abitquackers
New member
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- 12
Hello,
We have two ducks that have laid pretty well all Winter (our first lot, we're total beginners in Duck keeping!). They were born later and so became POL in the summer (we bought them just before POL), so I wondered if that has had an effect on them laying later than most ducks would. I've read and been told that they should be encouraged to stop laying for periods and this is often light-related. Over Winter, we put them in their sleeping area house (no light) a bit earlier and they were exposed to the lower light levels, but they've carried on laying. They are laying less, so at one point we had 2-3 eggs a day from them (right up until about November) and now we have about 1 every couple of days from our Khaki Campbell and 1 a day from our Silver Appleyard. Obviously, I'm pleased they're fab layers, but should I be doing extra to encourage them to completely stop laying for a period of time - perhaps put tarp around their daytime area to reduce light (then again, it's not hugely bright all the time in Wales anyway) or put out china eggs? Or is this something that tends to happen the first year (where they lay less but don't stop) and then subsequent years we'll find they do? Or is it purely the later POL and is it likely they'll stop in Spring instead?
Thank you!
We have two ducks that have laid pretty well all Winter (our first lot, we're total beginners in Duck keeping!). They were born later and so became POL in the summer (we bought them just before POL), so I wondered if that has had an effect on them laying later than most ducks would. I've read and been told that they should be encouraged to stop laying for periods and this is often light-related. Over Winter, we put them in their sleeping area house (no light) a bit earlier and they were exposed to the lower light levels, but they've carried on laying. They are laying less, so at one point we had 2-3 eggs a day from them (right up until about November) and now we have about 1 every couple of days from our Khaki Campbell and 1 a day from our Silver Appleyard. Obviously, I'm pleased they're fab layers, but should I be doing extra to encourage them to completely stop laying for a period of time - perhaps put tarp around their daytime area to reduce light (then again, it's not hugely bright all the time in Wales anyway) or put out china eggs? Or is this something that tends to happen the first year (where they lay less but don't stop) and then subsequent years we'll find they do? Or is it purely the later POL and is it likely they'll stop in Spring instead?
Thank you!
god luck with your girls x