Bakers and pastry lovers look for duck eggs, and some ducks lay as well as hens. But you need proper laying breeds: a meat Pekin will give barely a hundred eggs a season.
Laying breeds
| Breed | Eggs per year | Egg weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khaki Campbell | 250–300 | 70–75 g | The most productive, calm |
| Indian Runner | 200–300 | 65–75 g | Active, good foragers on range |
| Welsh Harlequin | 200–250 | 65–75 g | Dual-purpose, a decent carcass |
Figures are for a well-kept first-year flock. As with hens, laying drops in year two.
When they start laying
Laying ducks start at 5–6 months. Production stays high for the first 12–14 months, and to sustain it they need about 14–16 hours of light, like hens (on lighting).
Ducks lay early in the morning
Most ducks lay at dawn, before 8–9 a.m. Let them out earlier and the eggs end up in the grass, by the pond and under bushes. Keep ducks in until mid-morning, and put nests on the floor: in a corner, in a bottomless box, with straw.
Feeding layers
- Complete layer feed with 16–17% protein.
- Free-choice calcium on the side: oyster shell or limestone (more here).
- Water next to the feed. Ducks eat dry feed poorly.
Duck eggs and food safety
Ducks lay in dirt more often than hens, and duck eggshells are more porous. So:
- collect eggs every morning and keep nests dry;
- don’t wash dirty eggs in cold water — it draws dirt in through the pores;
- advise buyers to cook duck eggs fully, without runny yolks.
Rules for selling duck eggs differ by country; some require separate labeling. Check with your local authority. General selling advice is in selling eggs and meat.
How to calculate laying rate
The same as with hens: eggs per day divided by the number of layers. Formula and example in hen-day production. Duck flocks are usually small, so each bird weighs more in the percentage — counting on the current flock size matters even more.
Duck eggs in the same records
In EggPulse a duck house is kept just like a chicken house: egg collection, feed, flock size. Laying rate, cost per egg and sales are calculated separately for each house.
