Runner ducks 26 weeks old and still not laying

[Adolfus Nile]

Title says everything. Not too worried about it but i got runner ducks from two sources, one of them started laying around 22 weeks and this other strain of runner seems like its never gonna lay.

 

[Yardmom]

Do you live where the days are shorter this season?

 

[Adolfus Nile]

Yeah we get sunlight from about 8am to 530pm. Definitely shorter.

 

[CuddleNest]

I got a runner duck in August 2021 and 4 months later it still wasn’t laying despite probably being 7 months old. When she came down with a cough, I took her to the vet…as a side question I asked if there was any reason Bonnie wasn’t laying eggs yet. The vet did an exam at Bonnie’s vent and told me that she was starting to grow a penis! It took about 8 months for the transition…snd she/he even went through male puberty in the spring (bubba the drake was really surprised)…and the vet warned me that Bonnie (now Clyde) might be able to fertilize eggs. I had never heard of this before but read on the internet somewhere that if a duck gets sick and the single ovary is damaged, it will stop working…estrogen will not be produced and the duck reverts to a default gender!

Long story short…was your duck sick at any time that know of?

Still, 26 weeks still seems young…though I only have muscovies other than Clyde, so perhaps this is different in other breeds. My Muscovy duckling that hatched in late June and who I thought was a drake laid a big clutch in late December…Baby is a girl!

 

[Adolfus Nile]

I got a runner duck in August 2021 and 4 months later it still wasn’t laying despite probably being 7 months old. When she came down with a cough, I took her to the vet…as a side question I asked if there was any reason Bonnie wasn’t laying eggs yet. The vet did an exam at Bonnie’s vent and told me that she was starting to grow a penis! It took about 8 months for the transition…snd she/he even went through male puberty in the spring (bubba the drake was really surprised)…and the vet warned me that Bonnie (now Clyde) might be able to fertilize eggs. I had never heard of this before but read on the internet somewhere that if a duck gets sick and the single ovary is damaged, it will stop working…estrogen will not be produced and the duck reverts to a default gender!

Long story short…was your duck sick at any time that know of?

Still, 26 weeks still seems young…though I only have muscovies other than Clyde, so perhaps this is different in other breeds. My Muscovy duckling that hatched in late June and who I thought was a drake laid a big clutch in late December…Baby is a girl!

That story is nuts! No the runners have never been sick.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

That is a WILD story, but most likely @Adolfus Nile your duck will start laying in spring. I’ve got 6 ducks who all happened to turn laying age during winter. Only 1, sometimes 2 lay an egg. Not concerning, they should all start laying normally in spring.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Since the days are beginning to lengthen members are beginning to see eggs again so I bet at least by mid feb you should be seeing them too. Then they won't stop lol Be sure to put out oyster shells they will need it.

 

[Adolfus Nile]

That is a WILD story, but most likely @Adolfus Nile your duck will start laying in spring. I’ve got 6 ducks who all happened to turn laying age during winter. Only 1, sometimes 2 lay an egg. Not concerning, they should all start laying normally in spring.

Ah great. Wanted them to start laying so i could hatch some eggs

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Ah great. Wanted them to start laying so i could hatch some eggs

Might need to give them another month or so.

Last year mine started back up early March

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Ah great. Wanted them to start laying so i could hatch some eggs

First eggs are usually small and often infertile. So, I would eat those and wait a few weeks until the eggs are bigger and your drake figures out what he is doing.