You may recall my blue Swedish duck hen, Macaroni, playing pranks on me with her eggs (here she is with 3 of our 6 drakes in tow). I was anxious to try a duck egg so I dragged an old wooden crate to the area next to the dock that the ducks enjoy. We've been feeding them there the past few weeks and they seem to like that area. I placed two golf balls inside the nest box and pushed them down into the soft mud to make them stay in place. A few days later, one of the golf balls mysteriously disappeared. (Picture ducks playing golf.) The ground is sloped under the box, so the golf ball is now in the pond under the dock somewhere.
I was outside this afternoon getting the grill ready to cook supper and on a whim I walked to the end of the dock and looked inside, hoping against hope that Macaroni had laid her daily egg there. To my surprise, there was a duck egg inside the nest box! What a good girl! It took her 9 days to get the hint.The egg is pale olive green and the shell is very smooth. The photo shows the egg before I washed the mud off of it. I can't wait to try it and compare it to the eggs my chooks lay. Duck eggs are going to be a rare treat for me. I've only got two hens; the other is a Cayuga named Daisy. Cayuga eggs start out black and gradually fade to gray as the season goes by. I don't know if I should save them and try to sell them. I'm not sure if there is much of a demand for duck eggs around here. Maybe I'll try it this summer and see what kind of response I get. I hear duck eggs are good for baking but I have yet to test that theory.
two girls and six drakes? no wonder she is swimming so fast.
ReplyDeleteI bet the egg would be good in the ice cream recipe too.
We're having cold, dreary rain here, no grillin' kinda day.
Duck eggs are a delicacy in the Asian population - especially Vietnamese and Chinese. You might have a niche market if you can advertise to a small Asian community near you!
ReplyDeleteJoanna, you're right. My hen:drake ratio stinks. Either I've got to get more hens or I'll have to talk my son into rehoming 4 drakes. I don't think he'd go for it. He's very attached to all the ducks!
ReplyDeletekimchi, unfortunately there is no Asian community anywhere near here. I will ask my egg customers if they'd be interested in buying duck eggs and see what they think.
A friend always put one duck egg in each dozen eggs, with the customers approval.
ReplyDeleteThe duck egg is very good for baking, not just a kichen myth. Check out the extended nutritional differences and you can see why.
We have silver appleyards mostly for meat yet they crank out eggs faster than our chicken at the moment because the cold damp rainy weather doesn't phase them. The runner and hook bills toss out a whopping lot of eggs, but they are supposed to.
Lanny, thanks for stopping by! You reminded me of how nutritious duck eggs are. I read the nutritional information on ducks eggs compared to chicken eggs a few weeks ago. You're right--duck eggs are even better for you! And what's better than your own supply of fresh organic eggs? Putting one duck egg in each dozen is a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteI really want to try a duck egg now. I wish we had a pond!
ReplyDeleteStuck a feather in his hat and called it Macaroni.... :)
ReplyDeleteDare I say that you might be having ducklings before long?!!!
Jess, I am baking a cake today using two duck eggs!
ReplyDeleteSusan, How did I know you'd think of that song? Strange minds think alike! Funny you mention it. I do have plans to put about 6 duck eggs under a broody hen, whenever I get a broody that is.
Mating season has begun in earnest in our pond, with the males pret' near drowning the women folk with their amore! We call it "the baptism of love!" Farmboy has been fortunate enough to gather a few of the duck eggs for his enjoyment over the years, but for the most part, our eggs seem to find their way into the pond more often than not! We usually get one of our females to go the whole nine yards and give us a few ducklings every spring...it's so much fun to see the babies swimming around!
ReplyDeleteCyn, now that would really be something--having one of my hens raise a brood of ducklings. If they show a broody nature, I'll let them set some eggs.
ReplyDeleteCool egg! I've been thinking about getting a few ducks. Maybe sometime.
ReplyDeletei have been considering getting ducks this year.....your blog is making it very hard to find any reason not to!
ReplyDeleteHalf of our khaki campbell ducks lay in my chicken nesting boxes. The other half chose to lay in the mud. I love my ducks!
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