[Jas]

My khaki Campbell's have just started laying and the first egg was as expected size wise but the following eggs have all been pretty small( fourth day of laying)
I'm pretty sure two out of the three ducks are laying  as one is a bit smaller and not as 'low slung' in the abdomen
Ive had one egg day one two eggs day two ,two eggs day three but a third egg laid late afternoon with just a membrane and no shell and two eggs today.
Fried eggs today and found the first egg that was 'normal size' was a double Yolker the others were single but had quite a tough membrane that was hard to get through.
Is the sizing normal at first? I think they are quite young to start laying at 4.5 months and do ducks eggs have a tough membrane I've only had duck egg once before and can't remember it being tough to break through

[waterbuffalofarmer]

That is indeed very odd. As I understand, with chickens that is though, when they are young their eggs generally are quite small and mature as they get older. Could it be something to do with diet at all? What are they being fed and have there been any changes to diet/surrounding?

[Womble]

Yes, totally normal. Give them time and they'll soon sort themselves out  .

The membrane on our duck eggs is also tougher than with hens eggs. For duck eggs, often the shell cracks off when you crack the egg, and the membrane remains intact. They need much more of an impact to break properly than hens eggs, and onto a sharper surface. HTH!

[Jas]

That is indeed very odd. As I understand, with chickens that is though, when they are young their eggs generally are quite small and mature as they get older. Could it be something to do with diet at all? What are they being fed and have there been any changes to diet/surrounding?

Everything is as should be. No changes fed layers and plenty of veg

[Jas]

Yes, totally normal. Give them time and they'll soon sort themselves out  .

The membrane on our duck eggs is also tougher than with hens eggs. For duck eggs, often the shell cracks off when you crack the egg, and the membrane remains intact. They need much more of an impact to break properly than hens eggs, and onto a sharper surface. HTH!

Thanks [member=2128]Womble[/member]
Thought that might be the case but wanted to check. More concerned about the shell less egg. They have plenty of oyster shell added but I'm sure it was a second egg laid that day

Is 4.5 months a bit young to start laying
The eggs were very nice btw. Surprising how much better they are when they are your own

[doganjo]

Are you 100% sure of their ages?  Average POL is much the same as hens - 26 weeks, perhaps even a bit later depending on breed.
Fluctuations in size, shell colour, shell type, time of laying etc are very common till birds are mature.

The cycle for a hen is not 24 hours as is generally thought, but more like between 26 and 28 hours, so in theory it's normal to eventually have two eggs in a day, depending on what time you collect them.  I'm not sure if ducks cycle is the same.

[Womble]

More concerned about the shell less egg.

Don't be (or at least not yet!). Shell-less eggs, double yolkers and yolk-less eggs are common when they're just starting to lay. I've even had an egg-within-an-egg before. Give them time and slugs, and all will be well! 

[Jas]

Are you 100% sure of their ages?  Average POL is much the same as hens - 26 weeks, perhaps even a bit later depending on breed.
Fluctuations in size, shell colour, shell type, time of laying etc are very common till birds are mature.

The cycle for a hen is not 24 hours as is generally thought, but more like between 26 and 28 hours, so in theory it's normal to eventually have two eggs in a day, depending on what time you collect them.  I'm not sure if ducks cycle is the same.

I bought them as week old chicks   So confident of their ages. They seem to be laying somewhere between first light and 7 when they are let out (unless they lay in the night?). Have been regularly as clockwork apart from that one egg

[Jas]

More concerned about the shell less egg.

Don't be (or at least not yet!). Shell-less eggs, double yolkers and yolk-less eggs are common when they're just starting to lay. I've even had an egg-within-an-egg before. Give them time and slugs, and all will be well! 

They get plenty of slugs and insects   
The OH is a feeder always giving them treats so they get lots of supplements too

[doganjo]

[/quote]
I bought them as week old chicks   So confident of their ages. They seem to be laying somewhere between first light and 7 when they are let out (unless they lay in the night?). Have been regularly as clockwork apart from that one egg
[/quote]Ok, they are young to start laying so may be erratic for a while.  Sounds like they have a good life! 

[Caroline1]

Sounds fine to me as well, a bit younger than mine were when they started laying but they should get themselves sorted. I have never had a double yolker from a duck a few wind eggs over the years though.

[Jas]

Sounds fine to me as well, a bit younger than mine were when they started laying but they should get themselves sorted. I have never had a double yolker from a duck a few wind eggs over the years though.

The double yolker was the very first egg laid!

[Black Sheep]

All sounds completely normal to me (based on my limited experience of our two white campbells). They also started to lay before we expected them to (but were of potentially varied age when obtained). We also occasionally got a "jelly egg" as we named the ones without shells to begin with - I equated it to them getting everything lined up and working properly.

The size/weight of their eggs gradually increased over the first week or two and took a few months of variability until they settled down to their average (I was sad enough to weigh every egg for about 8 months ) The regularity of laying also took a bit to settle down (and one began laying regularly about a fortnight before the other).

Ducks (can) lay each day as their egg production cycle is 24h whereas in hens it is > 24h and as the start is linked to light levels, I think, as the laying time gets progressively later in the day there comes a point at which the start of the next is delayed and they will miss a day. We did manage to train ours to lay in their house by keeping them shut in until after the time when we were finding the eggs (which helpfully worked out as breakfast time for us), ever since they have had an open house into their enclosed run but still lay in the house most of the time in a nest depression they make in the straw - although oddly, just the one for the pair of them.

The membrane is definitely tougher - might it be something to do with them being aquatic? A good whack or a clean edge - I found hitting the egg with the back of a table knife was better than tapping against a bowl and it either not splitting or spraying egg white everywhere

They are great to eat aren't they! Duck egg sponge cake is amazing too.

[Jas]

Ducks (can) lay each day as their egg production cycle is 24h whereas in hens it is > 24h and as the start is linked to light levels, I think, as the laying time gets progressively later in the day there comes a point at which the start of the next is delayed and they will miss a day. We did manage to train ours to lay in their house by keeping them shut in until after the time when we were finding the eggs (which helpfully worked out as breakfast time for us), ever since they have had an open house into their enclosed run but still lay in the house most of the time in a nest depression they make in the straw - although oddly, just the one for the pair of them.

The membrane is definitely tougher - might it be something to do with them being aquatic? A good whack or a clean edge - I found hitting the egg with the back of a table knife was better than tapping against a bowl and it either not splitting or spraying egg white everywhere

They are great to eat aren't they! Duck egg sponge cake is amazing too.

So far apart from the jelly egg they have been laying in their house and the eggs have been laid in the same spot. But not a nest

Cake is the next thing to try with them

[devonlady]

A just laid duck egg, poached, on a piece of toast spread with good butter  must be one of the best dishes in the world!