When are my Khaki Cambells supposed to start laiyng?

[jducour]

Great thanks good to know. So keep them locked up until 8....so does that mean they normally lay before 8 am? Also if they are mating already, will she have a fertile egg and if she does do they typically sit on them or just leave them after she lays them? Also do you have to have different incubators for duck eggs than chicken eggs?

Wow, thanks good to know! Would those eggs still be good? What time does your typically lay?

I have 5 laying ducks, and one that should start any day. Most of the time they lay before 8. Sometimes I will have an egg laid by the pond, or in the middle of the yard, and sometimes one will sneak off to hide a nest. If I go a couple of days with late eggs being laid, I will keep them locked up a half hour later the next day. From what I understand, if you want to hatch their eggs, toss the first couple of eggs ( or eat them - yum!) then start leaving them for her to decide if she wants to brood. Do you live in a climate where you could safely hatch ducklings right now? We are at the beginning of a cold winter, so I won't think about allowing a duck to brood until the spring. I gather the eggs every day to prevent someone going broody.

If I find an egg in a spot I know I checked the day before, I will put it with the rest. We eat all of ours. If I find one, and I don't know when it was laid, I will toss it.

 

[Holland4]

We are in Wisconsin, I don't want any baby ducklings over the winter so I will be gathering them daily. I am pretty sure she hasn't laid yet.....when I get home today I am going to try to check her pelvis and see if I can tell. Every morning I go out and turn their coop light on around 6 and then let them out. For the last month we have been only letting them in a small run that's attached to the coop so the chickens learned to lay in their nesting boxes in the coop. My husband works from home so he was able to go out every hour or so and check for eggs (chicken) and then about noon or 1pm he lets them all out to free range. That really worked well because all of our chickens now go back in the coop to lay. So I am assuming that if my duck started laying she would have laid in the coop, right? It's only been since Saturday that they have been out all day. So I guess I will maybe wait until after 8 or so to let them all out. We keep our chickens and ducks together in the same coop.

 

[jducour]

We are in Wisconsin, I don't want any baby ducklings over the winter so I will be gathering them daily. I am pretty sure she hasn't laid yet.....when I get home today I am going to try to check her pelvis and see if I can tell. Every morning I go out and turn their coop light on around 6 and then let them out. For the last month we have been only letting them in a small run that's attached to the coop so the chickens learned to lay in their nesting boxes in the coop. My husband works from home so he was able to go out every hour or so and check for eggs (chicken) and then about noon or 1pm he lets them all out to free range. That really worked well because all of our chickens now go back in the coop to lay. So I am assuming that if my duck started laying she would have laid in the coop, right? It's only been since Saturday that they have been out all day. So I guess I will maybe wait until after 8 or so to let them all out. We keep our chickens and ducks together in the same coop.

Sounds good - It sounds like you have a good system, and that should still work in the future. She could still be laying late in the day, though I doubt it. They can lay differently in the beginning, when their body is adjusting. They can lay late in the evening, and sometimes even twice a day. It sounds like you are doing everything right, and I'm sure you will be surprised in the next few weeks to a pretty white egg mixed in with your chicken eggs.

 

[Holland4]

She is laying now She actually started laying on Saturday morning...in the coop and has laid in the same spot every day since. My boys go out in the morning between 7 and 730 and if she has laid already they let them out, but if she hasn't they collect the chicken eggs that are there and leave them in there until my husband gets back from taking them to school and then he will check and let them out.....she usually has laid by 8am. My son found her first egg, he was so excited. Thanks for all your help and suggestions....I love this site

 

[jducour]

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy your eggs!