Where do ducks lay eggs?

[Heef120]

Where does ducks usually lay their eggs? If you keep them in a coop with the chickens will they lay in nesting boxes like hens? Any advice on what to do with ducks that lay?

 

[Amc29]

My ducks have been wishy-washy about where to lay. I have found eggs in the hen house. I have also found them hidden under ferns near the creek and near a trail. Lately I have been letting the birds out late morning (the ducks and chickens share a pen), and since I have begun to use the deep litter method in the run, the ducks seemed to have decided the yard clippings in their run make a great place to nest.

 

[Callender Girl]

My answer is: Anywhere they want to lay eggs. Usually, mine make a little indentation in the straw of their nighttime shelter. When they dash out in the morning, I hunt through the bedding for eggs.

However, the girls who didn't lay before daybreak seem determined to find the most remote, hard-to-reach places possible. That would include the back of the hay shed, cleverly hidden behind piled bales, and underneath the large amsonia plants, behind a wooden-rail fence. Once in a while, I'll find one just lying out on the ground, near nothing.

My best strategy, since mine seem to all be morning layers, is to check the shelter, watch carefully when one of the girls seems to be missing from the group when they get out for the day, and begin the egg hunt. Even when the chickens coops are open, I have never had one lay in a nest box. That would make my task way too easy!

On the other hand, duck eggs are both beautiful and tasty. So, a little extra work on my part is worth it. Good luck with yours!

 

[Col1948]

Do you have any Drakes in the ducks? If so they should not be with chickens, if a male duck mates with a chicken it could eventually kill her, if you have no males then no problem.

 

[Heef120]

They're all still only around a week or so old so we have no clue what we have right now. But I did not know this. Thank you for this information! I'm glad you said something. Bcz we were going to do it regardless. Nice to know little facts.

 

[Callender Girl]

It's true that drakes shouldn't mate with chickens; it certainly can be lethal.

My runners are housed together at night and free-range with chickens when I am home in the daytime.

Luckily, none of the four runner drakes I've had have shown any interest in my chickens, but I know it can happen. My theory is that my runners have plenty of their own girls to choose from, and some of my hens -- especially that big, fluffy pile of feathers that is my Buff Orpington -- just look too big and fierce to bother.

 

[DuckyBabies]

My duck would lay her eggs in a hay “nest” most of the time, but she loved to hide them with the hay! She would also go into a path of the most thick brush to lay them sometimes. Ducks love to hide eggs and occasionally roll them in the dirt or mud.

 

[Heef120]

We have 4 ducks (not sure of sex yet) and the chickens and ducks will be free range as well just not at night time. That's what I'm worried about.

 

[Callender Girl]

Can you construct some simple, little housing for the ducks to sleep in? Since they don't have to have roosts or nesting boxes, their housing needs are much simpler.

I have an old dog house that I converted by attaching a hinged "door," made from the grate of an old box fan, with a latch. It keeps them safe and there is plenty of ventilation.
Until my three newest ducks decided it was okay to live with the "older" birds, they spent their nights in the adjoining "coop."

 

[chickens really]

Older Duck Hens will seek out bedding in the Coop to nest. Young new layers are just all over the place..The kiddie pool, on the lawn etc..