What to do with the egg?

[Ankanigor]

Hi!

I am quite new to having ducks (got my first duckling in april). I now have three, two call ducks and one mallard, all the same age.
Today i found my first egg from my call duck, Blanche!
But, what is the best thing to do with the egg? I only keep my ducks for the company and have no intention of eating their eggs. The egg is not fertile since i don’t have a drake.
I want to do the kindest thing to Blanche, that will make her the least confused. Do you think I should take the egg or leave it? I’m afraid that if she lays more eggs and I leave them, she will start to sit on them and be sad when nothing is happening.

Also, I’m a little confused since it is mid november and quite cold. Is it normal for ducks to start laying eggs at this time?

Thankful for any advice!

 

[Ankanigor]

You have to collect the eggs. Always. They are infertile so leaving them is just going to cause them to rot.
If the ducks are not broody, they won't be confused.
Duck eggs are sought after by bakers. You should sell them.

Thank you for your help! It's good to know that Blanche won't mind if I take her egg, since she doesn't seem to be broody!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have found several people who are excited to barter for my ducky eggs. Others are buying them.

I use them for baking myself but with 6 females I am getting far more than my household can use. Just a weeks worth of eggs is paying for a bag of duck feed which is pretty awesome!

 

[416bigbore]

You could scramble them unseasoned and feed them back to them. Then the shells could be dried in the oven and ground up small and mixed back into their food for extra calcium.

 

[Aapomp831]

You could scramble them unseasoned and feed them back to them. Then the shells could be dried in the oven and ground up small and mixed back into their food for extra calcium.

Yes! That’s the best idea. It’s a terrible thing for any food to go to waste when there are hungry people in the world. And duck eggs are so delicious....

 

[reluctant farmer]

We share with the neighbors!

 

[corriemartin]

If you have a dog, you could feed them to the dog.....

Seriously, though, if you're not going to eat them, offer them to your friends. Put them in an egg carton, and when it's full (or half full), offer them to someone. There are LOTS of people who would LOVE to have them.

 

[SulkyBantam]

Thank you, good to know that it's normal for Blanche to lay eggs in november.

Also yes, I'm vegan! But, I know my ducks are happy and I don't think it would be morally wrong to eat their eggs, especially since I don't want them to go to waste either. It's just that I haven't eaten eggs in so many years, it would feel a bit weird.

I see.
I kept chickens primarily for eggs, but now I love them so much I wouldn't care if they never laid again!

 

[Ankanigor]

If you have a dog, you could feed them to the dog.....

Seriously, though, if you're not going to eat them, offer them to your friends. Put them in an egg carton, and when it's full (or half full), offer them to someone. There are LOTS of people who would LOVE to have them.

I actually have a dog and have thought about giving the egg to her, or to give it back to the ducks to eat.
But that's also a nice idea, I might ask som friends if they would be interested in getting eggs!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I actually have a dog and have thought about giving the egg to her, or to give it back to the ducks to eat.
But that's also a nice idea, I might ask som friends if they would be interested in getting eggs!

With as many ducks as you have you will have far more eggs than your dog (unknown size) and ducks can eat without it being way to many for them.

Definitely look for friends/family interested in getting eggs. Other than that selling them is a great idea and can help offset the cost of feed.