Peanut laid an egg!!! Now what??

[PeanutnCashew]

So, I still bring my ducks inside at night and they go out in morning. I was cleaning the inside sleep area and there it was!! What should I do?

 

[Mum]

Eat it?

Congratulations on your egg

 

[PeanutnCashew]

Ha..I wont be eating it.

Because she doesnt have access to where she laid it except at night, should I move it? Should I incubate it?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

uumm you collect them and eat them!!! great for breakfast and in baked goods. Never a good idea to incubate the first laid eggs, and never incubate a single egg.

I have said it before, and i am sure i will say it again and again. Just because a duck lays an egg doesnt mean it has to be incubated (by her or you)

 

[zooweemama]

uumm you collect them and eat them!!! great for breakfast and in baked goods. Never a good idea to incubate the first laid eggs, and never incubate a single egg.

I have said it before, and i am sure i will say it again and again. Just because a duck lays an egg doesnt mean it has to be incubated (by her or you)

I can't imagine trying to incubate every egg- that could be over 100 eggs a year!

 

[PeanutnCashew]

she laid another and then stepped on it..

I have kids, so this is their first experience. They do not want to eat the eggs of their pets, so with eggs dropping in various places, what do you recommend?

 

[Miss Lydia]

she laid another and then stepped on it..

I have kids, so this is their first experience. They do not want to eat the eggs of their pets, so with eggs dropping in various places, what do you recommend?

I steam my duck eggs and fed them to my dogs, excellent source of protein and their coats show it.

 

[Mum]

So, I still bring my ducks inside at night and they go out in morning. I was cleaning the inside sleep area and there it was!! What should I do?

she laid another and then stepped on it..

I have kids, so this is their first experience. They do not want to eat the eggs of their pets, so with eggs dropping in various places, what do you recommend?

Because she has newly come into lay, it is not unusual for her to lay her eggs where she feels like.

So, how to get her to lay her eggs in a regular place? Firstly, you say she has an indoor sleep area, in that case you can put a golf ball, or a dummy egg in her sleep/nest area and that will encourage her to lay her eggs there. Actually, as you don't intend to eat the egg, you could hardboil that and put that into the sleep area as a reminder of where to lay an egg.
Secondly, when they get into the swing of things, they will mainly have laid their eggs by 8am, so, keeping her in until that time of the day may be helpful.
Thirdly, encouraging your children to understand where food comes from is something I feel quite at ease with and partly why I have chickens and ducks. But, I appreciate not every feels that way; it does beg the question though: How would your children know if they are eating their "pet" eggs or shop bought eggs?

Unless you explicitly announce "today we are eating eggs from Walmart", your children are very unlikely to know

Besides, it is one way of being 'rewarded' for the expense of duck keeping in terms of both time and money.

 

[PeanutnCashew]

Because she has newly come into lay, it is not unusual for her to lay her eggs where she feels like.

So, how to get her to lay her eggs in a regular place? Firstly, you say she has an indoor sleep area, in that case you can put a golf ball, or a dummy egg in her sleep/nest area and that will encourage her to lay her eggs there. Actually, as you don't intend to eat the egg, you could hardboil that and put that into the sleep area as a reminder of where to lay an egg.
Secondly, when they get into the swing of things, they will mainly have laid their eggs by 8am, so, keeping her in until that time of the day may be helpful.
Thirdly, encouraging your children to understand where food comes from is something I feel quite at ease with and partly why I have chickens and ducks. But, I appreciate not every feels that way; it does beg the question though: How would your children know if they are eating their "pet" eggs or shop bought eggs?

Unless you explicitly announce "today we are eating eggs from Walmart", your children are very unlikely to know

Besides, it is one way of being 'rewarded' for the expense of duck keeping in terms of both time and money.

Hi Mum, thanks for the reply Peanut is laying now in same spot inside. She has laid 10 eggs so far.


I totally understand what you mean about eating the eggs as just a mental block, and I think its because we do not know if they are fertile. What are the chances of this first batch being fertile? How long will she keep laying an egg everyday?

Thanks!

 

[Mum]

The eggs being fertile doesn't make any difference to eating; the only difference it would make is if you want to hatch fertile eggs

I don't keep Pekins, so I'm not experienced in their egg laying habits; hopefully someone with more experience of the breed will come along and be able to answer that part.