new muscovy eggs...

[DVTO2]

My yearling muscovy is just starting to lay her first eggs; three in three days. I seem to remember that the first eggs may not be fertle. Should I be pulling some out? If so, how many? Pros and cons?

 

[mandelyn]

What do you mean pulling some out? Is she broody, or just laying? Seems unlikely that she would be broody this early in her laying, so you'll likely want to pull them all anyways.

 

[duckyfromoz]

The first eggs laid can be fertile- but they may still not be the best quality for hatching. Shell thickness and texture may vary as well as egg size. If you mark each egg the day it is laid with the date- it will allow you to remove an egg a day for a while and know which is the oldest - or wait til she goes broody and take out some of the oldest eggs.

 

[Bleenie]

One of my young girls laid her fiirst 10 eggs and went broody. I did remove a couple that i felt were too small but she hatched all the rest. She was breeding with the drake for quite a while before she started laying.

 

[DVTO2]

Thank you.

 

[DVTO2]

The nest is in a doghouse (in an enclosed run). After mom hatches the eggs, what will the doghouse need to help mom brood the ducklings? Do I need to separate the drake from the the duck and her brood?