Beginner of call ducks help and advise please???

[Duck Drover]

I got rid of all our Cochins last year because they were of little use when it came to hatching, other than to make Sizzles with our Silkies. They are beautiful little birds but I have gone the purist route.

We are not keeping Calls another year either. Every year I cut back, breed, cut back again but this is the last year. We are going to stick with one duck breed and not worry about separating them into breeding pens most of the year. They are cute ducks but not our favorite duck breed.

 

[RubyNala97]

thanks for your reply. Was thinking of getting them shipped, but i know this isnt always be the best way. cant seem to find a local supplier near me. this will be my first time incubating eggs and hatching them. i have been reading up alot but any other tips etc would be great. let me know how you get on please and any pictures would be great. thanks

I know that when your heart is set on hatching something you don't want to hear this but as another member said it would be an extremely valuable experience if you hatched local chicken eggs first. In general shipped eggs are HARD. I've hatched several batches and they need special care and lots of monitoring and checking for proper development. I've received two batches of shipped call eggs this month. First batch was packed excellent but shipping caused to much damage and it's turned out a bust. The second batch faired better in shipping but air cells are still sloshing around. They just started day 2, so only time will tell.

I hatch out Australian Spotted ducklings like crazy but the Calls are harder to hatch, certainly not the best place to start. If you have not hatched duck eggs before, they are a little more challenging than chicken eggs. If you have not hatched chicken eggs before, that would be the best place to start. I have done alot of reading and I can say that it takes some trial and error to get things to work for the best. Quality Calls have such unnaturally short bills that they can die in the shell more easily than any other breed. People who breed show quality Calls often assist with hatching so it helps to know what a normal hatch looks like first.

I assume you have already researched housing and you are aware of how noisy the Call hens are compared to other breeds. The cuteness factor can wear off pretty quick if they are your first ducks ever. We are getting out of Calls since I only keep them for size comparison and it really is not worth it.

I just received a batch of high quality call eggs from "duck creek poultry". She breeds to show. I'm an experienced hatcher and have done plenty of assists when needed but this is my first time with calls and ducks in general. So what should I watch for? Once they internally pip do I put them on the clock and make a safety hole after a certain amount of hours go by? I know chicken usually externally pip after 24 hours of internal. How long do calls usually take from internal to external?
Thanks for any advice.

I got rid of all our Cochins last year because they were of little use when it came to hatching, other than to make Sizzles with our Silkies. They are beautiful little birds but I have gone the purist route.

We are not keeping Calls another year either. Every year I cut back, breed, cut back again but this is the last year. We are going to stick with one duck breed and not worry about separating them into breeding pens most of the year. They are cute ducks but not our favorite duck breed.

I'm undecided if I will keep any call ducklings I hatch. What is a good, small sized duck for family pet purposes?

 

[smiths12]

Thanks for all your replies. Do lots of info reading.

 

[Duck Drover]

The biggest problem Calls have when hatching is that with their head tucked under a wing their bills are too short for effective pipping and zipping. The result is that they die in the shell at some point without hatching. I have used a tack to poke a small air hole at lock down to increase the chance they will survive longer between the internal and external pip. This buys time if they need assistance zipping before suffocating to death.

If the duckling is unable to pip the shell or zip it open to hatch, you will have to do a slow assist. Let the duckling struggle enough to build up its muscle strength without becoming overly exhausted. I think hens have a more intuitive sense of how to assist during hatching but you can kind of follow your own intuation based on your experiences with a normal hatching timeline. The trick is not to go too fast or too slow.

There are lots of articles written about assisted hatching so I don't want to write it all out when my posts are already longer on average than most. The challenge is doing a slow assist while a hatching bird should be in lockdown for the entire hatch. Every time you need to peck away bits of shell, it can change the hatching climate with the correct temperature and humidity you need to maintain. Hens only have one temperature setting so they just plop their downy bottoms down on the eggs and their body heat and moisture does the rest. In an electronically controlled environment it becomes harder to keep the hatching environment stable.

The other curve you throw into assisted hatching is upending the baby inside the egg. I am taking meds that make me dizzy just by rolling over but after a moment of disorientation I can figure out which way is up. A baby that has no concept of gravity or that up is up and down is down may get too "dizzy" to know which way to hatch. If the eggs are pointed end down in the incubator, keep them pointed end down when handling them. If they are on their sides, make sure the air cell slant is up and stays up. Hold the egg in place while you assist in helping break the duckling free without turning the egg around to better see what you are doing.

Another important thing to remember is that you are only compensating for the duckling's short bill when hatching. Do not pop the cap off the shell, rather let the duckling push out with its feet as if it had zipped on its own. If you help too much you will have a weak duckling that will flop around on a flat surface without first pushing against the egg shape it is accustomed to its entire life. There is a succession of rapid development that takes place during hatching and rushing the process will not allow the baby to develop strength properly. Infants prop up their heads, roll over, crawl, sit up, pull themselves up, balance on their feet, then they walk. Ducklings walk so much faster but they still need to develop the correct strength first. The duckling needs to do as much as possible without help from you or it will be too weak to survive.

