Young/mature ducks vs day-old?

that's good to know. I know NY has a minimum of an order of 6 though. McMurray was one I was looking at but I don't think Meyer is on my list yet. I'll have to check them out.

What are the thoughts on buying off Craigslist or eBay? I'm into expensive exotic ornamental fish and generally that crowd looks down on eBay/CL fish because of poor breeding stock perceptions and breeders that don't properly care for their fish. Not that good breeders aren't on eBay or Craigslist... it's just assumed any good breeder will have a "reputation" on one of the major forum sites.

Is that the general feel here as well?
Hmm, I can't exactly say for sure, since I am not exactly familiar with poultry owners who sell their product on Craigslist or eBay. However, to avoid any problems with dead or sick birds or dishonest sellers, my preference is to check on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) to see if a business is reputable. Of course, this is not to say that there aren't individuals who turn out a worthy product on those websites, it's just that there's a risk that's always present. Also, just because a place is well-known and shows up as the very first on search results does not mean that it is the absolute best. Believe me, as a turtle owner who a year ago was searching for a specific species, the Turtle Shack ALWAYS was the supposed go-to reptile website. Come to find out, 85% of the time, people who ordered from them received dead, injured, or ill turtles. Talk about lousy! My advice to you is to make sure that your money is well spent on good-quality birds from a trustworthy breeder or hatchery who has a good general rating.
smile.png
The last thing I want for anybody is for them to be taken advantage of or be discouraged by bad experiences with their first brood when this is supposed to be such a cheerful time full of enjoyment from the babies. You deserve the best service possible. I hope this helps!

-Alexandra33
 
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Hmm, I can't exactly say for sure, since I am not exactly familiar with poultry owners who sell their product on Craigslist or eBay. However, to avoid any problems with dead or sick birds or dishonest sellers, my preference is to check on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) to see if a business is reputable. Of course, this is not to say that there aren't individuals who turn out a worthy product on those websites, it's just that there's a risk that's always present. Also, just because a place is well-known and shows up as the very first on search results does not mean that it is the absolute best. Believe me, as a turtle owner who a year ago was searching for a specific species, the Turtle Shack ALWAYS was the supposed go-to reptile website. Come to find out, 85% of the time, people who ordered from them received dead, injured, or ill turtles. Talk about lousy! My advice to you is to make sure that your money is well spent on good-quality birds from a trustworthy breeder or hatchery who has a good general rating.
smile.png
The last thing I want for anybody is for them to be taken advantage of or be discouraged by bad experiences with their first brood when this is supposed to be such a cheerful time full of enjoyment from the babies. You deserve the best service possible. I hope this helps!

-Alexandra33

Yeah, the same thing happens with fish and the top site. There's always a new 'sucker'. I was looking at eFowl.com but my wife found the reviews on this forum and said they were to be avoided because there are definitely better alternatives.
 
that's good to know. I know NY has a minimum of an order of 6 though. McMurray was one I was looking at but I don't think Meyer is on my list yet. I'll have to check them out.

What are the thoughts on buying off Craigslist or eBay? I'm into expensive exotic ornamental fish and generally that crowd looks down on eBay/CL fish because of poor breeding stock perceptions and breeders that don't properly care for their fish. Not that good breeders aren't on eBay or Craigslist... it's just assumed any good breeder will have a "reputation" on one of the major forum sites.

Is that the general feel here as well?

You have to be careful buying from people on CL, and ducks can't be sold on eBay. We sell on CL and through local ads, but that's because we don't ship. You aren't likely to find top quality ducks that way, but it sounds like that's not what you're looking for. You'd just want to carefully screen anyone who was selling them on CL to get a feel for them. Have you tried checking with local feed stores? They often have contacts for buying poultry.
 
Oh, that made me think of another question. If I get say 4 Muscovies this year and another 4 Cayugas will there be any conflict? Will they "flock" together?

Also, do Muscovies and Cayugas interbreed? I read that Muscovies and Pekings will but their offspring will be sterile and somewhat undesirable?

I would prefer they didn't that way I know what is hatching out of what.

Thanks,
E

I researched your question some on the internet and there is a lot of material out there about Muscovy ducks and their habits. Like you mentioned, if they do breed with another duck breed, the resulting ducklings are sterile and called moulards or mules. People love their Muscovies, and from what I read if there are enough Muscovy hens to go around, they probably won't bother to breed with ducks of another kind, but I would not count on that. There are forums for just specific breeds of ducks on this site and I would recommend going to one of these breed specific groups to ask, I am really not much help on these two breeds. I have Rouen, Swedish, Call and Ancona ducks. The Ancona are the newest breed and they are integrating well into the flock, but it has taken some time for the others, who were established, to be more friendly. They have a large duck enclosure that they all share at night and tonight they were eating together. The Anconas are only about 6 weeks old, but already large. I really think the other ducks didn't know what to make of these crazy quilt marked ducks.
 
I can't believe so much time has passed since I started this thread. I'm glad I kind of took it slow. Ordered my ducks from Metzer farms and I'm expecting them this week.

Decided against the Muscovies as they're considered "invasive" here. I took up several breeds for egg laying but I'm going to keep male Pekins around. That way I can breed out pure pekins for meat birds. I might let the Pekin X egg layer occur to get some additional egg layers.

Ordered a female Cayuga because my wife said they're "cute". So that can just be her duck. Probably won't hatch out that cross.

Thanks for the help.
 

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