almost scared to order now...

[cosbackyard]

The place I order from will send any amount of ducks, but chicks have to come in minimum orders of I think 15.

3acres - I'm not certain that all of mcmurray's shipments come from CA. I know mine did, but that may be a factor of where they're shipping to. At any rate - the weather is a little better now and I'm sure your ducks will arrive happy and healthy. And chirpy.

 

[zooweemama]

Nearly all my waterfowl have been gained through being shipped as babies. Geese and ducks. Lots of batches. One deadless in all those and it was really my fault. Because of a family emergency the ducklings sat at the PO overnight. Otherwise they ALL arrived alive. I have had some arrive stressed (needed a little more tlc but being shipping is rough man!) but some electrolytes and close watching everyone has done fine. For production types I cannot say enough food about Metzers. Waterfowl is what they do. They do it well and they have a guarantee they are quick to honor (almost had to collect on it but the tlc did the trick). I have some waterfowl from another company and their birds were physically not as nice looking as the Metzer ones full grown. They looked more like their breed should. Good luck!

 

[3acres]

cosbackyard - Thank you, I hope so! I'm not certain either. They just told me they come from some where different from the chicks.....I was wanting to add ducks to my chick order and they said that. I didn't think much of it, just thought maybe from a different farm a few miles away or something...not California....lol. Yeah, who knows??? I've seen it mentioned a lot now in my travels.

JenGalbraith - I have no business answering this, but when I was trying to pick a place to order ducks from, the ones with a low minimum put heat packs in and put higher special shipping charges on the order.....but also have another minimum where they just add regular shipping charges. I just wanted 4 more ducks, but it was just about the same price for me to order 10 or 12.....I have more than enough room, so did that. Just adding what I think happens on it since I'm in here anyway???

 

[jdywntr]

Shipping is hard on babies, regardless of what type. Any delay or problem in transit can result in deaths. Warmer but not hot months are safer but there can still be problems.

Personally, I think baby ducklings are harder than chicks. Chicks are much more inquisitive at that age, in my experience, and they will "learn" more from seeing others. If a chick is pecking at something, the other ones will peck at it. With ducklings it seems like they have to learn on their own.
I've only had ducklings shipped once. I lost 4 of 11. It was my first time with ducks. I've never had chicks shipped but I did just hatch some in an incubator, so similar at least in not knowing things.

 

[cosbackyard]

Did your ducks arrive okay?

Chicks are much more inquisitive at that age, in my experience, and they will "learn" more from seeing others. If a chick is pecking at something, the other ones will peck at it. With ducklings it seems like they have to learn on their own.

Totally agree. Each one seems to have to figure things out on their own. But they always do, even if it takes a bit.

 

[Bellatrixed]

This may seem an odd question but coming from someone who has never mail ordered chicks. I was under the assumption that they had minimums to keep the chicks warm during travel but if that's the case why are some places a minimum of 3 and others 10 or 15? I jut have a small coop in the backyard I don't need 15 ducks!

The places with a 3 chick minimum either include heat packs or include male chicks for warmth, so that you're getting the minimum order even if you only pay for a few. For the former it is generally much more expensive to ship them, and for the latter it's a way for some hatcheries to get rid of male chicks that would be destroyed anyway. Prices on the small-order shipping varies, but as an example, Cackle shipping is usually around $20 for 15-25 chicks, but it's $50 if you order 3-5 chicks.

Personally, I would never order 3 chicks because it's too easy to lose them as babies, and given the difference in cost I'd rather just order the minimum amount of chicks and rehome any extras I don't need. But for the people who literally can't have more, it's great the small order specials exist!

 

[rubberduckies]

I ordered 5 ducklings from Ideal Poultry. The costumer service was awesome (they had to call me a couple times because I was so excited I put in some wrong numbers when I ordered. Lol). They had a minimum $25 order. Then, I paid $12 shipping. All 5 ducklings plus 9 chicks arrived alive and healthy! They hatched on Tuesday and arrived bright and early Thursday morning. It was cold when they were shipped but adding the 9 chicks plus the way they shipped them kept them warm enough for the trip. I sold the chicks for $20 on craigslist. (I live in a farming community so it wasn't a problem).

 

[3acres]

I'm going to make my own post, but wanted to follow up for ya LadyLuck in case you still are unsure of ordering.... not that I'm saying to do it!!! I so far am having a good experience though. It was awesome to get the call that they were at the post office!!! Sounds like bad stuff happens, but also good.

I just got them!

All arrived alive...they threw in an extra Rouen.....no signs of shipping stress....all are devouring my watery mush and water!....

.

 

[iluvsedward]

I ordered 3 ducklings from Meyer Hatchery and they all arrived in perfect condition.

 

[JenGalbraith]

I ordered 3 ducklings from Meyer Hatchery and they all arrived in perfect condition.

Meyer was where I was going to get mine from but I couldn't believe they wanted $40.00 for shipping!! The shipping was more than the chicks!! But I guess it's because of what the person above said.