Laying Ducks Not Laying

[Cimmaron]

I keep my ducks and chickens together (they all have to be penned up due to predator problems!). I'm having problems with the ducks not laying. I have female Khaki Campbells and Welsh Harlequin so they should be laying eggs! I bought my Khakis last summer at 7 weeks old. They didn't start laying until 7 1/2 months of age, in the middle of winter. They would lay every day while there was snow on the ground, and not a single egg when the weather was dry. Since we last got a significant amount of snow a few months ago, they have not laid a single egg! I added the older Welsh Harlequin to my flock about a month ago. She didn't lay for the first week, then laid seven days in a row, then stopped completely and not a single egg since. There is nowhere they could be hiding the eggs, I even used a flashlight to check under the coop, which is blocked off anyway. They have a small makeshift pond they all swim in. Everyone seems to get along. I am feeding a local mix of ground field peas, wheat and barley that is soaked overnight before feeding. They also get a wide variety of weeds, garden and kitchen scraps, and free choice oyster shell, and a handful of flax seeds each day. I tried adding nutritional yeast to their feed for a while just for the ducks, but still no duck eggs! These girls have me stumped. Any ideas?

 

[CayugaJana]

How far is the nearest feed store? Try getting duck feed and feed it to them for about a month. Need a different diet or mice/snakes eating them everyday is all I can think of. Do your chickens lay eggs? If so I’d say the ducks aren’t getting what they need from their diet.

 

[CayugaJana]

Do they free range?

 

[Cimmaron]

They were free range until late winter when my birds started disappearing in broad daylight, so now everyone is locked in a large run with netting over the top. My ducks and chickens are together, so I don't want to use a waterfowl feed. I also advertise the chickens I sell as non-GMO, so need to be careful about what I feed. Scratch and Peck advertises their chicken feed as good for ducks too, but it is more than 3 times the price of the local non-GMO grain I get. Still, it makes me think that it should be totally possible to modify my feed so it works for chickens and for ducks... Maybe there is something I could add to the feed I'm using to make it more duck friendly?

 

[Cimmaron]

Their feed is about 17% protein.

 

[CayugaJana]

Is there something in waterfowl feed that isn’t good for chickens? I don’t have chickens so I’m not up to speed on their nutritional requirements. I understand the want to feed them non-gmo. @BantyChooks who makes their own feed? I remember them posting on your feed thread but for the life of me I can’t remember.

 

[BantyChooks]

Is there something in waterfowl feed that isn’t good for chickens? I don’t have chickens so I’m not up to speed on their nutritional requirements. I understand the want to feed them non-gmo. @BantyChooks who makes their own feed? I remember them posting on your feed thread but for the life of me I can’t remember.

I can't remember, sorry.

I feed my ducks chicken feed and they've been giving me an egg every day since winter.

 

[Cimmaron]

I'm not sure if chickens can have waterfowl feed or not, but I haven't seen a waterfowl feed here that is non-GMO. I did get 1 duck egg this morning, first time in several weeks!

 

[Lil Drake40]

I buy NONGMO in chicken feed and feed it to ducks chickens and geese. I mix half and half starter and layer then put out oyster shell for those who need extra. Look up Tucker Feeds they have a NON GMO

 

[llombardo]

Khakis seem to like to make a nest--at least I'm seeing that with mine. Is there somewhere your not looking that eggs may be? My Peking lays them in the swimming pool, so no area should be ruled out.