O.T. Farm livin'

I like duck eggs and raise Indian Runners (nuther egg layer breed) to train my Australian Shepherd herding dogs. The duck egg has more yoke than chicken egg and supposedly lower in cholesterol (bad heart stuff eggs are accused of being high in) Duck eggshells are heavier than chicken eggshells.

I have friends that say they can tell the sexx difference from the sound of the quack. Me? I'm so hard of hearing, I'm lucky to hear'em quack. I use the obvious sign of sexx, the back of the female head and neck get pecked clear of feathers from the amorous drake while mounting the back of the hen and having his way with her.

Iff'n yer Khakis start flyin', just trim the feathers on ONE-WING to unbalance them for flight. (its like trimming yer fingernails) I feed my Ducks regular layer pellet. I use a shallow rubber oil drain pan for water in my duckpen. (rubber won't rust or get pecked thru like galvanized) But ducks like to and need to rinse their nostrils with water that they keep putting dirt in. I just dump the sludge out every now and then..... .....Dell, the quackless

If the ducklings are small and you do not want them flying, you can cut the tendon in the wing that gives them flight lift. This process is described in just about every "raising" book. Gotta do it while they are tiny though. If you wait, you are limited to trimming the wings as Dell described. Hint - Keep them well fed and they wont go anywhere.

If you want eggs in the winter time, you'll need a heat lamp. This provides light and heat to keep 'em comfy.

As for cholesterol - Phewey on that. For years I heard eggs were horrible. Now I hear they aren't. Who knows. Eat what you want. If you are worried, don't eat the eggs. If you don't care, enjoy the eggs.

Get yourself a plastic or galvanized pool for the ducks to rinse in. They need it and love to do it. Set it up in such a way where you can get fresh water into it every now and then. Dont want your duck playing in a mosquito-breeding bacteria pool ... not healthy for anyone.

I use automatic waterers for my chickens and ducks. I have two that attach to the hose with a pressure regulator between the 1/4 tube that connects to the waterer and the hose. This is a must unless you enjoy floods and mud. They were $19 each on the internet - well worth the money. I just wipe them out every week to make sure the algae does not go nuts.

Mark

COOL!! You can now make Baluts!! Just bury the eggs in the dirt for awhile, how long depends on just how strong you want it, dig em up and eat! Filipinos think they are a delicasy, folks sell them on the streets from baskets. Personally, I think they are yucky, but I'm sure they think the same thing about some of the foods we eat. Yep, I've tried it ONCE, while drunk, just so I could say I've tried it. Cat, on the other hand, just tastes like chicken. Dogs are good, especially nice juicy ones that were somebody's pet. Not to say that I've really eaten one, that I know of. But there's always the dreaded "mystery meat", hehehe. I'm sure those Navy Veterans that were in Olongapo remember "monkey meat"...was it really??/

• Asian Food Rap!

Some types of ducks can be sexed based on their feathers. Example: Mallards - even farm Mallards still have the male/female markings. I have domesticated Wild Mallards and can tell them apart based on the feathers. I believe they are like chickens and can only be sexed when they are 1 day old. As soon as their down feathers start to grow you are out of luck until they are full grown.

Ducks are like chickens when it comes to egg production. You can look for approx 1 egg every day or two. Some breeds are better layers than others. Egg shells are remarkably similar to chicken egg shells in their hardness. The hardness depends on the duck's diet. Oh yeah, their egg production and shell hardness also has a lot to do with the duck's environment. If they are stressed (chased by dogs, cramped space, not enough greens, etc) they will produce less.

Personally, I prefer duck eggs to chickens for eating. I think they have a richer egg flavor. Eggs should be removed from the nest each day. They MUST BE WASHED GOOD. Please do not just rinse the egg and cook it. You'll get sick. Buy egg washing solution and scrub them. The duck meat is greasier than chickens ... not the eggs.

Our ducks and chickens are pets but we eat the egss. Actually, we just lost a duck to an owl. I am going owl hunting this weekend ... don't tell anyone. Unless the eggs are fertilized by a male, they will never hatch. The only way to tell if an egg is fertilized is to "candle" it. Candling involves a strong focused beam of light shining into the egg from behind. If you can see a blood gooey thing in the egg, it is fertile. Properly incubated it will hatch. Gotta tell you though that incubating is a lot of trial and error. You may lose more ducklings than actually hatch.

Do a google search for "raising ducks and chickens" or go to Amazon.com and search there. Lots of VERY helpful books for less than $20. Good luck.