Baking Business spoke with Steve Gibson from Rangeview Farm Foods – a venture he runs with his wife, Gabrielle – to hear about the process of running a farm that is home to ducks and just what makes these eggs so special.

Can you tell us about the beginning of Rangeview Farm Foods? When was it established and why?

Gabrielle (my wife) and I established what is now Rangeview Farm Foods in 2017 when we acquired Burrowes Park Mayonnaise and purchased our farm in the Central Highlands of Victoria.

Before this, we were both working in Melbourne’s corporate sector—I was a sales executive in the IT industry, while Gabrielle owned and operated a successful High-Rise Owners Corporation Management (Strata Management) business. However, our shared passion for food, both making and enjoying it, was always in the background. You name it, we’ve tried making it—ham, bacon, salami, cheese, sauces, kimchi, ferments, and even sourdough and brioche!

In 2015, Gabrielle sold her business and took a well-earned break to spend time with our young sons, Samuel (then two-years-old) and Jacob (six months). But by late 2016, she was eager for the next challenge, and together we began searching for our next venture—one that would allow us to turn our love of food into a commercial enterprise.

We had been on the lookout for a farm since 2010, initially envisioning a free-range pig farm on 100 acres, but we struggled to find the right property within our budget. By 2017, with two young children in tow, we decided a smaller farm would be more practical and settled on our current location in the hills south of Ballarat.

At the same time, we were also searching for an existing food business to acquire—something that would allow us to hit the ground running rather than building from scratch. It was then that we stumbled across a small advertisement in the Victorian Farmers Market Association Newsletter for a boutique whole-egg mayonnaise business whose owner was retiring.

And with that, the foundation for Rangeview Farm Foods was set.

Among the items your produce are duck eggs. Why did you decide to sell these over chicken eggs?

When we first moved to our farm, we quickly realised that it wasn’t suited for the free-range pig farming we had originally envisioned. Instead, we took a more exploratory approach—acquiring various animals to see what worked and what we genuinely enjoyed raising.

One day, on a whim, we came home with six ducks (“Everyone has chickens, let’s get some ducks!”). As we settled into life with them, we discovered just how delicious and abundant their eggs were. Before long, we had more than we could possibly eat, so we decided to experiment with using them in our mayonnaise—by then, an AFA Silver Medal winner.

The results were transformative. The texture was unlike anything we had made before—firm peaks, yet soft and light on the palate, with a much cleaner finish than our chicken egg mayonnaise. That was the moment we knew we had something special. From then on, we became full-time duck farmers to support our growing mayonnaise business—a decision that soon helped us win three gold medals for our top-selling varieties.

As our flock grew to meet the demands of mayonnaise production, we encountered another challenge—seasonal fluctuations. Egg production slowed in winter but surged in spring and early summer, often leaving us with a surplus of eggs. To make use of the excess, we began selling them through our local Farmgate store, where they quickly became a top seller.

Recognising the demand, we saw an opportunity to establish a direct-to-market duck egg business. Today, we can’t produce enough to meet demand from our loyal retailers across Melbourne, Geelong, and Ballarat—including markets like Queen Victoria, Prahran, South Melbourne, and Preston Markets.

Ducks on Rangeview Farms

What are the major differences between chicken and duck eggs?

Duck eggs vary in size, ranging from small duckling eggs (similar to pullet eggs) at 40–50g each, to extra-large eggs exceeding 100g. However, it’s not just the size that sets them apart—their composition is also notably different from chicken eggs.

One key difference is the yolk-to-white ratio. While a typical chicken egg consists of approximately 30 per cent yolk and 70 per cent white, duck eggs contain closer to 40 per cent yolk and 60 per cent white. Additionally, duck egg whites have a lower water content, making them ideal for poaching, as they hold their shape better in water.

Beyond their structural benefits, duck eggs are also a nutritional powerhouse. They contain higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, making them not only a superior choice for nutrition but also an excellent functional ingredient in baking and cooking.

For those in the baking industry, why should they consider incorporating duck eggs into the range?

From a baking perspective, duck eggs contain more fat than chicken eggs, contributing to richer, moister baked goods. This extra fat enhances flavour, tenderness, and crumb structure in cakes, pastries, and cookies, making them an excellent choice for premium baking.

