The Migratory/Ornamental Waterfowl INFO Thread

[Medusa M]

hi i have recently gone and bought a pair of water whisler ducks and a pair of grass whistler ducks ...i was just wondering about breeding requirements

thanks

 

[KansasKid]

Tell ya what I can't seem to catch a brake here lately. Bought a pair of. Mergansers then. A month later the hen dies. I ordered another hen, got her in Wednesday and she was dead by Sunday night. No signs of physical trauma or respiratory distress. She was eating but slightly skinny. I noticed something was wrong when I was cleaning out the pond when she swam right up to me. An hour later dead. Probably for the best anyhow. The seller still hasn't mentioned 3-186 forms......ugh I have never spent so much just to try and have a breeding pair! And although they neat birds they aren't even al that eye appealing! Anywho sorry I just needed to vent ....anyone know where I can find yet another merganser hen?

 

[dylan duck man]

can u post some pictures of your tree ducks

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

hi i have recently gone and bought a pair of water whisler ducks and a pair of grass whistler ducks ...i was just wondering about breeding requirements

thanks

those names are the same as what we go by here, so not sure exactly which species you got. I have all the basic care listed in the first few pages of this thread though, covers them all by groups. There is one just for the tree ducks, (whislters) might want to look it over. But basically they are social birds within their species. They ( some species) can be fairly aggressive towards other smaller ducks during breeding season as they tend to get territorial, but are too mean. They will hold their own with other aggressive species though like shelducks.
All 9 species are ground nesters so heavy cover and or ground boxes are best for their nesting needs. Most lay between 8 and 15 eggs per clutch and can lay multiple groups threw a season if you pull the eggs before they hatch them. They do seem at time to have a bad habit of not nesting and just dropping eggs all over the aviaries at time.

Do post some pics if you can, currious to see what they are called in other parts of the world. I'm guessing based off plumage , the grass is a Eyton's tree duck. The water I'm not sure of, maybe a wandering?

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Tell ya what I can't seem to catch a brake here lately. Bought a pair of. Mergansers then. A month later the hen dies. I ordered another hen, got her in Wednesday and she was dead by Sunday night. No signs of physical trauma or respiratory distress. She was eating but slightly skinny. I noticed something was wrong when I was cleaning out the pond when she swam right up to me. An hour later dead. Probably for the best anyhow. The seller still hasn't mentioned 3-186 forms......ugh I have never spent so much just to try and have a breeding pair! And although they neat birds they aren't even al that eye appealing! Anywho sorry I just needed to vent ....anyone know where I can find yet another merganser hen?

well that sucks... if they were thin , they were sick. Mergansers are slim bodied birds, but what they have is plump. I bet the had avian TB . They'll eat and eat but gain no weight and eventually waist away. They often at the end get very slow moving and tend to follow you or at least not run from you due to being so weak. There's no cure for it, and usually by the time you notice it, they are very thin and die soon after.

They of course need a specialized diet too.

Not attractive though.... have you seen a full color male hoody? They are beautiful.... one of my favorites, not a mandarin or wood duck, but I really like them. Now the ol girls, no there aint much there haha

 

[kangababy]

No I am sold out of Pintails for this year. Hopefully will have some next season.

Mergansers are a hard one to raise. I don't think off 4-5 breeding pair I raised a single baby this year. Their mating calls are the best though! I love to watch them. I know this year our hoodies and Ruddies will be kept in separate brooders and I will have plenty of Mazuri starter.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

yep mergansers can be hard, but ruddies are really hard. you're right too, that ol bill vibration grunt thing a male hoodie does is pretty cool, that and the golden eye head throw and foot kick were always a couple of my favorites

 

[KansasKid]

The mating display is the reason i wanted them in the first place. They were young birds so all drab for now but i will agree that the male looks pretty good in full breeding plumage. Took a brain and stool sample and will check them out....

 

[Medusa M]

those names are the same as what we go by here, so not sure exactly which species you got. I have all the basic care listed in the first few pages of this thread though, covers them all by groups. There is one just for the tree ducks, (whislters) might want to look it over. But basically they are social birds within their species. They ( some species) can be fairly aggressive towards other smaller ducks during breeding season as they tend to get territorial, but are too mean. They will hold their own with other aggressive species though like shelducks.
All 9 species are ground nesters so heavy cover and or ground boxes are best for their nesting needs. Most lay between 8 and 15 eggs per clutch and can lay multiple groups threw a season if you pull the eggs before they hatch them. They do seem at time to have a bad habit of not nesting and just dropping eggs all over the aviaries at time.

Do post some pics if you can, currious to see what they are called in other parts of the world. I'm guessing based off plumage , the grass is a Eyton's tree duck. The water I'm not sure of, maybe a wandering?

hi , yes the other names are wandering and plumed... and thank you for the information

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

figured that had to be them