We have a drake!

[Worleyfarm]

My daughter wanted ducks for the farm, so we got her 4. They are now about 23 weeks old and we noticed about 3 weeks ago one of them pinning down the others in their pool and getting on top of them. We had previously (around 15 weeks old) vented them and saw nothing. Well 3 days ago we got our first duck egg! 2 days ago, while watching them in pool, i was visually able to confirm that our sweet Daisy was a DRAKE, an image i wish to forget! We got the ducks for their eggs, so here is my question......How long can we let the eggs sit on counter before we use them? Do we have to refrigerate them? Can we wash them first (if they can be left on counter)? Do we have to pick them up everyday or can they sit in duck coop for a few days before we collect? (The female is not sitting on them). since we have a drake our eggs will more than likely be fertilized. We do not plan on raising any ducklings at this point in time. We have been researching but can only find half answers. Some say wash and use that day, wash and refrigerate, don't refrigerate and a lot of other non helpful info. We just would like to use them to cook with! but may not need to use one or three everyday! I was worried due to the fact that they are more than likely fertilized. My daughter and I are having a hard time with the thought of getting rid of Daisy the Drake. He was a little ill when was a duckling and we had to nurse him back to health and make trips to vet! so he is so sweet and we really don't want to get rid of him BUT we really want to use our duck eggs!!! (my husband wants to make a turducken out of him for thanksgiving!!! NO!!!) Can some help PLEASE!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I pick up eggs daily brush off any thing really nasty and refrigerate then when I go to use them I wash real well under warm water all my duck eggs are fertile they taste no different than non fertile enjoy and giveDaisy a reprieve

 

[Jpat]

venting a 15 week old duck mustve been thrilling haha

Why exactly cant you keep him? fertile eggs are no different than sterile

Mabye i missed the point

 

[PirateGirl]

I adopted 4 ducks. 3 females and 1 drake. Let me say that he is so good to his ladies in general, looks out for them, lets them eat first, etc. You will hear horror stories about drakes, but honestly, it can all work out totally fine if you only have one. I also have my ducks for eggs. I feel that if I could also give a drake a home, it was a fair compromise, my ducks feed me and I take care of them, including their drake.

Fertilized or not, the eggs do not need to be refrigerated. When I have an overabundance of eggs, I refrigerate the older ones. When I have just enough eggs, they sit on the counter. IF you WASH your eggs, they need to go into the fridge because you will have washed off the protective bloom and they will be susceptible to bacteria.

Ducks are dirty. Ducks make mud puddles for fun. Ducks play in the rain. Ducks are not picky about where they lay their eggs and you will find them in the mud puddles that they made. For these reasons, often duck eggs are dirty, as in visibly muddy. When the eggs are dirty, I still leave them on the counter, but will wash them with warm water immediately prior to cooking them. Also for this reason I try and collect eggs every day. Duck eggs that don't get collected daily have a way of getting dirtier and broken because they often just get laid on the ground and could get stepped on, kicked, etc.

If a duck is not sitting on the eggs 24/7 and you don't collect them daily and it's been a few days, even if fertile, they will not develop and will still be safe to collect and eat. If you are ever in doubt about the safety of eating an egg you can always crush it and feed it back to the ducks, shell and all; it's good for them. Alternately you can candle it/hold it up to the light and be sure it's not developing (it makes me feel better before I crack it if it's an egg I found buried in the straw and I'm not sure how long it was there).

Enjoy your eggs!

 

[Worleyfarm]

venting a 15 week old duck mustve been thrilling haha

Why exactly cant you keep him? fertile eggs are no different than sterile

Mabye i missed the point

Because of everything we have read so far basically said we had to use them that day if they were fertilized and we knew we would not be able to do that. But if we can keep them for a bit, then Daisy can stay!
Thanks so much!

 

[NoahSully]

so he is so sweet and we really don't want to get rid of him BUT we really want to use our duck eggs!!!

You can still eat fertilized duck eggs, I would collect them daily

 

[PirateGirl]

Because of everything we have read so far basically said we had to use them that day if they were fertilized and we knew we would not be able to do that. But if we can keep them for a bit, then Daisy can stay!
Thanks so much!

You can definitely still use them! I ate a fertile duck egg last night that was laid at least 2 weeks ago (we have so many eggs this time of year), and I plan on keeping them all as long as possible heading into winter because we won't get as many eggs as often from our flock.

 

[Worleyfarm]

venting a 15 week old duck mustve been thrilling haha

Why exactly cant you keep him? fertile eggs are no different than sterile

Mabye i missed the point

I adopted 4 ducks. 3 females and 1 drake. Let me say that he is so good to his ladies in general, looks out for them, lets them eat first, etc. You will hear horror stories about drakes, but honestly, it can all work out totally fine if you only have one. I also have my ducks for eggs. I feel that if I could also give a drake a home, it was a fair compromise, my ducks feed me and I take care of them, including their drake.

Fertilized or not, the eggs do not need to be refrigerated. When I have an overabundance of eggs, I refrigerate the older ones. When I have just enough eggs, they sit on the counter. IF you WASH your eggs, they need to go into the fridge because you will have washed off the protective bloom and they will be susceptible to bacteria.

Ducks are dirty. Ducks make mud puddles for fun. Ducks play in the rain. Ducks are not picky about where they lay their eggs and you will find them in the mud puddles that they made. For these reasons, often duck eggs are dirty, as in visibly muddy. When the eggs are dirty, I still leave them on the counter, but will wash them with warm water immediately prior to cooking them. Also for this reason I try and collect eggs every day. Duck eggs that don't get collected daily have a way of getting dirtier and broken because they often just get laid on the ground and could get stepped on, kicked, etc.

If a duck is not sitting on the eggs 24/7 and you don't collect them daily and it's been a few days, even if fertile, they will not develop and will still be safe to collect and eat. If you are ever in doubt about the safety of eating an egg you can always crush it and feed it back to the ducks, shell and all; it's good for them. Alternately you can candle it/hold it up to the light and be sure it's not developing (it makes me feel better before I crack it if it's an egg I found buried in the straw and I'm not sure how long it was there).

Enjoy your eggs!

Thank you so much for this! Everyone! I am going to go bake a cake now with my eggs!!! So excited

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yum!!

 

[llombardo]

I have two girls and a boy. Love my boy. I clean off any large debris off the eggs, put them in a Basket on the counter. I wash them off before I use them. Eggs are a part of my dogs diet, so they get duck eggs at least once a week and they love them.