Call duck laying soft shelled eggs

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CoriM

Crowing
5 Years
Jun 6, 2019
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I am looking for feedback from seasoned call duck owners. I recently adopted a pair of call ducks - I was told they are 8 months old. The gal I got them from had one with wry neck and had been keeping her in a stock tank alone for 5 weeks with no improvement, and she wanted the stock tank for ducklings. I thought I would give it a try and see if she would get better, which she has! The problem now is with her sister who came along with her. She has only laid soft shelled eggs - so far four I think. I am feeling so bad for her as the poor thing seems completely miserable for hours before laying and she really struggles to push it out. They are huge for her tiny size. I have experience with a standard duck who was a soft shell layer that I eventually got the implant for a few times, after trying everything, and is now laying normally. Yikes though, it's so expensive, and I have no idea how such a tiny duck body would handle it. I also have read that call ducks don't lay very many eggs, so I'm wondering if it's worth an intervention like the implant? I can't stand to see her suffering though. She used to eat Dumar layer feed and was kept in a hutch. Since she's been with me she has been eating Mazuri layer, though I don't notice her eating the oyster shells. She now has time on the grass and in the sunshine every day. I'm sure she's been through some stress adjusting to her new home and conditions, but she seems pretty perky and happy and is a friendly little girl, so I'm not sure I can attribute the soft shelled eggs to stress. Any advice is welcome!
 
Hi.

You could try to mix food grade Diatomaceous Earth to your duck's food...
...in a PLASTIC feeder...! (Don't know if there would be any risk with a metal feeder...?)

It can't hurt your duck, and might fix the issue. (It dit for my chicken hens!!)

Good luck.
 
Papaye said:
Hi.

You could try to mix food grade Diatomaceous Earth to your duck's food...
...in a PLASTIC feeder...! (Don't know if there would be any risk with a metal feeder...?)

It can't hurt your duck, and might fix the issue. (It dit for my chicken hens!!)

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Oh interesting, thanks for the tip! I've never heard of that.
 
Was @Miss Lydia helping you through texts? She was telling me yesterday someone with a call laying soft shells, managed to get some calcium gluconate into her. Good job! I would give her a dose of it every day for a week at least. You can also try vitamin vitamin D. There are liquid vitamin D drops. I bought some for one of my ducks who wasn’t absorbing her calcium until I started giving her D with it.
 
Be very careful if you use diatomaceous earth around your ducks or chickens if they inhale the powder, it is really bad for them like itsy, bitsy, teeny, weenie, razor blades going into their respiratory system. That’s how it kills hard shell insects by scraping them to death. I have used it to get rid of ants around the coop, but always very careful with it. I know it is also sometimes used as a food additive, but you have to make sure you would get food grade and mix it in well and don’t breathe it
 
Do not feed them Diatomaceous Earth. I understand the poster who suggested it thought it would help with calcium, but it is actually not good for chickens or ducks to eat. It is very dusty and microscopically sharp, (it’s usually used to get rid of mites because it literally shreds their exoskeletons) and there are far easier and safer sources of calcium.
 
Jenbirdee said:
Be very careful if you use diatomaceous earth around your ducks or chickens if they inhale the powder, it is really bad for them like itsy, bitsy, teeny, weenie, razor blades going into their respiratory system. That’s how it kills hard shell insects by scraping them to death. I have used it to get rid of ants around the coop, but always very careful with it. I know it is also sometimes used as a food additive, but you have to make sure you would get food grade and mix it in well and don’t breathe it
Click to expand...
I agree with this. I understand some may add it to food but I just would not recommend it, as that is not its purpose and there are far easier and safer alternatives.
 

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