Runner Egg questions

[Thassa]

What age should my runner start laying? (she was born mid april) I have been finding a really light green egg in the morning that I thought was an easter egger egg and the lightbulb came on today that they might be duck eggs. How do I tell if it is a duck or hen egg? Its about the size of a large hen egg.

I really feel stupid that I can't tell, but I have about 20 new hens that are or are close to starting to lay and I'm still learning who is leaving me what.

 

[FluffyDucklings]

I have heard ducks start laying eggs at 16 weeks old, and i did a quick goole search and yes, runner duck eggs do sometimes have a greenish tint. Im new to raising ducks and i dont have runner ducks ( i have 2 4 week old buff ducklings and 2 1 week old caygua ducklings) so i may not be right so i would wait until a more experienced runner duck owner posts something

 

[inkedlady]

One of my runner ducks started laying 2 weeks ago and her eggs where a light green colour then this week we had 2 green eggs for 3 days and now 2 days at just one egg again being a mother to these ducks is great but frustrating at times lol

 

[JimArcher]

Green eggs are common in ducks. Usually more tint when they first start to lay and then the tint gets lighter. Ducks lay on the floor and hens in nests (I hope they have raised nests). Make the duck a box on the floor in a corner or beside a wall. Put straw in it. Ducks lay very early (before 7 a.m.) and hens generally later. Hens cackle after laying and ducks do not. Duck eggs have a thicker, tougher shell and the texture is very different - usually a bit shiny. Duck eggs have a very thick white. When broken out they stand up very high. Do not flatten out so much as a chicken egg. Duck eggs that are green are usually darker near the large end and the color is not even.

 

[Thassa]

Thanks everyone for the help. The hens do have lots of nesting boxes, but as I said, I have a bunch of new layers in the flock so they leave me eggs in weird places on occasion, these eggs have actually been under one of the boxes. Even the older girls have quirks sometimes, one year old polish hen lays her eggs up on a shelf 10' up from the floor. I put a basket up there for her so they don't roll off.