Okay, I have a question. I am not a novice at raising ducks but this is just plain nuts. I have 8 ducks (khaki campbells) 6 female and 2 male. Today I got 8 eggs. Yesterday I got 7, the day before 6, the day before 9, the day before 6.... Where are the extra eggs coming from????? They are kept in an enclosed space and I look for the eggs very carefully so it's not that I'm missing them. Are the drakes laying eggs or are some of the females laying more than one a day????? Any suggestions????

-- Mary R. (cntryfolk@ime.net), January 30, 2002

Answers

Mary, it sounds like a nice problem! Sometimes mine bury their eggs real deep in the straw. Could this be the case? Best wishes!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 30, 2002.

Hi,

I know this may sound strange, but if you feed your Ducks chicken layer feed, it has too much protein in it. And well.. The Ducks can lay as may as three eggs each a day. It is not really good for them when they do that though. My son forgot and feed my ducks the Chicken layer feed and for the last month they have laid 2 to 3 eggs a day!!

-- Bergere (autumnhaus@aol.com), January 30, 2002.

Mary, you might check with www.thepoultryconnection.com, General Waterfowl forum. Lots of duck experts there to help you out. I have trouble buying the three eggs a day thing as mentioned above but who knows? I can tell you that a ducks "laying cycle" is 24 hours as opposed to a chickens which is 26 hours(unless you are dealing with an "egg strain"). Once in a while my ducks will lay an egg every 20 hours. Don't know if this applies to yours or not. As to the food, YOu did not mention what they are on but they should be fed gamebird layena during season or food for ducks. No chicken feed. YOu are probably doing this already as you mentioned having ducks for quite awhile. And I bet you are supplying them with oyster shell and all that as they are laying quite well. Aren't ducks fun? Don't you love it when they meet you and race back to the pen at chow time? Have fun, LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), January 30, 2002.

Question: some of you say don't feed chicken layer feed to ducks. I believe you, I am just asking why? We did have Khaki Campbells for a few years, and some Indian Runners. We used chicken layer feed and weren't aware of any problems. What don't I know?

-- Dianne Wood - Woodland, WA (woodgoat@pacifier.com), January 30, 2002.

The "why" you don't feed chicken feed to ducks is this. Chickens need antibiotics in thier food, ducks do not. It is very easy to overdose a duck on these meds which they do not need. Also, ducks, like many other waterfowl need more niacin in their diet than chickens and so chicken feed is difficient in this. So, there you have it. LOL something else to consider when contemplating what type of poulty you might want. Also, this is just personal likes, chickens have mites and lice, ducks do not. I just detest picking up poultry and having those creatures crawling over me! Yuk! Don't like the idea of having to dust my poultry with insecticides. Just person preference. Hope this answers your question. Now about turkies........LOL Little Quacker

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), January 31, 2002.