When do ducks start laying eggs??

[arnaudgf]

Hello,

I was browsing this thread and a question popped in my head:
Should we switched our ducks (5 girls ad a boy) to layer food before they start laying eggs or should we switch when they start?

We got them in may so I'm not sure they will even start laying before the winter (from what I read, opinions differ on when they will start laying ). I was planning on switching their food at around 20 weeks (from grower/finisher to layer)

I looked up oyster shell too since I saw you guys were mentioning it. It looks like it's crushed shells? I guess I better not call my sister and tell her to mail me load of shells (her husband works in an "oyster farm").

Thanks a lot

 

[Amiga]

I started with free choice oyster shell when they started playing hop on top, which was about a month before they laid eggs, and that matched recommendations by Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks.

Enjoy!

 

[arnaudgf]

Thanks

 

[Amiga]

And as far as I know, the oyster shells I buy are simply cleaned, dried, crushed oyster shells.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

And you can recycle your eggshells instead of oyster shell, in a pinch. I saw a lady on YouTube who stored her egg shells in the freezer inside a Ziplock, then she washed or rinsed them, and then she spread them out on a plate or paper towel and she microwaved them. Then she crushed the shells and offered them to her birds.

 

[RouenDuck]

I do that, except I just microwave the eggshells in a glass bowl, crush them up, and dump them in the compost. The chickens and ducks eat eat all they need, and the leftovers get composted.

 

[ADuckPerson]

For o

...

And you can recycle your eggshells instead of oyster shell, in a pinch. I saw a lady on YouTube who stored her egg shells in the freezer inside a Ziplock, then she washed or rinsed them, and then she spread them out on a plate or paper towel and she microwaved them. Then she crushed the shells and offered them to her birds.[/quote


ME: for our chickens we just crush the shells and give it to them they love it.

 

[allenk44]

Hi
I've had chickens n stuff but this year mom says I can get ducks...the problem is I've never raised them. I don't know what breed to get or how long they take to hatch and how u hatch them or if they can be put with chickens

 

[Amiga]

Welcome, allenk44!!!

Breed: What do you want - eggs, meat, pets, cold-hardy, quiet, beautiful (that's easy - they are all beautiful)?

Days to Hatch - about 28 - and humidity needs are definitely different than for chicks

Girl ducks (I call them ducks, like girl cows are called cows) may be okay with chickens, it partly depends on the chickens and how you want to handle the water

I will be right back, I hope. I had to take care of something in the kitchen.

This is for mallard-derived duck eggs as well as goose, I believe
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed

There is also one for Muscovies (a hatching guide)

Take a look through the threads - lots of information there.

There is a 2014 Broody Duck Thread that is interesting, too.

Glad to have you and your family with us. So, what would you like in a duck?

 

[Amiga]

Oh, I would not recommend you get ducks, then. Domestic ducks need people to take care of them 12 months of the year.