Call duck hatching eggs

[bigbird]

Hello, I am looking for some call duck or magpie hatching eggs. I only want about 6-8. They are for my granddaughter to hatch, and eventually release on a lake. I have read that these two breeds are great for what we are looking to do, and both can fly. If anyone can think of any other ducks that are better for this endeavor, please let me know. We want a breed that will be an easy transition to turning loose. Thanks in advance.

 

[floppysquirrel04]

Idk about magpies flying, but I could be wrong. Would you try mallards? They can come in different colors if you look hard enough, and are usually easier to find than calls. Check EBay as well.

 

[bigbird]

Thank you! I checked eBay and there weren’t any. Silver flying mallards would be great. McMurtry wants a fortune, like 70+ for a dozen. Kind of steep when she can’t keep them.

 

[floppysquirrel04]

Search “call duck hatching eggs” on eBay, I see a lot of listings.

 

[learycow]

Its unfair and cruel to release domestic ducks onto a pond once you are done raising them. They aren't able to defend themselves against predators and don't have the proper instincts to be able to forage and live on their own through all 4 seasons.

Call ducks are small, they can fly, but are easy prey for predators like hawks and eagles. They will get picked off very easily.

Magpies are a lightweight breed and cannot fly like a call duck. They are easy prey for land predators like foxes and skunks.

Not to mention if she hand raises them, they will be used to human contact and humans feeding them. Its just not fair to them to them be released into the wild to fend for themselves.

Please reconsider

 

[RiverOtter]

OMG, please, PLEASE do not even think of releasing domestic breeds of ducks!!
Just because they can fly, doesn't mean they can migrate, and there's really good reasons duck do that.

Not to mention it's illegal most places, as it very well should be. You are looking at a fine and an animal cruelty charge that could prevent you from ever keeping any animal again.

Call your local county extension office and ask to be put in touch with the 4H or FFA poultry club leader, who will be able to help your granddaughter do an incubation project in such a way that she gets school credit for it, AND will be able to get the birds into responsible, permanent homes (likely with another 4Her) when the project is done.

 

[floppysquirrel04]

I think I may have misunderstood. I think I thought that the OP meant a body of water that they owned if they had land, which would be ok if you were still caring for them. If not and it’s a random lake, then I agree, don’t set them free.

 

[bigbird]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Cruel and inhumane is definitely not anyones intention here, and that’s why we were looking for the best way to accomplish our goals. I was looking for a wild breed to do this with, and I guess that’s impossible too. FYI.....The body of water is across the street from her house, and she wasn’t going to just abandon them. She would have continued to make sure they had food, however; would not have been able to actually physically keep them in her immediate surroundings after they were fully mature.

 

[RiverOtter]

.....The body of water is across the street from her house, and she wasn’t going to just abandon them. She would have continued to make sure they had food

Please read this as being said very kindly and gently, and not in a condescending fashion;
I'm sure that you and she always had every intention of visiting them and feeding them. I'm just not sure that you understood this would be a lifelong commitment and food on days 5 months later where no one gets too busy and forgets or has an appointment elsewhere or it's pouring rain (you know how it goes) is just not enough.

Domestic animals have been bred to live symbiotically with humans. They need us. Or they die.
And even wild things, once you take them from the wild, you're responsible for them for life. If you hatch out a mallard, it never had anyone to teach it how to forage for 100% of it's diet, in all seasons ... because it doesn't have a whole wild flock of parents and relatives to follow. Instinct might tell it to fly south, but instinct can't tell it the best places on that route to rest, to eat. How to not get lost over a forest with nowhere safe to land. Instinct can tell it that sudden movements are dangerous, but not what it should do. Hiding in the reeds will save it from the eagle, but is lethal if there's a fox.

You were probably thinking they'd fly off in fall and live happily ever after. They'd fly off ... and be dead in a month. This is why when conservationists want to help population growth, they don't just hatch out a bunch and release them - it's been tried, it doesn't work.

4H clubs do incubation projects all the time. They can help you. Or, hatch out something else, like Button Quail.

 

[bigbird]

Please read this as being said very kindly and gently, and not in a condescending fashion;
I'm sure that you and she always had every intention of visiting them and feeding them. I'm just not sure that you understood this would be a lifelong commitment and food on days 5 months later where no one gets too busy and forgets or has an appointment elsewhere or it's pouring rain (you know how it goes) is just not enough.

Domestic animals have been bred to live symbiotically with humans. They need us. Or they die.
And even wild things, once you take them from the wild, you're responsible for them for life. If you hatch out a mallard, it never had anyone to teach it how to forage for 100% of it's diet, in all seasons ... because it doesn't have a whole wild flock of parents and relatives to follow. Instinct might tell it to fly south, but instinct can't tell it the best places on that route to rest, to eat. How to not get lost over a forest with nowhere safe to land. Instinct can tell it that sudden movements are dangerous, but not what it should do. Hiding in the reeds will save it from the eagle, but is lethal if there's a fox.

You were probably thinking they'd fly off in fall and live happily ever after. They'd fly off ... and be dead in a month. This is why when conservationists want to help population growth, they don't just hatch out a bunch and release them - it's been tried, it doesn't work.

4H clubs do incubation projects all the time. They can help you. Or, hatch out something else, like Button Quail.

Thank you for your kind words of advice.