When will my ducks start laying eggs?

[emuhleey]

Hello all, I have 3 pet Magpie ducks that I got for free from a friend as ducklings. They are now about 2 and a half months old and it seems that I have 1 male and 2 females, basing entirely on the curled feather at the back of one. Puddles is the male, Gigi and Elvis are girls (poor Elvis!) When will they start laying eggs? I really only want these ducks as pets and I don't want eggs or ducklings in the future. When they do start laying, what should I do with the eggs?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hello all, I have 3 pet Magpie ducks that I got for free from a friend as ducklings. They are now about 2 and a half months old and it seems that I have 1 male and 2 females, basing entirely on the curled feather at the back of one. Puddles is the male, Gigi and Elvis are girls (poor Elvis!) When will they start laying eggs? I really only want these ducks as pets and I don't want eggs or ducklings in the future. When they do start laying, what should I do with the eggs?

Duck eggs are great to use in baking, and alot of folks like the taste of them. If you have dogs you can cook them up and feed to them thats what I do. Most ducks start to lay about 5months on up. I have Muscovies and it's usually around 6-7 months before they lay. If you don't want ducklings then take the eggs up everyday. Also you may have friends who would like duck eggs for eating and baking.

and

 

[emuhleey]

Haha thank you! If I take the eggs every day how do I know if they're fertile or not?[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]

lol I'm a vegetarian so it would just creep me out!

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

It doesn't matter if they are fertile or not, they can still be cooked/baked with and eaten. Enjoy the, when they start laying. Just because an egg is fertilized doesn't change it's ability to be eaten. They have to be incubated before anything happens. Collect daily, and no worries.

 

[Eglantine]

My ducks hatched on March 12th and they (well at least one!) began laying yesterday, July 25th. Got a second egg today. Very exciting! I have two each of Welsh Harlequins, Cayugas, Buff Orpingtons and Blue Swedish.

I will be using my eggs for cooking the same way you utilize chicken eggs (I also have nine chickens). I sell my extra chicken eggs to co-workers and already some have placed orders for duck eggs when I have enough! Looking forward to that...such a nice bonus to having poultry.

My ducks were purchased to help eliminate our grasshopper epidemic on our property and so far they have proven better than advertised. We are so happy to have them!