Dive Into Ducks

If You Want Hours Of Entertainment Along With Big, Tasty, Nutritious Eggs, Ducks Are Well Worth Considering

- Megg Miller

We seem to have forgotten one of the attributes that made ducks popular in the past: their eggs! Many of us can remember how highly prized duck eggs were by serious cooks, particularly for home-baked cakes.

Most farms kept a few laying ducks for Mum’s baking. Townies valued their rural friendships and were thrilled when given a spare dozen duck eggs, but commercially produced bakery goods have replaced the home cook’s efforts. As well, numerous diets preclude or limit grains, so there’s a greatly reduced call on rich homemade fare.

EGG DIFFERENCES

Most duck eggs are white-shelled but some breeds produce light-blue or green-shelled eggs and very occasionally you will see grey-shelled eggs. Black plumaged ducks are likely to produce grey shells when first laying due to an excess of the black feather pigment in their system. This soon stabilises and conventional shell colour appears. It’s a shock to encounter a sooty-shelled egg!

Duck eggs are generally larger than chook eggs with thicker, smoother shells and clear viscous albumen. They also have more solids and less liquid compared to hens’ eggs, the extra calorific nutrition believed to give newly hatched ducklings a boost. In the wild, most ducks would be setting in a damp environment, so extra energy could be needed by the hatchlings.

There’s a richer taste with duck eggs, making them closer to guinea or turkey eggs flavour-wise. The larger yolk-toalbumen ratio may be responsible for the richer flavour, but diet is influential, too, and ranging ducks consume lots of live protein as well as green forage.

A larger yolk and higher fat content mean higher cholesterol levels in duck eggs and, while eggs have been exonerated from detrimental cholesterol effects, it may be wise not to overdo your egg intake.

LAYER DUCKS