Anyone else waiting "patiently" for their ducks to start laying?

[treldib]

I must be going crazy

My ducks are now 19 weeks!!

the wait is killing me....what age did your ducks start laying and is anyone else waiting the wait?

Expect a thread from me titled "First Egg Pics!" soon!

 

[duckyfromoz]

My latest group started laying at around 20- 23 weeks old. The next generation from them is now laying age. I only have one female still at home and she started laying at 19 weeks.

I did have a duck lay at 15 weeks last year. She wasnt laying regularly and very small eggs. I sold her at 18 weeks and she had laid 6 eggs in that time. I caught up with the new owner about 6 months later and she told me she didnt start laying an egg a day until she was 24 weeks old.
It is as much to do with the season as with age. The hours of daylight trigger laying. Since you are now experiencing shorter day lengths you may go eggless through the winter.

I hope not for your sake- winter is hard enough without having to go through it waiting for a first egg.

Here is a link to some great information on exactly how daylight can stimulate laying. It gives a great explaination on exactly what chain of events has to happen for a hen to start laying.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/859/lighting-programs-for-backyard-egg-production

 

[ejctm]

Quote:
Me too!

Mine are 17 weeks, and I am just impatient!

The girls are giving "come to bed" eyes at the drakes. Actually, they are a bit more assertive than that. They chase the drakes round basically sticking their bottoms in the air saying "climb aboard" and quack with the neck-snaking thing at them. Not sure if I think they are total hussies or want to celebrate the girl-power thing going on!

My poor boys!

Anyway, all good signs that the girls are maturing towards egg-laying, even if they are only just horny teenagers at the moment.

 

[Senna95]

My group of about 15 hens layed about 3 dozen eggs last month, and now haven't layed for over a week. I think they're holding off till spring.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I brought a pair of Muscovies about a month ago...the hen was on a clutch of eggs that the lady took her off to bring to the swap to sell..why I don't know, but anyways..she has not started to lay for me yet....is it too late in the year to think that she will start now??

 

[kjhowe77]

My pekins were around 22-23 weeks when they began to lay.

 

[Hooligan Farm]

D'Angelo N Va. :

I brought a pair of Muscovies about a month ago...the hen was on a clutch of eggs that the lady took her off to bring to the swap to sell..why I don't know, but anyways..she has not started to lay for me yet....is it too late in the year to think that she will start now??

When I got my Muscovies a month ago, the woman I got them from said they won't lay until spring. So I don't expect any till then​

 

[sheila3935]

My khaki campbell if the lady told me right is 6 months and no eggs. She was suppose to have hatched in April. She has been mating with our runner drake for about a month now no eggs. They are locked up til around 9 in the morning, and I check all over the yard. NO EGGS! I am begining to wonder if she will ever lay.

 

[katharinad]

I have a small flock with one hen being 4 weeks older. She started to lay at exactly 24 week, one of the other did at 21 weeks. I'm still waiting on the rest of them. I do supplement light right now. I have a timer in the duck house and a light comes on at 4 am. That way I know they have laid by the time I let them out at 7.30. Pictures, links to printable tables for every town in the US with hours of light, day sunrise and sunset can be found at this posting I did not to long ago.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=405232

 

[Caprice_Acres]

Most waterfoul won't lay until the spring after their hatch. Sometimes you'll get an occasional egg from them the fall after they are born, but this is more the exception, or so I've heard. My Welsh Harlequins just turned 20 weeks old this Monday. No eggs in site from them.

I've never had a muscovy lay before the spring after her hatch. Don't expect an egg a day from them or anything, either. They ONLY lay to reproduce. I've found that If you take the eggs away from her, they tend to stop laying after a few days (or better yet, start laying elsewhere where you don't find them.) They'll try again in a few weeks if they stopped laying. But, it's not steady. They also tend to stop laying for the fall/winter months. I start seeing eggs laid again sometimes in February, but I take those eggs away because they freeze anyways. I can usually then convince them to stop laying until spring by continuing to take eggs away.