Expert: Julia Booth - 10/2/2008

Question
I have a 'pet' white duck (one of a breeding pair) who has been sitting on a nest some where in the garden by the dam, yesterday when she came down for feeding she keept stoping and chewing/shaking her head. When she got down to me i noticed it was a egg she had been eating! some one told me i need to put pepper on her eggs to stop her eating them?? is this true?? why has she eaten the egg??
Thanks for your help

Answer
I'm so sorry for the wait. I was very ill and couldn't get online.

Regarding your duck. First, ducks in general are not very bright. They sometimes eat their eggs, because the shells provide them with calcium. Sometimes they discard the unfertilized ones. Sometimes they eat the shells of their hatched babies for nutrients as well. The factor of why is something that no one completely understands.

During breeding season, which this is not, when she will be more likely sitting on actual eggs that are fertile, she will probably not engage in this behavior.

Unless you are planning to eat the eggs yourselves, which I don't hear of too many people doing, I don't see a problem. The eggs will not hurt the duck.

I have never heard about using pepper as a deterrent either.

Good luck,

Julia