Keeping Ducks for Eggs in a Back Garden

Why Keep Ducks for Eggs?

A duck egg is roughly 70–90g, noticeably bigger than a hen's egg, with a thicker shell and a richer, creamier yolk. That extra fat makes them brilliant for baking — sponges rise higher, custards set more reliably, and scrambled duck eggs are a breakfast in their own right. People who react badly to hen eggs sometimes find duck eggs sit far more comfortably.

Ducks also lay generously. A good Khaki Campbell can produce well over 300 eggs a year, and unlike hens they don't shut up shop quite so firmly through the winter. They're hardy, they forage hard, and a small flock will clear your garden of slugs with real enthusiasm. They do, however, make a mess, they're loud, and they need water and security arranged properly before they arrive.

Choosing the Right Breed

If eggs are the priority, pick a laying breed rather than a heavy ornamental one. Kept as a trio or small group, they'll reward you handsomely.

• Khaki Campbell — the laying champion, 300+ white eggs a year, busy and inquisitive, but noisy.
• Indian Runner — upright, elegant, excellent foragers, 200+ eggs and very thrifty on feed.
• Welsh Harlequin — friendly, good layers of white eggs, and easy to sex as ducklings.
• Pekin — heavy and docile, around 150 eggs, lovely for a family but harder on grass.
• Muscovy — much quieter than most, good mothers, but modest layers.

For eggs alone you need no drake at all. Hens lay perfectly well without one, and a drake will over-mate a small group and shred feathers. If you do want one, allow at least four to six ducks per drake.

Housing and Fox-Proof Security

Ducks don't perch. They sleep on the floor, so a single-storey house with a solid base and a gently sloping roof suits them far better than a raised chicken coop with a ramp. Allow about one square metre per duck indoors, plus a covered run alongside.

Mr Fox is the main threat and he works at dusk and dawn. Buy or build a house you can lock with a bolt, not a hook-and-eye, and shut the ducks in every single evening — a routine worth protecting even when you're tired or late home. Line the run with weldmesh buried at least 30cm down and turned outward to stop digging. Badgers, mink and rats will all take eggs or ducklings, so keep feed in sealed bins and never leave spilled pellets around overnight.

Ventilation should be high up and draught-free. Damp, stuffy housing causes more problems than cold.

Water: Ponds, Buckets and Bedding

The most common mistake new keepers make is digging a beautiful pond that's impossible to empty. Two ducks will turn still water into green soup within days. A rigid paddling pool with a drain plug is far more practical: empty it every two or three days, scrub it out, refill.

Swimming water is nice to have, but head-dunking water is essential. Ducks need to submerge their whole bill and eyes regularly to keep nostrils and eyes clear. Without it, they develop crusty, uncomfortable faces. A deep bucket or tub, refreshed daily, does the job perfectly.

• Site water away from the house entrance, or you'll carry mud indoors all winter.
• Keep food and drink out of the house overnight — soaked bedding causes respiratory trouble.
• In freezing weather, don't let them swim late in the day. Wet feathers that don't dry before dark can chill a duck badly.
• Use straw, wood shavings or hemp bedding, and top it up rather than letting it go soggy.

Feeding for Strong Shells and Steady Laying

Feed a proper layers pellet — a duck-specific one if you can get it, otherwise a good poultry layers pellet — offered ad lib or around 150g per bird per day. Alongside it, keep a separate hopper of crushed oyster shell so each duck can top up her own calcium, plus insoluble grit to help her grind food down.

Ducks are superb foragers and will hoover up slugs, snails, beetles and fallen fruit. Kitchen scraps are fine in moderation — leafy greens, vegetable peelings, cooked rice — but skip bread, which fills them up with very little nutrition. Slugs carry lungworm, so if your ducks are permanently on the same patch, don't let them gorge endlessly on them.

Collecting, Storing and Using Duck Eggs

Most ducks lay in the early hours, well before dawn, so eggs are usually waiting when you open up. Collect daily — twice a day in summer. Duck eggs have a natural protective bloom on the shell, so don't wash them; simply brush off dried mud with a dry cloth or a bit of fine sandpaper. Washed eggs must be used quickly.

Store them in a cool larder or fridge and treat them exactly as you would hen eggs, though they're best eaten within a fortnight. In baking, one duck egg comfortably replaces one large hen egg, and for richness you can swap it one-for-one and reduce your added fat slightly. Duck eggs are also easy to sell from a gate stall if you have a surplus — but check your local rules on selling eggs before you start.

Give them good housing, clean water, decent feed and a locked door at night, and a small flock of ducks will keep your kitchen well supplied for years.