*~*Runner Duck Club*~*

[AimToMisbehave]

I'm looking into finally getting some runner ducks this year, I will prob need to order them online since I've never found any locally. Do any of you have runner ducks from an online hatchery? If so which one? Never ordered from a hatchery before and no clue who has good quality runners. I've read one post about getting runners that don't stand up straight as they should from one specific hatchery, now I'm nervous about ordering! Thanks

I wanted to order some from Holderread, because those are supposed to be the best, but I couldn't house/afford their minimum order, and now I think they're not breeding runners anymore

I got my first group from a backyard breeder I found on CL, and I love them to death, but objectively, they're not the runnerest runners around, being kind of chubby and not-always-particularly-vertical. One of the boys is extra chubby and non-vertical, and I sometimes suspect he's a part-time Cayuga, not a full-time runner.

My younger three were ordered online from McMurray Hatchery, who has a minimum order of 2 and does have the option of sex-specific ordering. They were shipped overnight and I got a phone call from my post office will-call office as soon as they arrived. One was a little tippy at first, but they've all grown up strong and healthy (and they seen to have encouraged my backyard-bred group to stand up a little taller, haha!)

Next time I can convince Husband we need more peepers, I'm DEFINITELY going to be calling on @blueducklings, who has pretty colors AND lives super close to me

 

[blueducklings]

I wanted to order some from Holderread, because those are supposed to be the best, but I couldn't house/afford their minimum order, and now I think they're not breeding runners anymore

I got my first group from a backyard breeder I found on CL, and I love them to death, but objectively, they're not the runnerest runners around, being kind of chubby and not-always-particularly-vertical. One of the boys is extra chubby and non-vertical, and I sometimes suspect he's a part-time Cayuga, not a full-time runner.


My younger three were ordered online from McMurray Hatchery, who has a minimum order of 2 and does have the option of sex-specific ordering. They were shipped overnight and I got a phone call from my post office will-call office as soon as they arrived. One was a little tippy at first, but they've all grown up strong and healthy (and they seen to have encouraged my backyard-bred group to stand up a little taller, haha!)


Next time I can convince Husband we need more peepers, I'm DEFINITELY going to be calling on @blueducklings , who has pretty colors AND lives super close to me

Happy to empower fellow quakers.

 

[Mrs.H]

I wanted to order some from Holderread, because those are supposed to be the best, but I couldn't house/afford their minimum order, and now I think they're not breeding runners anymore

I got my first group from a backyard breeder I found on CL, and I love them to death, but objectively, they're not the runnerest runners around, being kind of chubby and not-always-particularly-vertical. One of the boys is extra chubby and non-vertical, and I sometimes suspect he's a part-time Cayuga, not a full-time runner.

My younger three were ordered online from McMurray Hatchery, who has a minimum order of 2 and does have the option of sex-specific ordering. They were shipped overnight and I got a phone call from my post office will-call office as soon as they arrived. One was a little tippy at first, but they've all grown up strong and healthy (and they seen to have encouraged my backyard-bred group to stand up a little taller, haha!)

Next time I can convince Husband we need more peepers, I'm DEFINITELY going to be calling on @blueducklings, who has pretty colors AND lives super close to me

Yes I looked into them also and I have no room for 10! Thanks for including a pic from McMurray that helps a lot, they are too cute! Did McMurray include "packing peanuts"? trying to avoid that also!

 

[mfdickey]

I am getting 1 egg a day roughly that is huge compared to the other egg (I only get 1-2 eggs/day right now).  Both eggs are offwhite but the larger one is really long and the duck that lays it makes a huge mess of the nest box and sometimes flings the egg out of the box into the yard.  So. . it probably does belong to the neurotic, klutzy Mrs. Pekin (not an insult, it's just an observation, you should see her run over the top of other ducks that get in her path).  So. . I guess those eggs will be separated before lock down so I can band the mixed hatchlings (and many future eggs will become my breakfast).  

I have no dislike of mixed ducks, however my ducks are used to train stockdogs so they need to be fit and able to move.  Three year old Mrs Pekin can barely walk (had severe, chronic bumblefoot leaving large cysts on the balls of her feet) and is extremely neurotic-- I don't want any ducklings out of her for myself.  I'm told she was "a bit loopy" before she developed PTSD (sole survivor of a coon massacre) so what will her ducklings act like?  I had many Pekins as a child and Mrs. Pekin is definitely not a good example of a Pekin.  Even her owner would be quite happy if I kept her instead of returning her to her farm in the spring although she wants her duckings.   

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[mfdickey]

I am getting 1 egg a day roughly that is huge compared to the other egg (I only get 1-2 eggs/day right now).  Both eggs are offwhite but the larger one is really long and the duck that lays it makes a huge mess of the nest box and sometimes flings the egg out of the box into the yard.  So. . it probably does belong to the neurotic, klutzy Mrs. Pekin (not an insult, it's just an observation, you should see her run over the top of other ducks that get in her path).  So. . I guess those eggs will be separated before lock down so I can band the mixed hatchlings (and many future eggs will become my breakfast).  

