How Are Duck Eggs Fertilized?

People see duck eggs at different stages---some infertile, bearing no duckling inside; some cracked and open on the ground; and some from poor-at-brooding mothers just waiting to be hatched. Before they are laid, many things happen to and within the duck eggs.

  1. Mating

    • Mating occurs once a year, in the pleasant spring and summer months, and must be done with the hen once every four to five days for good fertilization.

    Fertilization Type

    • Ducks practice internal fertilization for protection of the developing egg, meaning that all fertilization takes place inside the female reproductive tract.

    Inside the Female

    • Inside the female duck, the gametes, or the egg and sperm, combine to create a zygote, or a fertilized egg. With ducks and other fowl, the egg is coated in a hard protective shell and laid outside the body, where it is sat on for warmth until the egg hatches, or in some cases, incubates.

    Laying Eggs

    • Ducks will lay eggs every day of the year, except when they are moulting or if they are unhealthy. If no male is present, the duck eggs will be unfertilized and can be eaten.

    Fertilized Eggs

    • Fertilized eggs can be laid the day following initial breeding, and females will lay fertilized eggs (if uninterrupted during mating) for a few days after the mating.

    Domestic Breeding

    • If you want to breed a duck domestically, keep the male with about five or six females, and he will breed with most if not all of the hens. This will yield more eggs more quickly, and breeding will occur similarly throughout the flock.