Should our ducks take a break from laying eggs

[yarrowhouse]

Our two silver Apple yards are 18 months old, they started laying in January of this year, and have gone pretty much non-stop. Lately it has slowed down most days we get one egg between the pair and about half of those eggs are not fully formed.

Do they need a break from laying? Is there a way to encourage that?

 

[sourland]

The shortening daylight period is starting to cause a normal break in their laying cycle You won't have to do anything.

 

[duckmeister]

If by not fully formed you mean soft shell, then feed them a calcium fortified feed.

 

[Quatie]

They should take a break. I had a duck who didn't ever stop laying and it cut her life short. If they are struggling laying eggs with shells, I would provide calcium citrate + vitamin D until they stop laying for the season.

They should molt soon, and stop laying once that happens. But that doesn't always occur. Last year my saxony didn't molt till April, and that took a toll on her and led to an infection. If she was going delay molting again this year, I would have tried to get a hormone implant to make her molt.

 

[yarrowhouse]

They have both molted. Someone is still laying, or they both are just less frequently.

They have free access to 3 bowls of oyster shells.

 

[Yardmom]

Generally speaking they should naturally take a break during short daylight hours. The only thing to do would be make sure they are not getting any artificial light during the night.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Do you mean softshell eggs? If so how many soft shells have you gotten? If you have had more than a couple and they have oyster shells they may need some calcium gluconate.

 

[yarrowhouse]

Do you mean softshell eggs? If so how many soft shells have you gotten? If you have had more than a couple and they have oyster shells they may need some calcium gluconate.

Soft, broken, incomplete. It happened off and on for over a week. But just 1 per day, from 2 ducks. More recently the eggs have been good, still 1 per day.

So I guess they are slowing down, they had a bump in the road with making solid eggs, and we just have to keep keeping an eye on them.