I have no dislike of mixed ducks, however my ducks are used to train stockdogs so they need to be fit and able to move.  Three year old Mrs Pekin can barely walk (had severe, chronic bumblefoot leaving large cysts on the balls of her feet) and is extremely neurotic-- I don't want any ducklings out of her for myself.  I'm told she was "a bit loopy" before she developed PTSD (sole survivor of a coon massacre) so what will her ducklings act like?  I had many Pekins as a child and Mrs. Pekin is definitely not a good example of a Pekin.  Even her owner would be quite happy if I kept her instead of returning her to her farm in the spring although she wants her duckings.   

I acquired some runners a few months ago for the purpose of training stock dogs. I would appreciate any info you can share on this topic. My herding experience is mostly limited to sheep, and I want to make sure I don't do anything that could be harmful to the ducks. For example, I've heard you should only use the drakes for herding, that it's not good for the females and can cause them to become egg-bound. True or false?

 

[apricotvalleywf]

^^ that's very true. stockier runner males work best.

 

[AimToMisbehave]

Yes I looked into them also and I have no room for 10! Thanks for including a pic from McMurray that helps a lot, they are too cute! Did McMurray include "packing peanuts"? trying to avoid that also!

I don't actually know what you mean by "packing peanuts"

Sorry! But if you mean extra babies on the off chance that one dies in transit, then no. I ordered 3 baby girls, and they sent me three baby girls, in a nice little box lined with soft hay, with some of the extra supportive food gel stuff and a nice warm heating pad. According to the vaccine certificate I ordered with them, they were hatched Oct 12th, and I received them first thing Oct 15th. Although just a head's up; the shipping is more expensive than the ducks themselves. If I remember, the shipping alone for my three was $45. Given that they all arrived safe and sound, in the middle of a very cold October, I can't say I regret that cost, but it can still be a surprise.

Here's them the very first day they arrived:
[Video]

[Video]

You can see what I mean by one of them being "tippy". Zoe was pretty unsteady on her feet at first, but she did eventually grow out of that, and she was the strongest swimmer by far right from the start. She's perfect now. If you want to watch the three of them grow up, their first month or so is in a Playlist here. ^_^

 

[Gone-Quackers]

I acquired some runners a few months ago for the purpose of training stock dogs. I would appreciate any info you can share on this topic. My herding experience is mostly limited to sheep, and I want to make sure I don't do anything that could be harmful to the ducks. For example, I've heard you should only use the drakes for herding, that it's not good for the females and can cause them to become egg-bound. True or false?

Everyone I know uses both drakes and hens for stockdog training. However hens are used lightly during laying season and only light ducks such as Indian runners and khaki campbells hens are used- heavier breeds aren't (they tend to have all kinds of issues). I wouldn't allow a dog that was rough with ducks to work hens in lay (or any of my ducks for that matter). Pouncing on ducks and doing other things to overly stress them isn't a really good idea. Runners were and are still bred to spend their days being herded to and from crops while others breed them to be worked by dogs daily. Some duck breeding farms use dogs to move the stock to and from pasture daily.

With my flock my dog Loki is very gentle with his ducks, we keep lessons short, ducks aren't worked every day, and the ducks are used to being worked. Being worked isn't new or extremely stressful for them, although if a rough/wild dog was to work them they would become stressed. In fact tonight the ducks will be worked for the first time in nearly a week. I'll send Loki to gather them, we'll pen them, sort them, and have a short lesson with each set of ducks. Then Loki will hold them off of the duck pen while I fill food/water/etc. Then he'll gather them and put them away in their pen for the night. We'll work them again in a few days.

 

[Mrs.H]

I don't actually know what you mean by "packing peanuts"

Sorry! But if you mean extra babies on the off chance that one dies in transit, then no. I ordered 3 baby girls, and they sent me three baby girls, in a nice little box lined with soft hay, with some of the extra supportive food gel stuff and a nice warm heating pad. According to the vaccine certificate I ordered with them, they were hatched Oct 12th, and I received them first thing Oct 15th. Although just a head's up; the shipping is more expensive than the ducks themselves. If I remember, the shipping alone for my three was $45. Given that they all arrived safe and sound, in the middle of a very cold October, I can't say I regret that cost, but it can still be a surprise.

Here's them the very first day they arrived:
[Video]

[Video]

You can see what I mean by one of them being "tippy". Zoe was pretty unsteady on her feet at first, but she did eventually grow out of that, and she was the strongest swimmer by far right from the start. She's perfect now. If you want to watch the three of them grow up, their first month or so is in a Playlist here. ^_^

Oh my they are too cute! Yes I ment extra chicks (packing peanuts). Yeah think both McMurray and Meyer want $40-45 for shipping plus $9 per duck. That's why I'm trying to get some input before making any pricey decisions. The closest hatchery to me was Ideal and too many mixed reviews plus their shipping seemed too cheap.

 

[AimToMisbehave]

Oh my they are too cute! Yes I ment extra chicks (packing peanuts). Yeah think both McMurray and Meyer want $40-45 for shipping plus $9 per duck. That's why I'm trying to get some input before making any pricey decisions. The closest hatchery to me was Ideal and too many mixed reviews plus their shipping seemed too cheap.

That's a very healthy instinct I hope my experience can help you make a comfortable choice. I certainly don't regret ordering from McMurray.