What do you do with your duck eggs? Keep? Sell? Hatch?

[rainplace]

you can also blow them out and use them for crafts... or sell the blown out eggs to crafts people.

 

[farmin'chick]

We used to call it "Toad in the Hole"

You toast the buttered bread in the fry pan and then flip it, break the egg into the hole, and finish cooking.

Here's an entertaining lesson on making it: http://learning2007.com/p7/rockymountaintoast.pdf

 

[rainplace]

farmin'chick :

We used to call it "Toad in the Hole"

You toast the buttered bread in the fry pan and then flip it, break the egg into the hole, and finish cooking.

Here's an entertaining lesson on making it: http://learning2007.com/p7/rockymountaintoast.pdf

Oh, we call that a "hole in one." lol​

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have regular customers that buy them.

 

[fowlmood]

I prefer to eat the duck eggs. I've also given some away to people who wish to try some and I've put some under a broody chicken and had her hatch them out for me. I've also taken some that were cracked and boiled them up to feed back to the birds. It may sound weird, but birds of all kinds really like hard boiled eggs and it is a good source of protein for them.

How can you tell if an egg is fertile or not without cracking it open? I mean, I know my birds are old enough, but I'm sure there's the occassional unfertilized egg that gets layed. I've had people ask me "now, I'm not going to crack this open and find a baby duck am I"? I tell them, even if they egg were fertile, I collect them everyday so they have not been incubated, therefor, no, no baby duck in the egg you're going to eat. They don't start developing until incubated right? Isn't that how they get them to all hatch out about the same time?

 

[Kansaseq]

I both sell and eat my duck eggs. Not as many people want to buy the duck eggs, so I do end up with more on hand, and gift them to certain neighbors who are friends and do things for me throughout the year (plow my drive, let me ride their horses, etc). I sell mine for $5 a dozen; they are jumbo sized and ducks eat more and are messier than my chickens. I get $2.50 for my chicken eggs.

 

[msdoolittle]

A circle/donut shape means they are fertilized. A dot means they are not. I don't really tell people they are fertile, unless they ask. Not that I am trying to hide the fact, but I just simply don't think about it! And, there is no difference in taste or anything anyway. I used to think, many years ago, that eating fertile eggs was just gross, but that's before I had my own poultry, and I learned what exactly that meant.

And, yes incubation is what starts the eggs' development. I have had people ask me that, too, as if they are going to crack open an egg to find a baby chick peeking out at them. By refrigerating them, you destroy the chance of it developing further. Where you could run into trouble is if you find an egg which a hen has been incubating for a few days. Eww! So, if you collect daily, you won't have this problem.

 

[LilDucky85]

Quote:
I meant when cracking them open, I couldnt remember if the dot, or if the circle meant fertile. I know the only way to tell without cracking them open is to incubate them. After a few days you will know.

Thank you everyone for sharing!! Keep it coming!

 

[fowlmood]

Sorry, I guess I just don't understand. If you are selling them for eating purposes, you tell people they are fertile?

Not trying to cause problems, I just don't even consider it an issue as far as eating goes.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I have found it best to keep a "don't ask don't tell" policy about the eggs' fertility. To folks for whom it is important to know, whether they're looking to obtain or avoid fertile eggs, will be sure to ask. But I've found the ones who don't ask are only more confused, & often unnecessarily misput by Too Much Information. And I advise folks to always crack their eggs in a separate dish before adding them to the pan or mixing bowl. This is a good idea even with store-bought eggs, it makes it handy to fish out any bits of shell or anything else you don't want to include. But especially for fresh eggs, with their thicker shells, and for fertile eggs, which have the potential to have a bit of a surprise, but most likely will not.