I like ducks! I like duck eggs even better! but those statements don’t mean much without some explanation.
One of my permissions is owned by a well-known local veterinarian, and his family. They raise show cattle, and they have a rather impressive track record, including at least two, National Grand Champions. But like other exurban farms, they have their share of horses, chickens, and ducks! Ah! But they don’t eat the duck eggs.
When I found out they don’t eat duck eggs, I started to collect and eat them myself. The ducks they have (had), are a variety of mallard, and they don’t lay all year long. So earlier this Spring, I bought two Pekin ducks at the local Ace Hardware store. They were unsexed, but I took a chance. I was lucky, in that both turned out to be hens. Well guess what?
Pekin ducks are rather large (about 10 pounds), and lay extra-large-sized eggs, which are often double-yoked. Being layers, and not brooders, it’s easy collecting their eggs. On average, they lay 5 to 7 eggs per week, each. That’s a lot of eggs for one person to eat, so the neighbors get a few too! But there is a lot more to duck eggs than you would expect. Here is a site (
https://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/poultry/eggs-meat/egg-facts-duck-eggs-vs-chicken-eggs/) which gives you the details. There is one thing they don’t mention. Duck eggs have about 10 times the vitamin B12 that hen eggs have. That’s a good thing, as you need a lot more B12 as you get older.
Duck eggs also last longer (due to the thicker shell and membrane), and have a larger amount of albumin (white) making them great for cooking, especially for meringue pies. Their taste is a bit different than hen eggs, but most folks never notice the difference.
Personally, I like duck eggs hard-boiled, but their thicker shells make them really hard to crack open and to peel. There is a solution, however. Just cut them with a knife crossways, and spoon out the contents! At 130 calories each, two make a very good breakfast. If you want a taste treat, put a little gray pompon mustard and a dash of salt on them! Yummy for the tummy!
There is another benefit—I don’t have to feed them. I do, of course, when required, and I do make sure they have clean pond water. However, I pay for these eggs in a different way—Pigeons!
There have been reams of data printed about pigeons, but when you’re a cattle raiser, there is one aspect of pigeons which need to be addressed— coccidiosis! Coccidia is a protozoan disease, primarily affecting young animals. It affects not only cattle, it affects ducks (!), chickens, and other common farm animals. Treating coccidiosis is an expensive undertaking, often requiring antibiotics—a factual expenditure we all want to reduce in more ways than one!
So where does this fit into airguns? Simple! I shoot the pigeons, and in return, I get free duck eggs. I think I’m getting the bigger end of the stick!