Beyond fat content, duck eggs also contain more protein per gram than chicken eggs—and not just more, but different types of protein. This difference is what gives our mayonnaise its unique texture and also makes duck eggs safe for some individuals with chicken egg allergies. In baking, higher protein content leads to:

Better structure → Fluffier cakes and stronger meringues

More stable batters → Baked goods rise higher and hold their shape better

Superior aeration → Ideal for macarons, soufflés, and meringues, which whip up higher and hold their form beautifully

Another standout feature is lecithin content—duck egg yolks contain 1.5 to 2 times more lecithin than chicken eggs. Lecithin is a natural emulsifier, essential for making our mayonnaise, but it also enhances emulsification in batters, leading to:

• Creamier custards
• Richer doughs
• Smoother, more cohesive batters

While I haven’t had time to experiment yet, I imagine brioche made with duck eggs would be extraordinary. Based on composition, I’d estimate a substitution of two average-sized (75–85g) duck eggs for every three chicken eggs in a standard recipe.

Are there any special considerations that need to taken into account when cooking/baking with duck eggs?

When cooking duck eggs—whether poached, boiled, or fried—their unique composition requires slight adjustments compared to chicken eggs. The whites cook faster due to their lower water content, while the higher fat content in the yolks allows them to be cooked longer before turning hard. To achieve the perfect texture, I generally recommend using a slightly lower temperature and a longer cooking time than you would for chicken eggs to strike the right balance.

Another important consideration is egg weight and shell thickness. While duck eggs are larger and heavier than chicken eggs, they also have thicker shells, which contribute more to their total weight. This means that simply comparing in-shell weights when substituting duck eggs for chicken eggs may work for small-scale recipes, but when scaling up—for example, to 30kg of dough—it’s often more accurate to weigh unshelled eggs to get precise measurements.

Eggs for sale at the market

What does an average day on the farm look like for you? How does this vary throughout the year and during laying season?

Ducks begin laying their eggs early in the morning, from around 4am, and typically finish by 9am. Once laying is complete, we open their netted, predator-safe pens and walk them out to the paddocks, where they roam, forage, and engage in natural duck behaviour.

To manage their grazing, we use portable mesh fencing, rotating them to fresh pasture approximately every two weeks. While pasture provides variety, it lacks sufficient protein and calcium, so we supplement their diet with nutritionally balanced feed. Fresh drinking and swimming water is always available, and the ducks largely look after themselves until dusk, when we walk them back to their pens, top up their overnight feed and water, and say goodnight.

We collect eggs daily, and on weekends, our boys help out. Each egg is inspected, stored in our cool room, and then prepared for weekly cleaning, sanitising, and packaging for delivery to market.

Duck egg production follows a natural seasonal cycle, much like their wild ancestors:

• Spring and early summer → Peak laying season, as this is their breeding period.
• Late summer → Egg production slows as ducks prepare for migration.
• Autumn → Ducks moult and transition into winter plumage (Eclipse plumage).
• Winter → Most breeds stop laying altogether, but our Khaki Campbells and Welsh Harlequins, selectively bred for consistent egg production, continue laying—albeit at a slower rate—except for about four to six weeks during the coldest part of the year.

In addition to caring for our laying ducks, we maintain our own hatchery, allowing us to expand our flocks, increase egg production, and introduce more people to the wonders of duck eggs!

Beyond farming, we also:

• Manufacture our award-winning Duck Egg Mayonnaise
• Process and fulfill orders from existing customers
• Seek out new retailers and partners to stock our products
• Handle all deliveries every Friday
• Manage marketing, social media, and everything else needed to grow our business—often after hours!

Rangeview farms eggs

How many eggs are laid on the Rangeview Farm during laying season?  What’s involved in the overall production process (how are the eggs collected? What happens between that and sale)?

Currently, we maintain a flock of around 200 ducks, with a goal of adding another 200 ducks annually. This measured growth strategy allows us to gradually increase egg production, secure new customers, and scale our business in a sustainable, controlled way.

During peak laying season, each of our layer ducks lays one egg per day, every day. And over the course of a year, we typically see our ducks lay between 250 to 300 eggs each

However, production follows a seasonal cycle:

• Spring and early summer → Peak laying period
• Winter (July) → Minimal to no egg production

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

From my time selling at farmers’ markets, I’ve noticed that older generations (I’m in my early 50s) often have a preconceived idea about how duck eggs taste—“Ooh, they taste really strong!” is something I hear regularly before they’ve tasted anything we have to offer.

The reality is that, just like all eggs, the flavour of duck eggs is influenced by the birds’ diet. Our ducks forage on pasture, insects, and worms, supplemented with a high-quality, plant-based feed. This results in eggs with a richer, more pronounced “eggy” flavour compared to chicken eggs, but not an entirely different taste. Ducks raised on ponds, farm dams, waterways etc. will eat fish, frogs, yabbies and other aquatic life, and as a result the flavour of their eggs will be different again.

Additionally, flavour changes with the seasons, reflecting the variety in their natural diet. To enjoy the best duck eggs, always choose eggs from well-raised, pasture-foraging ducks—it makes all the difference in both flavour and quality!