My female ducks aren't laying eggs - they are over a year old

[nowasgrl]

I have 4 ducks of mixed breeds - two males and two females. They are all very happy and healthy

however..............my females have not as of yet layed 1 single egg. This just seems strange and I wondered if anyone else has ever come across this.

 

[katharinad]

It would help, if you stated what breed. Perhaps they need a change in feed.

 

[cracking up]

If you're sure you have females you should be getting eggs. They hide them pretty well. My muscovy finds cave like places to lay and my runners bury them. They lay early in the morning.
The other thing you can think about is adequate nutrition.

 

[nowasgrl]

I have no idea what breed of duck they are but will do some checking and see if where we got them knows. They came from a farm that has many different kinds of ducks and lots of interbreeding so it is very likely that they are more than just two mixed breeds. Is there a way to post a pic as I do have some pictures of them?
These are the first ducks that we have ever had and they seem to be doing very well. Their first winter was last winter and they did just fine.
I am sure we have two males and two females........the two males have much darker coloring and their tail feathers have curls. The females look like your average light brown duck in the wild and no curl to their tail feathers. I am personally outside several times a day with the ducks and chickens and there is just no place for the ducks to be hiding their eggs.
If I am not giving them something that they need I would very much like to correct that!!!!!!!!
thanks!!!

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

When I had ducks, they would lay sometimes by the pond in the a.m. and the eggs would roll into the pond if they laid on the side that sloped into the water..the ones that laid on the flatter side, I always got their eggs fine.

 

[Birdcrazy]

I agree, ducks are very good at hiding their eggs... even burrying. I've also seen a few older ducks just lay where they are at the time, so the eggs ending up anywhere (cracks, pond, coop).
I hope you figure out the problem

Oh, forgot to add - not sure about where you are, but here we have crows who fly into the coop and steal everyone's chook and duck eggs. So if you haven't got a fully enclosed coop or if they lay while their out maybe they're getting stolen?

 

[dieselgrl48]

Hmmm sound's like for sure they could be hiding them somewhere.I got all new duckling's this year.I have 4 pekin hen's about 5 months old and have been getting an egg from one of them for a few weeks now.Most all of my previous duck hens started to lay around 5 months old.I had one of my Old pekins she used to make a dirt bowl and then scratch hay over her egg's. Mine stay in the horse stall at night so they lay the egg in there. Mine free range during the day and I have checked around places where they go looking for other possible egg's but haven't found anything yet.I really dont feed mine anything special.They get a mix of 15% grower and some scratch grain's whole corn sometimes and free range on the buggs and grass.Hope you figure out what is going on.

 

[katharinad]

Your protein may be to low, because of the scratch you are adding. A laying duck should have 17% of protein. 15% is usually used for non laying ducks or drakes. More protein will force large eggs, which is kind of hard on their system. Oyster shell should be added on the side so the girls can have it as needed. I would also add electrolyte vitamin minerals into their drinking water at least once per month. Twice is better when they are laying. You should also eliminate the sex question, you may only have 4 boys. I know the drake feather is one indicator, but I would back it up up with the quaking test. Grab each of the girls and see if they quack loudly. Another issue is age, could it be that the farmer didn't know their ages and they are all above egg laying age? Do your ducks get enough light? 14-17 hours are needed for egg production. You may need to add a 40 watt lamp on a timer for the duck house. Too much light can put them into stress, so don't keep the light on all night.

 

[ejctm]

I think Kat may be right - you might just have 4 boys. You say the girls are brown, have they changed their colours in the last year, or ever had green heads?

The quack test is a good idea, you should notice a real difference between the boys and the girls. It would really help if you could post a pic of them here too.

Otherwise, I suggest setting up a webcam of some sort, and watching them to see if they really are laying and hiding them somewhere. However, it does seem very unlikely that in a whole year you have not ever found one accidentally even.

Have you ever seen the boys mating with the girls? This can be a dominance thing even between boys (duckback mountain style

) but might throw up a clue.