Ducks are very fun, but very messy. Some breeds are noisier than others as well. Some fly, some don't. Just a heads up. They have fantastic personalities, though!
Here are a few things to note about the eggs: they are larger: yolks, whites & membranes are thicker. They are richer (higher fat content) and have higher protein than chicken eggs. They are supposed to help cakes have more lift, although I have not seen the difference. Egg whites are supposed to not become stiff when beating, although someone I talked to said they had no problem with this (I have never beaten the whites). Some breeds lay more eggs per year than others. Chickens rate of lay is spread out over the year more than duck. Duck is often more seasonal than chicken. Egg storage is no different than chicken eggs.
Some breeds (muscovy, pekin, Cayuga) are more suited to meat than eggs, although they can be used for both. Ancona, Indian Runner and Khaki Campbell are the ones most often used for egg production. Most do not lay as many eggs as reported, as sometimes the ability has decreased for some reason over time.
The Cayuga lays grey to black eggs. We have had our muscovies lay kind of off-whitish eggs and our runners lay that off-whitish color to blue.
Ducks are often less susceptible to most poultry diseases and some external parasites, the latter due to their fondness of water. Runners and muscovies do not require swimming areas, although it is nice to have to keep the feathers clean.
There is more information here:
http://modernfarmer.com/2015/06/everything-you-need-to-know-about-duck-eggs/
For comparison of duck breeds here is a great downloadable chart from the Livestock Conservancy (US):
https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/duck-chart Remember that there are variations in color and feather pattern in some of these breeds shown.
Here is a forum that I really appreciate for all things poultry and it is Canadian: albertachickensetc.punbb-hosting.com They are very helpful there and give good advice. You can also find a number of good breeders there as well.
If you want good information on ducks in book form, Storey Publishing is usually a good source for livestock/small farm information.
I would be curious to know what breed you are looking for. I am currently looking for a cayuga pair/trio, a female fawn & white runner and black IR drake to add to our flocks. PM me if you want to chat. I would be happy to help you out if I can.
Edited by Flutterby, 2016-04-13 09:11:47