Question about eggs

[sandcat]

My ducks havnt laid any eggs yet and ive had them for about 3 months, I have seen the drake mating with the ducks so im thinking ducklings soon(I hope) my question is- when they lay eggs will they sit on them until they hatch? Do ducks have more than 1 lot of ducklings? Im waiting on eggs that we can use for cooking but dont want to touch any that i might find as they might have ducklings inside. If there is a link about duck eggs that ive missed It would be great if someone could redirect me there yes im very new to this so any help would be very much appreciated.

 

[KansasKid]

Ok when your duck does start the egg laying process the first few are usually misshapen, small, and infertile. If you want to (which by reading you don't) you could take the eggs daily like you do for chicken eggs for cooking. If she decides to raise ducklings she will start laying eggs day by day covering them up and sometimes leaving them uncovered (sometimes) until she builds up a good size nest (# depends on breed) and will usually start to sit on them after a week or so (results may differ

) and 28 (more/less) days later poof ducklings.
If they are good layers/mommas they can lay up to three clutches a year.

 

[katharinad]

Fertile eggs will not develop until they are being incubated at about 100 degrees for 4 days. You will never find a surprise in your eggs, if you collect daily and put them into the fridge. That is because they will not start to incubate at all. That is why the egg industry can collect and ship eggs for weeks at a time. OK they usually don't have roosters around, but it is the same principle. The duck will basically lay eggs day after day and they lay idle until she decides to sit of them permanently. Some ducks lay up to 20 eggs before they even start to incubate them. There are no babies developing in those eggs until the mother sits on them for at least 4 days. So no worry as long as you collect the eating eggs daily. Also keep your eggs in the fridge for one week before making hard boiled eggs. They wont peel well if they are to fresh.

 

[sandcat]

Thankyou so much!! both replies were very helpful and all questions answered, I cant wait to start getting some eggs from my ducks. I will take the eggs after reading this, I was just worried about cracking a duckling into the pan but now I know this wont happen(unless the duck has been sitting on them.

 

[katharinad]

You are not the first one who asked this, and it is good to get an answer before having a nasty surprise. Enjoy the eggs.

 

[sandcat]

Thanks

this is a great forum!!