When will I get an egg?

[maralynn28]

Hi all! Sorry I haven't checked in for a while...life is BUSY! My duckies are doing great! They are roaming the yard munching worms and sluggies as I type.

My Welsh Harlequins are beautiful and the Cayugas have brilliant feathers for being females (they are a bit chunky- happy eaters though). Anyway, the point of the post is that they are finally old enough to lay me eggs! I've been checking their pen for about 2 wks now and still no eggs.

Is it because the days are getting shorter already? Will I have to wait til next summer before I get an egg? I don't want to use artificial lights, I would prefer to let the ducks live as natural a life as possible. Also, is there anything else I can do to encourage egg laying? They've been getting oyster shell and are SUPER happy ducks, rarely even quack anymore except when they want dinner or see me with treats.

I actually caught one of my WH laying at the feet of my 5yr old while he pet her! It was so precious, I wish I could have gotten the camera in time! I will have to post pics of them to share with you all. Thanks for all your help again!

 

[sianara]

How old are they?

My 2 cayugas, 1 welsh harlequin & 1 chocolate runner are all 4.5 months old. They've been doing the "nature dance" with each other in their little pool for awhile so I figured it would be soon but - so far no eggs here either. Since they hatched in late April I figured I'd get eggs this fall...

 

[maralynn28]

My 2 cayugas and 2 WH are about the same age as yours...they are 19 wks now. Hatched Apr 19th this year. I was hoping for eggs this fall too but with shortening days I hope it doesn't mean I have to wait until next spring. I have heard of others getting eggs in the winter anyway. Today eggs are one of the lowest things on my mind when it concerns my duckies, they got attacked by a dog yesterday. All are still alive and I think they'll pull through but they are badly injured and I hope they will recover from the attack. I will be spending long hours watching them, feeding them peas and trying not to cry today.

 

[katharinad]

Poor babies. Do you know who the owner of the dog is? They need to know what their dog did and hopefully they are willing to cover the care expenses.

 

[sianara]

Quote:
Mine were hatched April 26. I just wasn't sure if they would start laying "normally" around this time or not since I can't find any info on what age these breeds usually start laying. Where did you get yours from? Mine came from Metzer farms.

eta: I hope they all heal and survive

 

[katharinad]

Ducks usually start to lay between 20-24 weeks of age. Larger breeds tend to be on the longer end. Not to sure about Muscovies, so someone else needs to ring in. Smaller, wild type of breeds, my wait until the next spring. These are usually wood ducks, and even some mallards. That being said, you cannot count on it. They are like humans, some girls start early and others late. One of my girls hatched April 23rd, and I keep on telling her it is time or else. Hasn't worked so far.

She has been doing all the roles plays, building a nest, filling with rocks, sitting on it, and not to mentions the fun she is having the boy. I've build more nesting boxes in the duck house, because the 8 girls were fighting over the one I had. So I build 4 more and that was still not enough. Now they got their way. Everyone has it own box, and they love to sleep in it. Crazy pampered ducks, that's for sure.

 

[sianara]

Quote:
I've had my old ducks for 7 years and I just could not remember at what age they started laying. Course now they're so old they haven't laid in 2 years now. Anyway, my new ducks are 20 weeks old tomorrow so I'll keep watch for new eggs knowing that they might end up waiting until spring 2011. That's ok too

 

[TT]

Mine were April hatches and they started laying about 4 days ago

 

[maralynn28]

Quote:
Katarina, no we don't know who it was. We weren't home and the neighbors were the ones who intervened on our behalf (thankfully) but they said they've never seen the dog before. I wish I could afford to take them to the vet, but hopefully I can make a good enough sub-doc for them...my 9 yr old daughter is making a great nurse. I tried to keep her away but she really wanted to help. I was surprised she wasn't crying and she told me "I'm crying on the inside but I'm ok."

I have hope that they will recover well. Does anyone know if the trauma will affect their egg laying? I don't want to push them into it now, but they are in a temp pen in the garage and I wonder if I might find some 'treasures' when I am caring for them. That would be very sweet of them to do that after all they have been through! My poor babies.

Thanks for the responses all! I had heard they will lay at 18 wks but I don't mind waiting longer, I just hoped it wasn't because the lack of daylight hours. I really appreciate all your help.

 

[sianara]

Quote:
When did they hatch in April?

What breeds are they?