Supplements for Laying Ducks

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

I'm curious if anyone has any supplements that they have had good success with for laying ducks? To boost egg production, help with bright yolks, or just general layer health. I think a few of my ducks are getting close to laying and I'll be switching them to a layer feed soon.

 

[Duckiiess]

Are yours free ranging? I'm pretty new to ducks, but for chickens at least the ones that eat bugs/ grubs and such always have better eggs than the ones given only layer feed in a coop/ pen. Some eggs will go missing this way/ get laid in the bushes, so it's not the best if production/ harvest is your concern..

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

Are yours free ranging? I'm pretty new to ducks, but for chickens at least the ones that eat bugs/ grubs and such always have better eggs than the ones given only layer feed in a coop/ pen. Some eggs will go missing this way/ get laid in the bushes, so it's not the best if production/ harvest is your concern..

They have access to about a 1/2 acre yard and part of it has thick grass, but they aren't very good foragers. They never go into the grassy part and spend most of their time sleeping in the shade. When they're hungry, they hang around the gate until feeding time .

 

[Parront]

I give them a pan of oyster shell and don’t change their food. They hate change!

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I agree with free ranging being the best. Here's a picture of one of my duck eggs (darker yolk) next to a store bought "organic free range" duck egg (lighter yolk). My ducks free range from 7am until 7pm and are NOT fed any special layer feed. They are fed Mazuri Waterfowl maintenance and I have no problems with soft eggs. I throw any dirty eggs out in the field when I collect in the mornings and most of the time when I whip them out there they don't even break. When I crack my eggs open the yolk is high, big and plump while the whites are nice and thick.

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

I give them a pan of oyster shell and don’t change their food. They hate change!

I'm not sure if mine will have a problem with it, because they like to glean the chickens layer feed off the ground when the chickens are done and even seem to prefer it to their own.

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

I agree with free ranging being the best. Here's a picture of one of my duck eggs (darker yolk) next to a store bought "organic free range" duck egg (lighter yolk). My ducks free range from 7am until 7pm and are NOT fed any special layer feed. They are fed Mazuri Waterfowl maintenance and I have no problems with soft eggs. I throw any dirty eggs out in the field when I collect in the mornings and most of the time when I whip them out there they don't even break. When I crack my eggs open the yolk is high, big and plump while the whites are nice and thick.
View attachment 2822999

Wow, what a difference! I love it when animals are given a real life and then give you the proof of how much better it is

 

[m0ther_g00se]

My ducks are free-range all the time and it improves the egg quality and flavor tremendously compared to the stuff from the store, as well as giving me an Easter egg hunt every day instead of once a year. Right now they have access to about 1 1/2 acres (though they only use about half an acre of it most of the time) with occasional dried grubs and kitchen veggie scraps as treats. I have reason to believe they're also eating the fruit that's fallen on the ground in the orchard, so I guess they're getting supplements there too. We've never used oyster shells for calcium, but occasionally we'll gather all our egg shells in a bucket, then once the bucket is full we crush up the shells and feed them back to the ducks at meal time along with the pellets and whatever else. It works out pretty well for us, but depending on how good your birds are at foraging/what forage is available to them, results may vary lol

 

[m0ther_g00se]

I agree with free ranging being the best. Here's a picture of one of my duck eggs (darker yolk) next to a store bought "organic free range" duck egg (lighter yolk). My ducks free range from 7am until 7pm and are NOT fed any special layer feed. They are fed Mazuri Waterfowl maintenance and I have no problems with soft eggs. I throw any dirty eggs out in the field when I collect in the mornings and most of the time when I whip them out there they don't even break. When I crack my eggs open the yolk is high, big and plump while the whites are nice and thick.
View attachment 2822999

Agree with Astroduck on this one. Sometimes our yolks are even darker than this too! At the beginning of the season when they're starting to gorge themselves on forage, we'll get eggs that have borderline radioactively orange looking yolks and they look RED inside when you candle them. The first time I picked one up, I thought it was inedible! Boy was I wrong. Really delicious, just a bit concerning if you're not used to them. But as a rule of thumb, I've found that the more orange the yolk is, the more nutritious the egg, and the better the duck that laid it is eating

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

Agree with Astroduck on this one. Sometimes our yolks are even darker than this too! At the beginning of the season when they're starting to gorge themselves on forage, we'll get eggs that have borderline radioactively orange looking yolks and they look RED inside when you candle them. The first time I picked one up, I thought it was inedible! Boy was I wrong. Really delicious, just a bit concerning if you're not used to them. But as a rule of thumb, I've found that the more orange the yolk is, the more nutritious the egg, and the better the duck that laid it is eating

I wish my flock was better at foraging! Maybe I should cut back on their bagged feed and walk them out farther every day. They do have a nice pasture area in their yard to eat from, they just don't go out there.