OMG I am so excited !!!!!!

[Canadian Wind]

Beautiful egg, well done.

I know the troubles of dealing with depression, I'll be on meds the rest of my life. The ducks are my happy place, when I feel overwhelmed, I go sit with them and the chickens. It's what helps me too.

Just remember that if you're in that dark place, reach out and we'll listen. And feel free to PM me if you need to.

 

[ProudRedneck]

Actually, you should know by about a week if you candle them. You'll be able to see the red veins inside at that point.

"Candle them" is the same as what I was saying about shining a light through the shell.....right? Am I using the wrong terminology or ..... @Miss Lydia are you being silly and pulling my ?

I knew nothing about raising ducks until 6 months ago but I have been trying to learn and absorb as much information as possible, not just about the breeds I have but about others that I may have in the future.
I can already tell by Daisy's mating during "off-season" that I will need to get two more girls for him and have them old enough to mate before spring comes because....God help Daffy if I don't

 

[Canadian Wind]

Actually, you should know by about a week if you candle them. You'll be able to see the red veins inside at that point.

 

[ProudRedneck]

I need to set up a trail camera or something to watch these kinds of interactions!
At least she knows the egg is there and she's been caring for it.

I have a small solar powered wifi camera mounted in the corner of my run since I don't have power ran out there. Got it off Amazon for $70.

 

[ProudRedneck]

Daffy Flamingo Dancing

Daffy Laying her Second Egg

Daffy's Second Egg in Slow Motion

 

[Miss Lydia]

Did you know Elephant ears are poisonous? I had to get rid of my fox glove because it is poisonous to my birds.

 

[Canadian Wind]

She's been laying a lot. I'm not surprised she's been depleting her calcium reserves. The Calcium Gluconate is probably not a bad idea.

You love her and don't want anything happening to her, so no, you aren't overreacting. But, you shouldn't dwell on the might-have-beens.

 

[Canadian Wind]

See that white dot on the second picture? It doesn't have a ring around it, so no, it wasn't fertilized.

 

[DukesDucks]

My 2 cents worth of thoughts:
I realize that you find it hard but you need to stop thinking of every egg as a potential duckling.
Collect daily until spring. I know it is warmer where you are but for many of us it is way to late to even consider letting poultry hatch eggs.
If you find it difficult to use the eggs yourself, consider selling them. If you don't wash them, they can be stored on the counter for several weeks. Then you can sell by the dozen.
Late spring you can start watching for any broody behaviour. Date every egg. Brooding is when she rarely leaves the nest, and then only for food, water, and swimming if you have a pool. She does not need these provided inside coop. Remove any eggs that are more than a week old. I stand to be corrected, but I think she will stop adding to the clutch if broody. Hatch date is determined by when she goes truly broody but can be more or less days than expected. We'll help you out with that.
You also need to consider what you are going to do with the results. Lets imagine that of your first batch, 10 ducklings had hatched. Do you plan to keep another 10 ducks? What happens if most of them are drakes? I can't imagine you would be prepared to eat any, but are you going to be able to sell them?

 

[ProudRedneck]

SO made the cake we discussed with a few of Daffy's most recent eggs. He decorated it so there was no doubt we were using them as a celebration and in honor of Daffy's hard work.

#28, 30, and 31 were the chosen ones.