Your so right, I broke down and let my Muscovyg have 2 Runner eggs this past June she hatched 2 drakes and I already had 2 so I ordered 4 Little Runner females from Metzers . I am so glad I did, not just add more females but just the joy of raising these little ones and NO more hatching here...
What an awful thing to happen.
But to see your son's face when he saw these little ones I bet was priceless.
they sure are precious. You should go on the link and put in a word for Appleyards if you haven't already.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duck-breed-focus-project.1024526/
First time for me ordering ducklings from Metzers. They arrived from Tenn. and are 9 weeks old and are so adorable I truly rec them. These are Runners. My last time ordering from a hatchery[2019] I ordered 4 and lost 3 so I was not a fan of hatcheries until now.
i started out with Muscovy mainly because I rescued them from our mountain river .This was in 2004 but after being on BYC for many years I fell in love with Runners and Buffs so in 2016 I got eggs and had my Muscovy hatch them for me. So now I have 3 breeds and love them all.
This might help you...