Several years ago I used to go to this park that had Pekin ducks laying their eggs on the banks, stray, not in a nest. I'd pick them up and collect them, and scored 5 ducklings from it. It was either raccoon bait or human theft, I opted for theft. LOL
Went to the park recently, and found on egg, just laying on the shore. But it seems too big for a duck. I'm thinking goose, but am not up to speed on duck egg size (it's been 8 years since I hatched them before) but the only geese there are Canadian, who are usually pretty good about laying in nests as far as I know. Plus it's early in the year for geese to start.
If it's a goose egg, I'm not hatching it. They're protected under the migratory bird act and all that, and whatever hatched would need to go to a goose rehabilitator.
Anyone have Pekin eggs on hand to measure length and around to give me an idea of what I'm looking at for average duck egg size?
There used to be a lot of Pekins there, but now there is only one white duck with a Mallard looking boyfriend, and this other female duck that is a creamy brown color with a puff ball on the back of her head. She's super cute and has 1 mallard boyfriend, and 2 other boyfriends colored like a Mallard but with white chests. And a regular mallard girl with her boyfriends. So I saw 3 female ducks, all about the same size, though the Pekin was much larger than the other two.
But... it could also be a first year goose maybe? I can't think of any other reason for a goose to lay it there like that willy-nilly without a nest. Location says duck, size looks goose.
Found evidence of a lot of eaten eggs too from the coons and opossums and whatever else. Some where just bits of shell, some were intact except the top chewed off and the yolks gone.
I need like a 90% chance of it being duck for me to hatch it.
Photo with Large size chicken egg courtesy of one of my Red Star hens...
Went to the park recently, and found on egg, just laying on the shore. But it seems too big for a duck. I'm thinking goose, but am not up to speed on duck egg size (it's been 8 years since I hatched them before) but the only geese there are Canadian, who are usually pretty good about laying in nests as far as I know. Plus it's early in the year for geese to start.
If it's a goose egg, I'm not hatching it. They're protected under the migratory bird act and all that, and whatever hatched would need to go to a goose rehabilitator.
Anyone have Pekin eggs on hand to measure length and around to give me an idea of what I'm looking at for average duck egg size?
There used to be a lot of Pekins there, but now there is only one white duck with a Mallard looking boyfriend, and this other female duck that is a creamy brown color with a puff ball on the back of her head. She's super cute and has 1 mallard boyfriend, and 2 other boyfriends colored like a Mallard but with white chests. And a regular mallard girl with her boyfriends. So I saw 3 female ducks, all about the same size, though the Pekin was much larger than the other two.
But... it could also be a first year goose maybe? I can't think of any other reason for a goose to lay it there like that willy-nilly without a nest. Location says duck, size looks goose.
Found evidence of a lot of eaten eggs too from the coons and opossums and whatever else. Some where just bits of shell, some were intact except the top chewed off and the yolks gone.
I need like a 90% chance of it being duck for me to hatch it.
Photo with Large size chicken egg courtesy of one of my Red Star hens...
