Duck eggs
Posted by Brenda Wagnon on March 6, 2006
Q: We recently moved to a farm with a established pond with 13 ducks. Most are mallards, male and female. They lay eggs all along the pond edge in and out of the water. Will these hatch? Can we eat them? If they can be eaten do they get too old to eat while sitting in the water?
State: Tennessee
A: It's quite common for Mallards to "dump" eggs prior to the nesting season. For the most part, these eggs are indeed fertile. Not sure why these ducks do this - very inefficient - but I know someone who brought one of these eggs in and incubated it and ended up with a pet duck. Sure, you can eat them whether they're fertile or not. Eggs have a protective layer over the shell (you can't really see this layer) that keeps the egg free of bacteria and also keeps water out. So, an egg can lie in water or on the ground for many days and still be edible. Thanks for your question and good eating.
John Wiessinger ( March 7, 2006)