This duck refuses to lay eggs!

[Miss Lydia]

@Saigey as far as I can tell by the pictures you post your little ones look very healthy. As long as she is acting normal and doesn’t appear in distress I wouldn’t worry I have a goose who is 8 yrs old she hasn’t laid in 4 years. If concerned a vet could do xrays to look at her reproductive trac but just my opinion if she’s healthy and doesn’t lay it’s a blessing having lost a few to egg laying problems it’s heart breaking.

 

[Saigey]

@Saigey as far as I can tell by the pictures you post your little ones look very healthy. As long as she is acting normal and doesn’t appear in distress I wouldn’t worry I have a goose who is 8 yrs old she hasn’t laid in 4 years. If concerned a vet could do xrays to look at her reproductive trac but just my opinion if she’s healthy and doesn’t lay it’s a blessing having lost a few to egg laying problems it’s heart breaking.

Hello Miss Lydia! She doesn't seem to be acting out of sorts, and when I press on her little pooch, she doesn't react, I don't feel any warmth, bumps, or rumbling, and I don't get a poop explosion, so maybe she's just getting nice and round!

 

[Saigey]

Hello Miss Lydia! She doesn't seem to be acting out of sorts, and when I press on her little pooch, she doesn't react, I don't feel any warmth, bumps, or rumbling, and I don't get a poop explosion, so maybe she's just getting nice and round!

She is very offended that I called her round.

 

[Saigey]

Downey is also VERY offended that I called his lady round.

 

[Saigey]

Downey is also VERY offended that I called his lady round.

So far, so good. They really haven't minded staying inside, since we've had some stormy weather and my dad has been relentless on the lawnmower/tractor. They did get a swim in their pool outside (no foraging, though!) and they get to swim in their indoor heated pool (the bathtub) when they don't go out, so they've been pretty chipper. Hemmie has been building her nest quite a bit at night and in the early morning, but no eggs yet. I looked at her feathers closely, and she's STILL growing feathers back in from her big molt that happened a couple of months ago. That might explain some of it. Either way, happy ducks, happy me!
Now, if I can just get them to be friends with the little wood duck.

 

[Stipenvlerk]

I'm okay without eggs, as long as they're happy, healthy duckies! I just want to be sure she isn't trying to be the first duck to give live birth . I mainly just want to be sure she doesn't have any health issues. I got them primarily as pets, and they're my snuggly little cuties, so I'm not counting on them to produce eggs.

Lovely ducks!

 

[Saigey]

Lovely ducks!

Thank you!

 

[Saigey]

Update! I do believe the area the ducks were foraging in was either too acidic or too sandy, or maybe even is too much powdery Alabama clay.
After about a week with no free foraging (and mostly bathtub baths due to stormy days) both ducks are still quite happy. Hemmie, the female that has been on an egg laying strike, has been much more energetic, enthusiastic, and more peppy in general. The drake is his usual silly self.
Hemmie has showed renewed interest in her nest, and this morning stayed on it instead of getting up to take the morning mini bath/stretch. About an hour or two after normal, she finally came out of the nesting box and cheerfully came with the drake to hop in the bath.
Now, here's an added curiosity. This morning, when the ducks got in the bath, there was a little bit of what looked like toilet paper floating around. I scooped it up with a cup, and it didn't come apart. There was no sign of a yolk anywhere, not in her nesting box, either, but could this have been a bit of failed eggshell? Right after the bath Hemmie went straight to nibble on her oyster shells and is happy and perky.
Thoughts? Suggestions? I guess I need to build them some kind of outdoor enclosure but somehow dig up the soil and replace it, maybe?

 

[chickenaskquestion]

Unfortunatley, some ducks cannot lay eggs. They lay a few eggs then just stop.

Oh by the way you got some very beautiful ducks there. Can you tell the breed?

 

[Saigey]

They are Australian Spotted.