THEY HAVE SHIPPED!

[SMonroe1990]

that would be cool. You will have to let me know. If the ducks are mixed it should be a fun guessing game for you personality and look wise. If you get them make sure you post pictures! I agree with you on the Pekins. I guess besides ducks you see on a lake when camping I thought Pekins were the main duck to get for raising yourself. Well that is until I got chickens and just like I found out with chickens I found out ducks have all these wonderful breeds you can get also. I think I have settled on Cayugas for myself. People have said they are relatively quiet and friendly which is what I'm looking for. Plus I found some really pretty pictures of them on google.

I just love the coloring.

 

[backyardflock1]

I agree, cayugas look amazingly pretty! I like the green sheen too.

 

[SMonroe1990]

backyardflock it was the coloring that drew me into them. And then on the thread I posted about input for duck breeds one person said these were relatively quiet and calm. Also they said good things about the welsh harlequins too. I am thinking one of each is in order. If you google them there are some pictures out there where the duck heads look lime green in the right light. It's amazing.

 

[lightchick]

Very pretty! I think if I'm going to get a duck I'm going to have to get one this year after my coop is built. I don't want to be feeding two different feeds.

 

[SMonroe1990]

I don't blame you there lightchick. Just remember when you bring the cutie home to update us all with pictures.

 

[lightchick]

I will! IF I get one. But hopefully I will.

 

[SMonroe1990]

So my little girls are out in the chicken coop in a dog pen to keep them separated from the bigger girls. So far no mishaps, everyone is happy and the big girls don't seem to mind them being there. I am going to do this for three weeks or so and then eliminate the dog coop. I have convinced my husband to build a bigger run next year and put nesting boxes on the outside of our chicken coop so I have more space in the coop and then he said yes to me getting 2 ducks! How exciting. I am going to order 3 ducks all together, one is going to be thanksgiving dinner with the turkey I am ordering and also 2 meat birds. Has anyone in this thread ordered from Ideal? If so how did you like them?

 

[lightchick]

I ordered from Ideal. I liked it! Very cheap. I ordered with a friend. One of their Silkie chicks died shortly after arrival, but I noticed that it had Wry neck and was the smallest. We think she got sat on by the other chicks.

 

[jtn42248]

I use Ideal frequently in part because shipping is overnight for my location which is great. But, I ordered 18 Cayuga ducks from them and except for one that died due to the West Texas heat all are doing fine and beginning their juvenile molt. Their adult feathers are beautiful black/green with blue and/or purple highlights. We will be breeding our which promises to be an adventure.

A word of caution with Ideal. I ordered my 18 while it was still cold and they came with 12 very healthy RIR rooster chicks. They add male chicks for warmth. I was able to get rid of them to a local little girl for a 4H project she was doing but, unless you order during warmer months, you may very well get a bunch of roosters to enjoy as well. Don't try the really warm months though as that may cause your order to die as well.

Good luck.

 

[SMonroe1990]

I'll keep that in mind. I've heard so many negative things and so many good things, its hard to tell what to actually believe. I want to order from them because they don't charge an arm and a leg for shipping plus I can order only a couple of this or a couple of that, I don't have to order a minimum. I was originally going to order from Meyer again but the shipping for just three ducks is 45 dollars and to me that's a little outrageous. I can't even add a couple of chickens or anything to bring the order up to try and lower shipping because Meyer doesn't hatch and ship their own ducks, it's done by their sister hatchery. So I will try Ideal in the spring and place my order probably in February or as soon as they contact me saying the Cayugas are available. I have an old bath tub that is outside that we don't use. I am thinking of lining that with something like puppy pads and using that for a brooder for the ducks in our shed. I figure this way I can fill it with water when they are big enough and it will be easier to clean than the brooder I've used for chicks. I am just hoping that when they ship them everyone makes it safely from Texas to New York.