Khaki cambells haven't started laying?

[sherpa]

hi there,

i bought 3 khakis in october they were about 15 weeks at the time. Should they have started laying by now, or will they wait till the spring as it's so cold. The guy I bought them off said they should start laying mid Nov They live in with the chooks, could this be stopping them? any advise? the chook seem to have stopped laying too, the cold i presume? thanks and a happy new year!

[Llamas]

Oh, dear. I'm sorry to not have anything of use to offer Sherpa, but do bear with them. My one duck is usually better than the hens, though her offspring has yet to provide me with any nourishment!

[BUFFS]

hi..have you tried feeding the birds some hot rice/sweetcorn late in the afternoon/early evening?,we do,and it fuels them up for the long cold nights,we have had -13 degr here several times over the last month,and we are getting 3..usually 4 eggs a day from 5 birds(one is moulting),so the rice stops them using their own energy supplies to keep warm,leaving spare to use on egg laying..we just had another inch or two of snow,so there is no let up,try it,cheapest "value" rice is really cheap,i do 4/5 days rice at a time and just microwave it before giving it out,its gone in a couple of minutes,they pace up and down for an hour beforehand...give it a go!!!!! good luck.

[OverWyreGrower]

My Khaki's haven't been laying because it's so darn cold!!! However, they are starting to 'nest' a bit more inside their house, so I've got my fingers crossed.

My Runner Duck came to POL in October 08, however, we had no eggs from her until Spring 09. This is due to the fact that the weather changes and there wasn't enough daylight really. The breeder told me that if they haven't already started laying in Oct/Nov (for the 1st time) it's unlikely they would start before the spring.

[CountryFayre]

I agree with OverWyreGrower. Although Khaki's are one of the better egg laying ducks, their laying season is shorter than that of chickens. Point of Lay for Pure Breeds is in fact 26 weeks so they would have been point of lay in December time. As this is the shortest month I am afraid they may talk a little while.