Pekin Duck Club!

[Bducky]

Have your ducks laid a squishy egg before?? Last night Derpette laid an egg in her pool, and we did not bother getting it out. this morning we got it out and it was all squishey! i was laughing soo hard. That is what happens when you leave eggs in water. lol

 

[mandycarlo]

Mine laid one that was half hard and soft should have took a pic oddest egg in have ever seen then one that the whole thing was soft got them on better feed and there eggs are nice now guess it was because it was there first batch of eggs but im glad it stopped lol

 

[Strawberryswyrl]

I am new to raising ducks and this forum. I have a male and female Pekin duck and they're about 6 months old. They've been through a lot...an owner who only wanted them for a few weeks because they were cute, Mama Duck had her beak almost split in two when a turtle attacked her, living in a pond straight alone from being fed everyday, etc. I somehow ended up with them and I couldn't be happier! They are a great stress reliever, aren't they? I've read a bit about them, but I would really like some input on the food I give them. I started out just on cracked corn. They ate it but not much of it. Then I started giving them my dog's good, Blue Buffalo brand, which they enjoy. Next I added some greens I found growing around the pond they used to be in. They really love this. My final mix is spinach, kale, bok choy, some dog food, diced carrots, and frozen peas. Occasionally I'll throw in some corn. Thy have gained weight and seem very healthy. Mama Duck even started laying eggs yesterday and she's given me two eggs so far! Could some experienced Pekin parents please let me know if the food I'm giving them is nutritional enough for them? They are in a fenced in area with a 6' kids plastic pool that's about a foot deep. I change the pool water twice a day. They have a 2'x6' box to nest in but they stay in the water most of the time. Any input and advice is much appreciated! Thanks, y'all!

A few posts ago I talked about raising my ducks on Purina ONE dog food (chicken or beef) plus whatever they get from free-ranging in the backyard. I was going to switch to Blue Buffalo dog food thinking it would be better before I realized it would be worse because the protein content is too high and concentrated and the filler that ducks need has been removed. But I will be feeding mine no grain or anything else but the Purina dog chow when these two babies that come in become adults, so it works for us. But you giving yours corn and grain plus a little bit of Blue Buffalo dog food mixed with it would be a good idea as long as they have plenty of water right there with 'em to wash it down Also, here's a link with a list of a bunch of plants that ducks cannot eat for various reasons, ranging from a minor ailment to death. I have a lot of this growing in my backyard and have to figure out what to do. Some of it is stuff we eat. Although spinach is not listed, for some reason I always read from different sites that you're not supposed to feed it to ducks. Well, pay attention and note any ill effects like wheezing, dizziness or diharreaha. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/627282/comprehensive-list-of-poisonous-plants-and-trees Obviously I'm not gonna tear up my whole yard and uproot my azaleas and honeysuckle and ivies because of the ducks, because they would have to ingest a lot of this to die or whatever, but I won't be fencing them in anywhere near these plants and will keep an eye out on them when they are out nibbling. They do tend to just go for the bugs, anyway! I just posted this for people who like to feed leaves to their birds to make sure you don't go and serve these leaves right on up to them and speed up the demise of your beakies

 

[Pool Girl]

Thanks for the input, Strawberry. I saw your post about the dog food and that's what prompted me to make my post. I am going to go through that list of plants as I still pick leaves around the yard to give them also. They love dandelions and milkweed. Hope those two are ok! As for the spinach, they've been on it for at least a month now and I don't see any side effects, other than them getting heavier and louder lol! But I'll look more into that just to be sure. Thanks!!

 

[Amiga]

Have your ducks laid a squishy egg before?? Last night Derpette laid an egg in her pool, and we did not bother getting it out. this morning we got it out and it was all squishey! i was laughing soo hard. That is what happens when you leave eggs in water. lol

My ducks sometimes lay squishy eggs, they don't have a shell. It means they either aren't getting enough calcium in their diet, or they are not effectivelly using the calcium they get. In the long term, this can be a concern as it is thought to be associated with egg binding, weak bones and heart problems.

What sources of calcium is Derpette getting? Layer feed? Oyster shell? I cannot recall if you have explained this before so I apologize if I am asking you to repeat.

 

[Bducky]

I feed my ducks Dumor with some scratcch feed mixed in. And my duck didn't lay the squishey egg, the water just made the shell soft. It was the third egg she laid that day, so it might not have had a very strong shell. She only normally lays 1-2 eggs per day.

 

[Amiga]

I feed my ducks Dumor with some scratcch feed mixed in. And my duck didn't lay the squishey egg, the water just made the shell soft. It was the third egg she laid that day, so it might not have had a very strong shell. She only normally lays 1-2 eggs per day.

Hmmmmm

 

[mandycarlo]

I think you have more then one girl bducky :0 have you candled your eggs to see if there fertile yet???

 

[Strawberryswyrl]

I think you have more then one girl bducky :0 have you candled your eggs to see if there fertile yet???

Lol I said the same a bunch of posts ago and explained, but haven't seen a reply...

 

[chicken pickin]

Lol I said the same a bunch of posts ago and explained, but haven't seen a reply...

X2

I mentioned it also a few posts back

I think there are two females