Are Duck Eggs Soft When First Laid?

Are you worried that your duck is laying soft eggs like water-filled balloons? We’re used to eggs with hard shells, which is the norm. But the ducks do lay soft eggs sometimes, and most of the time, it’s nothing serious.

Especially when they’re laying for the first time. So if you’re wondering, are duck eggs soft when first laid? The answer is Yes! They first start laying when they’re still pretty young. The age of the duck affects the formation of the shell to a great extent.

We’re going to focus on the young ducks in this article, as the first eggs of most young ducks tend to be soft.

Sometimes because their reproductive system is yet to mature, and sometimes for reasons not particularly related to that. Those other reasons are elaborated further in the following sections.

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Do New Layers Lay Soft Eggs?

Although it’s not common in all of them, a good number of ducks start to lay soft eggs as new layers. Since most of the new layers are not mature enough to lay eggs as a full-time duty, their oviduct is yet to be ready to produce a well-formed egg.

As a result, the organ fails to provide the needed elements for a hard eggshell.

Do Duck Eggs Harden Over Time?

Duck eggs don’t harden over time if it’s a soft one. Once the egg is laid, it will always remain in a soft state. For the eggs to harden, they have to be reproduced with an outer shell layer formed by the shell gland.

In the case of young ducks, however, it takes a little for their shell glands to be able to form shells. Now, how long does it take for duck eggs to harden after they are laid? It takes about 30 weeks for young ducks to lay proper hard-shell eggs.

If it takes longer than that, it might be time for an upgrade in the diet, a change in the coop, or a visit to the vet.

The gland sometimes fails to produce eggshells even after 30 weeks when the duck is sick, doesn’t have all the nutrients necessary for shell formation in the diet, or is heavily stressed.

In such cases, the time of recovery might vary depending on the duck’s physical status, and it won’t be able to lay hard eggs until then.

Why Are Duck Eggs Soft When First Laid?

As already mentioned above, it happens because the reproductive system is still new in the process. And then there’s the shell gland. During the first attempts, the gland often fails to come up with the shell layer.

But sometimes, there are other reasons, which are more common in older ducks. Let’s have a look at the other significant reasons.

Nutrition-Issue

It also happens due to the absence of sufficient vitamin D and calcium in their system. Calcium is the absolute must for the hard shell to form.

The internal organs of new layers often fail to leave some calcium for the egg following the old system. And sometimes, the duck doesn’t get enough calcium to begin with.

This issue can be solved by introducing crushed oyster shells to their diet. The crushed shells work like a miracle to supply sufficient calcium for forming hard egg shells.

To ensure the duck gets enough vitamin D, give them feeds enriched with the vitamin. The ray of the morning sun helps too.

Health-Trouble

The first condition for a duck to be able to lay a good egg is to be full of health, let it be a new layer or a mature one.

If the duck is sick with diseases like egg binding and egg drop syndrome ’76, there will be an impact of that on the shell or the shape of the egg as well.

Keep them and their surroundings clean, and get them checked by vets to eliminate the chances of this happening.

Stress or Fear

If not anything else, you can blame the soft eggs on stress or fear. Ducks need assurance of safety, enough space, and a relaxed pace to produce a good egg.

This becomes impossible when predatory animals are always after them, humans are chasing them for no reason, or they don’t have enough room around.

Which causes them stress and fear, which leads to the odd formation of eggs. And this is even more of an issue in younger, new layers.

Final Takeaway

Whatever the reason is, you don’t need to worry much. As you can see, are duck eggs soft when first laid, that is not a big issue. They do, and it will get better with time if it’s not caused by sickness, stress, or lack of nutrients in the diet.

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References

https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultry/egg-drop-syndrome-76/egg-drop-syndrome-%E2%80%9976
https://www.lifestyleblock.co.nz/forum/your-place/33227-duck-laying-soft-shelled-eggs