Mandarin Ducks

[Duck Addict]

I posted the following under the "Ducks" forum but was politely directed to here, the "Ornamental Fowl" section:

I just newly joined BYC yesterday. I'm currently in the process of convincing my parents and older brother that ducks, or birds in general, are a good (not just good, but GREAT) idea and would make a good and beneficial addition to our family. I'm still exploring all the options and species, but I have a few quick questions on mandarins: If I do decide to keep them will they breed, or what are the chances? I am willing to care for ducklings, but this leads to my next question: If or when they breed, what would I or could I do with the ducklings? Should I let the mother care for them or raise them in my brooder? I am ready and willing to take on the responsibility of doing whatever is most ideal for the ducks and ducklings. Thank y'all in advance for any and all responses.

 

[KansasKid]

Mandarins are one of the easier ornamental species to raise although not quite as easy as raising domestic fowl. Most likely if you purchase a juvenile unrelated* pair in the fall they will breed the next spring given appropriate conditions like a "wood duck style" nest box. (i have a couple pics on the website in my signature). If they are the only birds in the aviary and you have no prior experience hatching i would definitely let the mother hatch and raise the ducklings and as always i would keep an eye on the male to make sure he doesn't decide to pick on the ducklings. (have had both good and bad experiences with leaving males in with ducklings but varies species to species). Another option that is safer is to let her hatch them and then place them in a brooder (tall smooth sides because they will climb/jump out).

Now, i have to switch gears for a second. Birds can be a lot of fun to raise but they can also become frustrating at times and require a lot of time and responsibility. Theres always the initial investment of building an aviary and a pond/water source as well as buying the birds (buying local would save on shipping cost and might be better if you ever need advice?? and of course they're always people on here with tons of knowledge). That being said its probably a good idea to start off with a domestic species to get the swing of things before you jump into the ornamentals.

 

[cajunfowl0]

I agree with Kansas get a couple of calls first. My grandmother has raised birds for 50 years never had a problem then when she got wood ducks....they made her want to pull her hair out! The hard part for them is raising the babies and yes they will breed under the right environment. I would start off with some chiloe widgeons or some tree ducks first. I don't know just seems like they've always been easier than the mandarins to me.

 

[HG2705]

I'm thinking about getting some mandarins how hard are they to hatch. I have also heard they are very hard to tame.
Thanks.

 

[cajunfowl0]

I've never tried to hatch mandarin eggs blue creek or destin might know about that tho and with taming it depends on a couple things like how young they are how big your pen is and how they were treated with the past owner. I once had a pair of woodies that were deathly afraid of EVERYTHING it was so bad I had to give them back to the seller. Then I made the pen larger and bought a pair of widgeons and these widgeons are super tame lol I think a lot of it had to do with how the birds were raised.

 

[BYC-user-174785]

They can be challenging at first, but if you want the best hatch rate then let the hen incubate and hatch out the eggs. If the hen raises them they will be wild, be you will have a low mortality rate to make up for that. Another option is pulling the eggs from the nest two weeks into incubation and putting them in a incubator. That way you can talk to the eggs especially during hatching. That will make them more accustomed to you. My ducklings that I hatched in an incubator last year where really friendly. I have free ranged young woodies and mandarins before until they figured out how to fly. Their friendliness all depends on how much time you are willing to put into them.

 

[tacklouis]

i advise almost the same proces as bleu creek but i would let her sit just 3 weeks if it is an early clutch then i would move them to the incubator, 2 or 3 days before they hatch you let a radio play but no hard rock best thins is poeple talking on a disc etc, then when they hatched move the radio to were you raise them and they should be allot calmer once you start talking to them, if the hen has layed early she can lay again if you let her sit 3 weeks, if it is late in the season and you hope to get a second set or third set only let her sit for 2 weeks and make sure you incubate with the right humidity. but the radio trick makes them less scared because they will be used to some on talking this works realy well for me in bleguim

 

[tacklouis]

also i would give them no swiming water for 2 days and make sure they eat well then give them swiming water and place to warm up after they went swiming, this way you shouldent get many or any losses, or just put the eggs under a chiken that is sitting on some eggs but make sure you put the chiken eggs in the incubator and make sure there are no more chiken eggs under her

 

[elsfieldchickens]

Would a 3X9ft aviary be ok for a pair of mandarins?

 

[destinduck]

No. If you cant give a pair at the very least a 6x10 you shouldnt keep em . I feel its just totally unfair to the birds.