New, naive, and completely lost!!!

[JadeComputerGal]

Speaking of questions, I know you only use your duck eggs for ducklings but my KC's eggs are significantly increasing in weight the more she lays. She has only laid 5 eggs and been very consistent. My Pekin skipped one day and has laid every day since. Not the KC. She has laid every singe day since day one of laying.

I know with chickens the older the chicken, the bigger the egg. Is this true for ducks as well or is it just that their "egg making machines" are ramping up?

This is a 2015 KC, right? It's normal for duck eggs to get somewhat larger after the start of the laying season, even if they're in their second season or beyond. My girls start their season with very tiny eggs, ones that aren't of any use for anything. Also, even if they stop laying for a time during the season, then start again, the first few eggs are sometimes abnormally small.

Anyway, I guess that was my long way of saying I see the difference in egg sizes more within the season than from season to season. The normal size eggs from each season don't seem any larger to me than they did the season before. Maybe others who've had difference experiences will respond. You've got me wondering if this could vary from breed to breed. There are many breeds I've never owned.

 

[lynss94]

This is a 2015 KC, right? It's normal for duck eggs to get somewhat larger after the start of the laying season, even if they're in their second season or beyond. My girls start their season with very tiny eggs, ones that aren't of any use for anything. Also, even if they stop laying for a time during the season, then start again, the first few eggs are sometimes abnormally small.

Anyway, I guess that was my long way of saying I see the difference in egg sizes more within the season than from season to season. The normal size eggs from each season don't seem any larger to me than they did the season before. Maybe others who've had difference experiences will respond. You've got me wondering if this could vary from breed to breed. There are many breeds I've never owned.

Yes, both Pepper (KC) and Ollie (Pekin) were born in February of this year. I weighed her (Pepper's) first egg, it weighed 1.86oz, yesterday's was 2.01oz, and today's was even heavier and about the same size as the Ollie's egg which has been weighing about 2.20oz.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Yes, both Pepper (KC) and Ollie (Pekin) were born in February of this year. I weighed her (Pepper's) first egg, it weighed 1.86oz, yesterday's was 2.01oz, and today's was even heavier and about the same size as the Ollie's egg which has been weighing about 2.20oz.

LOL. It's always fun for me when I witness the birth of a new duckaholic, and I think you qualify. I gave up on egg-weighing long ago, though I can understand why you might do that if you're thinking of selling them.

 

[lynss94]

LOL. It's always fun for me when I witness the birth of a new duckaholic, and I think you qualify. I gave up on egg-weighing long ago, though I can understand why you might do that if you're thinking of selling them.

I do plan on selling some

Ollie's class in the Extra-Large right now and Pepper's in the large. However, this morning's may be Extra-Large for miss Pepper. I got my first "customer" my grandparent's to eat some, they LOVED them. Said when am I bringing the next batch.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

I do plan on selling some

Ollie's class in the Extra-Large right now and Pepper's in the large. However, this morning's may be Extra-Large for miss Pepper. I got my first "customer" my grandparent's to eat some, they LOVED them. Said when am I bringing the next batch.

LOL. Your excitement over all this has made me laugh more than once, like now. I don't get that excited unless I have babies in lockdown, but you bring back memories of the days I was on cloud nine over getting each egg.

Are you not planning on ever having any babies? I can't remember you saying you were interested in that.

 

[eilis83]

You all know so much lol! Wow, I came to the right place.

 

[eilis83]

From what I understand, Muscovy can breed with mallard derived breeds, but the offspring will be 'mules,' good for meat, but all the eggs laid by the cross breeds will be infertile. Rouens are a dual-purpose breed that produces lots of eggs and are also good for meat.

I have never looked into Rouens. I will have to do more research, apparently! I just keep learning more and more

 

[lynss94]

LOL. Your excitement over all this has made me laugh more than once, like now. I don't get that excited unless I have babies in lockdown, but you bring back memories of the days I was on cloud nine over getting each egg.

Are you not planning on ever having any babies? I can't remember you saying you were interested in that.

Bringing laughter is always a great thing. I am "not allowed" another duck.

I never really looked into the Rouen...Thanks! I will do some more research.

Another duck bred for meat is the Pekin. They're generally the duck that you eat when you order duck at a restaurant.

 

[eilis83]

From what I have seen the muscovy males can be pretty darn big for non-muscovy females. You may want to choose a larger breed or go with a good all purpose breed such as the Rouen.

Personally I love my Welsh Harlequins. I only have them for eggs and boy do they lay, however they are supposed to be good meat birds as they have a white carcas. They are on the small side though.

The Welsh Harlequins are sooo pretty and I read that they were wonderful layers. My family has had duck eggs before and we LOVE them. Taste, texture-all of it is delicious. I need to make sure whatever breed I get are wonderful layers too. We eat on average 6-8 eggs a day. Fried, scrambled, boiled, poached, omelets, frittatas, quiche. We are an egg family!! Im just worried that an all purpose breed wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

The Welsh Harlequins are sooo pretty and I read that they were wonderful layers. My family has had duck eggs before and we LOVE them. Taste, texture-all of it is delicious. I need to make sure whatever breed I get are wonderful layers too. We eat on average 6-8 eggs a day. Fried, scrambled, boiled, poached, omelets, frittatas, quiche. We are an egg family!! Im just worried that an all purpose breed wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand.

Dual purpose is fine for you as long as one of the main purposes is laying, and it is with WH. I actually didn't know they were considered a dual purpose duck. I thought people bought them for beauty, egg laying, and pets. They lay a lot of eggs.

As far as meat ducks go, Rouen might not be your best choice. I don't pretend to be an authority on this since I don't eat duck, even ducks I've never personally known. I actually get a little wigged out discussing the topic, but I try to educate myself about various aspects of the breeds by reading here and talking with locals, many of whom are farmers.

Rouens can take a good while to get to butchering age, 6 months or so, I think. The meat is supposedly very good, but you also want to factor in what the bird (meal) is costing you. If you have to feed and otherwise care for a bird for that long, you might find that the meal would cost more than you want to pay. They also don't present on a table as well as light birds like Pekins, which might not be important to you if you're using it for family meals. You really should look into Pekins, which are another dual purpose duck. The ducks lay a lot of eggs, and the drakes mature to butchering age much more quickly than Rouens. You won't get that from Rouens because they're not good layers.