When will ducks lay??

[MartinFamilyHomestead]

Looking for everyone’s experience on when their hens start laying. I know it’s typically 5-6 months (per google) but ducks can be so temperamental and vary flock to flock so just looking for personal experiences on when your young hens first started laying.

Also according to weather/time of year when do your older hens start laying again if they took a winter break.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My older ducks didn't start back laying last year until April. When my Runners and Buffs were first starting out they were mating at 4 months and laying at 4.5 months then laid straight for 18months before taking a long break. They are going to be 6 yrs old end of April so no telling when I'll get an egg this year. Even my 2- 3yr old hasn't laid since last Oct.

 

[ruthhope]

Our two juvenile pekins started laying in August -- at 5 months old. One stopped laying mid-December and restarted this month; the other. Big Girl, has laid daily right through and occasionally lays 2 eggs, more often jumbo double yolk eggs. Our juvenile muscovy started laying for the first time, on and off in February, but regularly every day this month.

They all have their own nesting box -- which they recognize and often sleep in -- but they insist on laying in Big Girl's nest box. She sits there, keeping them warm, until I pick them up in the morning. Big Girl's not broody, she just likes sitting in her nestbox!

 

[BabyGotQuack]

My older layers just started laying this week after their winter break

 

[The chicken nurd]

I got 3 ducks in September 2 Muscovy’s who where supposed to be about 6 months but they didn’t start laying until a few weeks ago
The 3rd duck i got is a Rouen who was supposed to be about 2 years old I think she was laying before she was given to me but she hasn’t layed at all in the time I’ve had her

 

[cheezenkwackers]

What kind of ducks? My Khaki Campbell’s started at 4-5 months. My Welsh Harlequin and my Khaki mixes (with Welsh or Appleyard) more like 5 ish. My girls are all older now and they took the winter off. The two younger ones (2-3 yes) started laying again about 3 weeks ago. I am in the southern US so probably a little earlier than some. I think day length plays a bigger role than weather.

 

[MartinFamilyHomestead]

What kind of ducks? My Khaki Campbell’s started at 4-5 months. My Welsh Harlequin and my Khaki mixes (with Welsh or Appleyard) more like 5 ish. My girls are all older now and they took the winter off. The two younger ones (2-3 yes) started laying again about 3 weeks ago. I am in the southern US so probably a little earlier than some. I think day length plays a bigger role than weather.

We have a very mixed flock

Our oldest hen is a Cayuga. She laid a clutch last summer which we took and incubated. She hasn’t laid since. She has a problem with her wing. But it does not slow her down whatsoever. She I believe was late to start laying.

Our other 2 hens that are older than our “babies” are a black Swedish and a silver Swedish. They are approximately 8-9 months would be my guess. We got 2 blue Swedish as ducklings and they showed early they were drakes so we went back to the person and sexed 2 girls by their voice. They were a little smaller than our blue Swedish at the time and they were mid May babies so 10 months old now. Anyhow I would have thought they would be laying already. All of our Swedish, the Cayuga, and a khaki drake are all in one stall together in the barn. ( they do get let out, and I know the ratio is wrong but they have not fought and they are on separate feed still than our “babies”. Which next week they will all be on same feed and they will be broken up differently).

In our other stall is the babies I have been mentioning which aren’t so little anymore. It was our first hatchery order. They are early- mid September babies making them just at 6 months old now. We only got one drake, a welsh harlequin. Then the rest are females: welsh harlequin, 2 blue runners , fawn and white runner, golden 300, buff, saxony, Rouen, and silver apple yard.

They do all get let out as much as we can through the winter. Especially on warmer days when we can break the ice and there has been some mating.

3 days ago we got our first egg which was literally the day after I made this post. It was froze by the time we found it but the culprit had laid one a day since and fortunately we have got it both this morning and yesterday morning before it froze. We believe it is just 1 hen laying. As the eggs look identical and we aren’t getting more than 1. We were shocked to get eggs from our younger ones before our “older” hens. Which I know once they become of laying egg their first year they don’t really mind the weather and lay through so I heard but a hen that has already laid may take a break during winter and start back up when it’s warmer. But when I say older hens. They are only a few months older and have not laid a single egg yet in their life so we would have thought they would lay first. But duck not like to go back the “norm” that’s for sure.

 

[Zoohtasim]

My ducks typically lay around the 6 month old mark. Though there's Getty, who decided to lay a peewee egg at 4 months of age, and her sister Betty, who decided to lay at 8 months so. Depends on the individual really

 

[indianaducks]

Mine have started back up again. I was getting 1-2 a day in January. Around 3 a day in February, and so far March is averaging 4-5 a day. I don't know who is laying or not laying because mine are all together, but I do know my mallards resumed laying this month after not laying since Oct/Nov. That tells me the egg extravaganza is quickly approaching and everyone else will likely start laying soon. I have some younger hens that will lay for the first time this spring hopefully. The rest are about a year old and I suspect are the ones that have resumed laying.

 

[citymeetscountry]

I got our ducks last year beginning of March from TSC as ducklings. The 1st egg was in August so 5 months. Then around mid-Oct they ceased laying. I was surprised to find an egg New Years Day. Both girls were laying almost every day (built up a nest of 20 eggs but neither sat/went broody). Some days I get 1 egg and some days I get 2. They’re a year old now.