Many people raise ducks in order to get eggs and meat from them, however, if for some reason you don’t want these birds to lay eggs, if you only want the birds around as pets for example, then egg laying will not be beneficial to you.
If you’re wondering how to stop ducks from laying eggs then read on
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How to stop ducks from laying eggs:
Egg laying is natural and normal for ducks, these birds will lay eggs when the environment is appropriate for laying eggs.
While you can’t physically stop ducks from laying eggs, you can take steps to get the bird to lay fewer eggs or stop laying eggs altogether, this is how to do this:
Keep the birds in the dark:
Ducks lay according to the seasons, the birds lay more eggs during spring and lay fewer eggs during winter, this is because there is less food available to feed their ducklings during the winter.
Thus, the bird’s body has adapted to mainly lay eggs during the months that have longer days namely summer and spring, and the bird’s body has adapted to not lay when the days are shorter during winter and autumn.
If your ducks are currently getting a lot of light then you’d need to put the birds in the dark earlier than they are used to tricking their bodies into thinking that it is the wintertime
Give the birds access to light for only 10 hours out of the day. Make sure that the birds are not disturbed and that they have quiet when they are in the dark.
Get the birds to go broody:
A broody duck will not lay eggs, getting the bird to go broody will help to get the bird to stop laying eggs.
A broody duck is a duck that has laid eggs and is about to incubate them and hatch them after. A broody bird will be so preoccupied with incubating her eggs that she will not lay eggs.
A bird that is broody for a week will stop laying for a couple of weeks or even months. You can use fake eggs to get the bird to go broody.
Making the bird go broody can help stop the bird from laying eggs, but this should be done with caution.
A broody duck will reduce how much it eats and drinks as it is focused on being broody. If the bird is left to be broody for too long then it may become malnourished.
Dirbub them:
Disturbing the duck and her environment will also help to keep the bird from laying eggs.
You can disturb the bird by moving their belongings, like their water buckets and feed bowls, around. Also, remove any nests that the birds make and get rid of the eggs when the birds do decide to lay eggs.
Keeping eggs around stimulates more egg production so removing eggs is recommended.
Warning:
Laying and hatching eggs is in a ducks nature, if these birds aren’t able to do this for long periods of time then the birds may become ill. Consult with a vet before you decide to try to stop your birds from laying eggs.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Duck Eggs Turning Grey, Vinegar And Ducks, How To Stop Ducks Laying Eggs In My Yard, Duck Only Sitting On Eggs At Night, Dark Spots On Duck Eggs, Vinegar In A Duck Pool, Duck Poop Stains In Pool