4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[rachel2390]

Hello everyone,

 

Now that I am (finally) getting eggs on a regular basis and am hopeful that I do not have to rename Davina to David I would appreciate everyone's advice about egg production.

For the last week I have been getting two very nice eggs in the morning and am assuming despite their apparent 'mating' that I do actually have two ducks and not a duck and a drake.

What is the usual egg production for a duck per day?

From what I have previously read I thought that one egg a day was the norm. However, this morning their was one very nice hard shelled egg and 2 soft shelled ones which were broken and then again this evening after giving them their tea another two soft shelled eggs appeared! More than 5 in a 24 hour period.

Do I need to be adding anything to their diet to ensure hard shelled eggs? The majority have been hard but there has been quite a few soft shelled ones in the last few days in addition to the hard shelled ones.

I feed them layers pellets along with a bit of sweetcorn and sometimes the crusts off wholemeal bread which they really seem to enjoy. I have tried them with 'greens' such as spinach and lettuce but they don't seem all that keen on the green stuff although they do eat a bit of grass and the leaves off the bushes.

I just want to be sure that I am feeding them everything they need and that the eggs I am getting are going to be because they are both laying now.

 

Regards Rachel

[Guest]

Hi

 

To begin with you may get a few strange eggs ie shellless etc but the layers pellets have got what they need. Ducks do need grit for grinding food etc which you can get from any feed merchant etc. You could try some extra grit

 

One egg a day is normal and egg production is stimulated by daylight hours as the winter comes in you may find the egg production slows down a bit.

 

I always got eggs in the winter but not every day ie 3 or 4 per week from 5 ducks.

 

Sounds like what you are giving them is fine, just not too much of the bread stuff but it sounds ideal. They can survive on just the pellets..cant remember what breed you have but if you can find any garden snails my khakis and Aylesburys use to swallow those whole and chase each other round the garden..

 

My neighbour use to collect snails for me and throw them over..try a snail..(sorry a bit sad I know but quite amazing to see it go down their neck)!! GULP!

 

I am sure your egg patterns will settle down to a normal pattern

 

indie

[Lesley]

As Indie says - it should settle down soon. Keep an eye on it and if it doesn't then try some of the products recommended for helping shell formation for chickens. A look in the ?Chickens section should provide all the details - and you can ask in there even though you're talking about ducks

 

Very few venture into the Ducks section for some strange reason

[miller30]

Hi rachel my ducks and chickens all free range together so eat out the same bowl a couple of times a week i sprinkle oyster shell on top of their food and i havent had a bouncy egg in a while might be worth a try leanne.