Pick the breed and how many ducks you have. You get how many eggs a year to expect, and about how many a week, from the hatchery chart that breeds them. It gives both ends of the range: without extra light, and with the 17 hours of light the hatchery uses. Ducks lay mostly in spring and early summer, so the weekly figure is an average over the year, not a promise for this week.
4 Khaki Campbells · no extra light
About 660 eggs a year
When they lay
If you add light
A duck that stops laying suddenly in spring, or lays soft or shell-less eggs, is a question for a vet, not for a calculator.
Duck egg figures checked 2026-09-27: Metzer Farms and the national Extension network’s small-flock poultry pages.
Quick answer: it depends on the breed more than anything. On Metzer Farms’ breed chart, a Khaki Campbell or Golden Cascade lays 165 eggs a year without extra light and 240 with it. A Jumbo Pekin lays 140 to 175, a Muscovy 100 to 150, and a little Call duck 25 to 50. Metzer’s own hybrid layers top the chart at 200 to 290. Four Khaki Campbells without extra light give about 660 eggs a year, around 13 a week averaged over the year. Most of those eggs come between January and June.
Why every breed has two numbers
Metzer Farms prints a low and a high figure for each breed, and explains why: “The lower numbers are if no artificial lights are used, the upper numbers are if artificial lights are used to maintain 17 hours of light during lay.” Day length is what switches ducks on and off: “An increasing day length (January – June) brings sexually mature ducks into egg production and a decreasing day length (July-December) slows or stops their egg production.” So the question “do ducks lay eggs in winter?” has two answers. Without extra light, few do. With the light topped up to 17 hours, many keep going. The calculator shows both ends and marks the one you picked.
How often does a duck lay?
No source here gives a daily figure, so the calculator gives a year and a weekly average. The weekly figure is honest only as an average: a duck lays hard in spring and may stop altogether in late autumn. Metzer measures a flock by its laying rate: “Increase a little every week and by the time they are laying at 40% production (4 eggs for every 10 females every day) you can start to give them as much as they want to eat.” And the national Extension network’s small-flock page says when to look: “Ducks lay more than 95-98% of their eggs in the morning by 9 AM so eggs can be collected in the morning before the ducks are let out to forage during the day.”
When do ducks start laying?
From Metzer’s FAQ: “Ducks are sexually mature at 20-24 weeks of age. If they have the correct feed and lighting, they will start laying then.” Ducklings hatched in summer may wait: “Otherwise they will start as soon as the days begin to lengthen and it warms up in the spring.” Then they have a few good years. Hobby Farms says ducks kept for eggs “might only produce an optimal number of eggs per year for two or three years,” and My Pet Chicken that “Around 3-5 years, duck fertility and egg production lessen”. No source puts a number on how much less an older duck lays, so the calculator doesn’t lower the figure for age. It tells you instead. The duck lifespan chart shows how long a duck lives after that.
Adding light in winter
Metzer’s method is gradual. “Once the birds are 20-23 weeks of age (smaller breeds at 20 weeks, larger breeds at 23 weeks) you can gradually increase the length of day using artificial light.” Then: “Then every week you can add another 45 minutes (a little in the morning and a little in the evening) until you have a total of 17 hours of light.” Metzer puts the light on a time clock, so it comes on before sunrise and after sunset.
Drakes, feed and the commercial ducks
You don’t need a drake for eggs: “Remember, you do not need males for the females to produce eggs, you only need males for the females to produce fertile eggs.” If you keep one, “The ratio of males to females should be one male to every five to six females.” Ducks bred for eggs outlay hens, says the Extension page: “Commercial chickens lay about 250 eggs a year, but commercial ducks can lay 300-350 eggs per year.” Backyard breeds lay less than that, and Metzer is plain about why: “The egg production of ducks varies tremendously due to genetics and management.” Choosing ducks for eggs? The duck breed finder puts all 21 breeds in order for eggs, a calm pet or meat. The duck vs chicken egg chart shows what each of those eggs holds.