When will ducks lay??

[MartinFamilyHomestead]

My ducks typically lay around the 6 month old mark. Though there's Getty, who decided to lay a peewee egg at 4 months of age, and her sister Betty, who decided to lay at 8 months so. Depends on the individual really

That explains my last long response how I’m getting an egg from one in our younger bunch but haven’t got one yet from hens that are a little bit older than them

 

[cheezenkwackers]

We have a very mixed flock

Our oldest hen is a Cayuga. She laid a clutch last summer which we took and incubated. She hasn’t laid since. She has a problem with her wing. But it does not slow her down whatsoever. She I believe was late to start laying.

Our other 2 hens that are older than our “babies” are a black Swedish and a silver Swedish. They are approximately 8-9 months would be my guess. We got 2 blue Swedish as ducklings and they showed early they were drakes so we went back to the person and sexed 2 girls by their voice. They were a little smaller than our blue Swedish at the time and they were mid May babies so 10 months old now. Anyhow I would have thought they would be laying already. All of our Swedish, the Cayuga, and a khaki drake are all in one stall together in the barn. ( they do get let out, and I know the ratio is wrong but they have not fought and they are on separate feed still than our “babies”. Which next week they will all be on same feed and they will be broken up differently).

In our other stall is the babies I have been mentioning which aren’t so little anymore. It was our first hatchery order. They are early- mid September babies making them just at 6 months old now. We only got one drake, a welsh harlequin. Then the rest are females: welsh harlequin, 2 blue runners , fawn and white runner, golden 300, buff, saxony, Rouen, and silver apple yard.

They do all get let out as much as we can through the winter. Especially on warmer days when we can break the ice and there has been some mating.

3 days ago we got our first egg which was literally the day after I made this post. It was froze by the time we found it but the culprit had laid one a day since and fortunately we have got it both this morning and yesterday morning before it froze. We believe it is just 1 hen laying. As the eggs look identical and we aren’t getting more than 1. We were shocked to get eggs from our younger ones before our “older” hens. Which I know once they become of laying egg their first year they don’t really mind the weather and lay through so I heard but a hen that has already laid may take a break during winter and start back up when it’s warmer. But when I say older hens. They are only a few months older and have not laid a single egg yet in their life so we would have thought they would lay first. But duck not like to go back the “norm” that’s for sure.

Your older hens are not types bred for egg laying but some of your younger ones are. It would make sense to me that the egg-laying ones (Golden 300, Runners, Welsh) would lay first.

 

[MartinFamilyHomestead]

Your older hens are not types bred for egg laying but some of your younger ones are. It would make sense to me that the egg-laying ones (Golden 300, Runners, Welsh) would lay first.

I would have thought of that. That makes perfect sense. I knew Swedish aren't best for egg laying, just still assumed they would start by now. I do have a hunch that it is our golden 300 laying, just because when they were all last out together she wanted to be bred. Not that automatically means she would be laying, but none of the other hens were accepting of the drakes like she was.