My ducks have started laying!

[Millymollymandy]

Yesterday I thought one of my ducks had got a dodgy stomach because whilst cleaning out their shed I found some yellowy goo in a pile of poo, only to discover there was a crushed shell there too!

This morning I have been presented with one large and one teeny egg, which had been laid in a nice hollowed out 'nest' behind the dustbin in their shed where I keep the feed!

Anway, question time:

(1) One that was still warm was covered in colourless slimy goo very unlike hens eggs which have that unslimy liquid that dries very quickly. Is this normal?

(2) The little egg had some poo on it. I've washed it but I've heard that ducks eggs are very porous so should I chuck it? (It's so small I wouldn't be very bothered!).

(3) What age might my duckies be?

Oh and by the way, they are FINALLY swimming all over the pond, after only 2 1/2 months!!!

[Shirley]

Hi M3

Congrats on the duck eggs YUM.

You are right about the duck egg shell being porous - and they are very often dirty when laid too.... we don't chuck them but just was them in warmish water and use asap. Not sure if that is what you are 'supposed' to do but it's what we do and it works ok for us.

Our female duck is sitting on eggs at the moment - exciting times ahead, and our goose is sitting too.

[Rainy]

hi
you'll get poop on your eggs regularly - ducks have terrible toilet habits. Like Shirlz says - just wash em and eat them fairly quickly.

Also the 'white' of a duck egg is different than a hens. It doesnt stay together in the same way and is more watery and slimy. Ive never tried it but Ive been told that you cant make a meringue with the white of a duck egg - something to do with the make up of the protein.

Congrats on the eggs though - great for baking !

[Thomzo]

Oh how eggciting I know how excited I was when the chooks first layed. Great news about the swimming. Sounds like they've settled in well.

Cheers
Zoe

[red]

yay! ducks eggs


yeh ducks rae dirty things! and not good at looking after their eggs... my parents ones often leave their eggs in the stream!
my parents put some duck eggs under a broody hen, as hens make much better mothers... but it is funny/sad when the ducklings take to water.. and mum is much put out!

[Millymollymandy]

They even look dirty when they are washed! Got another one this morning.

[Millymollymandy]

And now............ they are bonking!

[Millymollymandy]

Most of these eggs are going in the bin sadly, as I can't eat or sell 4-6 eggs a day (incl. hen eggs)!

This morning one laid a whopper 110g egg. Ow!

[Thomzo]

What a shame you are having to waste so many eggs. My hens can't produce fast enough. When I take have a dozen in to work I just shout "I have eggs" and people fight each other for them. (Or at least they did when there were enough of us in the office to fight each other ). My neighbours are always after eggs and I keep having to take them round in twos and threes as they are laid.

Zoe

[Mare Owner]

Why not let them hatch some out? Ducks is delicious.

[farmerdrea]

The "bloom" on the eggshell is what protects it from gunk getting in. When you wash it off, you must either use or store the eggs immediately. If you refrigerate them after they've been washed, they'll last a couple of months. However, because they are very porous, the longer you store them, the less egg there will be when you crack it open.

I love using duck eggs in baking, so when we're getting a surplus of eggs, I simply break a bunch of eggs into a bowl, scramble (not cook, just mix well) and put into serving-sized (1 cup of the liquid eggs equals about 4 chicken eggs) containers and freeze. They keep about 6 months in the freezer. If you can't be bothered to do this, at the very least boil up the eggs, pulverise and feed back to your poultry - they will love it, and the extra protein and calcium is really good for them.

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

[red]

another way to freeze eggs is to separate them into yolks and whites - then use them for various recipes... whites of merangue.. etc

[Millymollymandy]

No, I tried freezing eggs the first year I had hens and way too many eggs, and it didn't work out. Defrosted they were a horrible gunky mess.

Anyway what would I want to freeze them for? I still can't eat that many eggs!

farmerdrea:

The "bloom" on the eggshell is what protects it from gunk getting in. When you wash it off, you must either use or store the eggs immediately. If you refrigerate them after they've been washed, they'll last a couple of months

I keep all my eggs in the fridge and I throw the eggs when they are 10 days old because everybody says that's the limit for duck eggs. Chook eggs last up to 4 weeks then they go off (and I don't wash them).

Now if they did last a couple of months, I'd need to buy several more fridges!

[Millymollymandy]

Why not let them hatch some out? Ducks is delicious.

No thank you.

[Millymollymandy]

My neighbours are always after eggs and I keep having to take them round in twos and threes as they are laid.

Zoe

Unfortunately round these parts nearly everyone keeps hens, and my english neighbour who I sell eggs to has just been given a load by another neighbour.......