nutrients. If they have laying troubles, I add a few ml of calcium gluconate to their food, just to supplement the oyster shell they already eat. This has helped them a lot. You can order it off Amazon. Look for Durvet Calcium Gluconate.
Oh and Custard is absolutely adorable, as is her name