In Need of Advice

[Mel_]

Hi guys!

I have a bit of a dilemma and was wondering if anyone could offer some advice as to how to handle this situation.

A while back I rescued a duckling from a parking lot and have raised it since. While I know that ducks do better with other ducks, I was reluctant to get another duck because I didn't know the gender and didn't want to irresponsibly start a flock. This duck has been my pet and since I work from home its always had my company and we're very close.

I've recently become interested in duck eggs, and discovered my duck is male so no eggs there unfortunately and I'd like to adopt a female but don't necessarily want them to start reproducing since I honestly don't have the funds and wouldn't have the heart sell any offsprings.
Getting rid of my male is absolutely not an option.
So is there any way to have a male and a female without reproduction and only have non-fertile eggs? Would I have to keep them separated or is there a possible mix like cross breeds that won't produce offspring?

My current duck is a male muscovy if that helps at all.

 

[DuckMom2017]

If you pull the eggs daily, you don't have to worry about having ducklings. They have to lay on the eggs for quite a while before they turn into ducklings!
Your buddy may need 2 girls though. They have quite the...uhhh...'desire' and might be a little too much for 1 girl.

 

[theuglychick]

Yes!

You don't have to let the female set and hatch the eggs. It takes a long time to hatch a duck egg. So if you collect the eggs as they are laid, you'd have your eggs and can eat them too!

I have plenty of roosters and hens and only get babies when I incubate the eggs or let a broody set on them.

 

[rjohns39]

28 days for a duck to hatch... Enjoy the eggs and yes, get at least two girls.

 

[Mel_]

Any recommendations as to what breed of duck?

 

[rjohns39]

Any recommendations as to what breed of duck?

I like rouens but your choice....

 

[chickens really]

Any breed of Duck will be fine....Best wishes...

 

[DanielleInUro]

I'm a fan of Welsh Harlequins. Rouens are wonderful too, though, I'd never want to be without one. And my buff boy is the life of the flock. Everybody who knows my ducks loves my Cayuga best. A friend of mine keeps runners, which I've always wanted because they're terribly funny and smaller, so they don't eat as much, but they're loud. A thought on your boy--since he was found in a parking lot, chances are good he's a Mallard. Does he fly? Another friend raised a set of mallards, who all flew off with the wild ducks at first opportunity, save one female who stayed because her boyfriendduck doesn't fly.

 

[Rubysword]

I don'r have ducks...yet... But I've done a lot of research and welsh harlequins seem to have the best mix of friendliness and egg laying. In fact, they outperform most chickens in both aspects.

 

[Tlmcq]

If you get a breed that doesn't go broody it's unlikely she would sit and hatch eggs, anyway. That being said you can gather the eggs daily also and you wouldn't have to worry either. My runner ducks lay very well, I get eggs everyday from my girl runners. Just go online and do a bit of research on individual breeds and pick the one with characteristics that suit what you're looking for. Most hatcheries have breed description and characteristics on their website.