Make it stop! My duck won't take a break from laying eggs

[CoriM]

Thanks for the info. For some reason I thought that it would be fine just to keep them up a few hours past dark, but that it was bad to keep a light in their coop while they're sleeping. I will move them back gradually. I set their light timer to 7 tonight.

 

[austroberta]

Nope. Besides hormone implants to permanently make her stop, there's nothing you can do

Thanks. That's too bad. She is healthy and happy now. I'm just wondering if it will affect her health in the future. I'm hoping that eventually she'll molt and take a break, which is what my other duck did.

Should I be giving her supplemental calcium? (Calcium citrate) Her egg shells are getting thinner and thinner. She still is shoveling in the oyster shell calcium, but those egg shells are getting thin.

 

[austroberta]

Excessive egg-laying can result in hypocalcemia, which can also induce other conditions such as egg binding, and osteoporosis; by the sounds of what you've said, due to her laying every day, her calcium supply is diminishing, so the effort to resupply the calcium stores should be more emphasized to better prevent conditions such as egg binding from happening. Unless environmental changes are made, such as reducing light, or inducing broodiness, the only sure way to cease her egg-laying ability would to have either an implant done or a salpingohysterectomy, or administration of a GnRH analog; all ones mentioned having to be performed at a vet office.

For a calcium supplement, you could use calcium gluconate 23% found at your feed store and dose her 1ml daily, or use crush tums, mix it with water, and give her a few drops daily. Offering foods high in vitamin D will help convert the calcium into an absorbable form. Giving her calcium will not decrease her laying, but will help prevent problems from occurring because of her excess laying. If you want to totally stop her egg-laying, you will either need to see a vet or make strict environmental changes.

Thanks Isaac. I think I'll start giving her calcium citrate on a daily basis. Eventually she will molt (has not done so yet) and I will likely stop laying then. Until then, I'm not sure if I can make the environmental changes (complete darkness), as my neighbor keeps his porch light on all night and floods that area with light. Dealing with vets right now (unless absolutely necessary) is too stressful because of the pandemic.

What foods are high in Vitamin D?

 

[austroberta]

My own ducks go to bed from 530pm to 730am year around - in a blacked out coop. (For veterinarian prescribed reproductive reasons, I'm not saying you should do this.) They have no food or water inside. I have verified with my vet that it is ok for them to be without for so long, especially water, and she has said that it is fine as long as they have access to water all day. When they do come out they give their aviary yard a casual search for worms that might have come up in the night before coming to get a drink. Then they just take a couple sips and start to preen. They barely eat for breakfast. Lunch and dinner are their preferred meals.

If I did not need to have my ducks on such a strict year around schedule I would absolutely follow a natural daylight schedule. I feel that it is important to give their bodies a break from the hard work of making eggs, since we are talking about pets.

My ducks follow a similar schedule, but the blacked out coop will be difficult for me, since my neighbor keeps the lights in his yard on all night. I could ask him if he would be willing to install a motion sensor light (more effective against crime anyway), which would darken the area much more than it is now.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

These all popped up as options to see how much vitamin d was in them

 

[austroberta]

These all popped up as options to see how much vitamin d was in them

I wish tomatoes, peas and lettuce were on that list. That's all they like to eat!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Lettuce doesn't really have any vitamins. Peas I'm not sure about and tomatoes are mainly vitamin c

 

[austroberta]

Your birds are so young I wouldn't worry about it unless they are having reproductive problems. Most of my birds were more serious about laying in the winter when they were younger, and slowed down as they got older. Personally, I would let them have a natural daylight schedule - so if you are giving them artificial light at night you might consider stopping that.

Thanks. I hope that will be the case. My one runner duck that was laying like mad until she molted, over 365 days later, was laying lots of soft shelled eggs. I suppose I am worried the same will happen to Selah. I am also worried, as her egg shells are thinning, despite shoveling in the oyster shell. I'll be giving her Calcium citrate, which will hopefully help those egg shells.

 

[austroberta]

The easiest way to stop laying is reduce their light. Also its not abnormal for high egg producing ducks to lay through the first winter. How much daylight are you getting, and any light poloution, like a porch light or street lamp? If You can squint and read a newspaper its not dark enough.

Unfortunately my neighbor keeps his side door light on all night and it's enough light to flood their coop. : (

 

[austroberta]

In “Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks”, Dave Holderead talks about force-molting his ducks to give them a break from laying. It sounds pretty rough but basically you withhold food and water, for a couple DAYS, which forces them to stop laying and molt. He says the best time to force-molt ducks is when egg production is slowing and it isn’t too cold. It takes several weeks before laying resumes. The this is basically his schedule:
1st day: Discontinue any artificial light and remove all water and feed.
2nd and 3rd day’s: Provide drinking water but no feed.
4th day: Start feeding again but feed only whole oats free choice.
18th day: In addition to the oats supply high protein waterfowl feed in a separate bowl.
42nd day: Gradually replace oats and high protein feed with layer feed.

I have accidentally caused my ducks to do something like this when I switched their feed because the feed store stopped carrying what I was using. I am curious what you think of this Isaac O? Good or bad idea?

Oh my gosh. I wouldn't have the heart to do that, unless the vet told me 'she'll die if you don't.'