 

[Duck Drover]

RubyNala97 - My favorite duck is the Australian Spotted duck so that is what we raise. I have raised many other duck breeds and I have developed my own preference as a result of my experiences and my space limitations. Reading about duck behavior is helpful to know where to start but ultimately you just have to go with trial and error when it comes to figuring out the best breed for you. We tried Calls in the past and we have tried them again and again but they just are not the best fit with what I like most in a duck.

 

[buff goose guy]

The biggest problem Calls have when hatching is that with their head tucked under a wing their bills are too short for effective pipping and zipping. The result is that they die in the shell at some point without hatching. I have used a tack to poke a small air hole at lock down to increase the chance they will survive longer between the internal and external pip. This buys time if they need assistance zipping before suffocating to death.

If the duckling is unable to pip the shell or zip it open to hatch, you will have to do a slow assist. Let the duckling struggle enough to build up its muscle strength without becoming overly exhausted. I think hens have a more intuitive sense of how to assist during hatching but you can kind of follow your own intuation based on your experiences with a normal hatching timeline. The trick is not to go too fast or too slow.

There are lots of articles written about assisted hatching so I don't want to write it all out when my posts are already longer on average than most. The challenge is doing a slow assist while a hatching bird should be in lockdown for the entire hatch. Every time you need to peck away bits of shell, it can change the hatching climate with the correct temperature and humidity you need to maintain. Hens only have one temperature setting so they just plop their downy bottoms down on the eggs and their body heat and moisture does the rest. In an electronically controlled environment it becomes harder to keep the hatching environment stable.

The other curve you throw into assisted hatching is upending the baby inside the egg. I am taking meds that make me dizzy just by rolling over but after a moment of disorientation I can figure out which way is up. A baby that has no concept of gravity or that up is up and down is down may get too "dizzy" to know which way to hatch. If the eggs are pointed end down in the incubator, keep them pointed end down when handling them. If they are on their sides, make sure the air cell slant is up and stays up. Hold the egg in place while you assist in helping break the duckling free without turning the egg around to better see what you are doing.

Another important thing to remember is that you are only compensating for the duckling's short bill when hatching. Do not pop the cap off the shell, rather let the duckling push out with its feet as if it had zipped on its own. If you help too much you will have a weak duckling that will flop around on a flat surface without first pushing against the egg shape it is accustomed to its entire life. There is a succession of rapid development that takes place during hatching and rushing the process will not allow the baby to develop strength properly. Infants prop up their heads, roll over, crawl, sit up, pull themselves up, balance on their feet, then they walk. Ducklings walk so much faster but they still need to develop the correct strength first. The duckling needs to do as much as possible without help from you or it will be too weak to survive.

I totally agree, hens(as in chickens) do better when knowing to assist, although call duck hens are usually awful at hatching their own eggs and having them be good quality.
Calls also usually get sticky where the goo inside the egg hardens and is "Sticky" Which traps the baby in the shell and it is not able to hatch. To assist the baby you have to let it work and remove the shell, and be sure that when you remove the shell that the sticky isn't attached to anything that could damage the baby. It is a very hard hatch to endure.

 

[Duck Drover]

We have not put our Silkies to work on duck eggs like we should. I really need to redesign the pen to house broody hens away from the flock without being too isolated. This sounds like another job for my carpenter husband!

 

[smiths12]

I have decided to reconsider call ducks all together. Need a duck a little less noisy. Someone suggested campbell ducks ?

 

[Duck Drover]

I have not had Khaki Campbells myself but I had considered getting some at one time. They are good layers and popular choice in full sized ducks. I don't think I have ever read anything negative about them as a breed. They are a bit ordinary looking with identical coloring and I personally like being able to keep different colors of the same breed.

One nice thing about our Spots is that they are the best layers of the bantam breeds and because their eggs are chicken egg sized we don't have to convert the larger duck eggs for recipes. We use duck eggs in baking (brownies are amazing with duck eggs) so that makes it easier to whip out recipes and not have to calculate the eggs as fractions.

I think there are alot of good duck breeds to choose from so you just need to decide what factors matter most to you. I tend to favor an ornamental look as long as they are also utility birds.

 

[RubyNala97]

The biggest problem Calls have when hatching is that with their head tucked under a wing their bills are too short for effective pipping and zipping. The result is that they die in the shell at some point without hatching. I have used a tack to poke a small air hole at lock down to increase the chance they will survive longer between the internal and external pip. This buys time if they need assistance zipping before suffocating to death.

If the duckling is unable to pip the shell or zip it open to hatch, you will have to do a slow assist. Let the duckling struggle enough to build up its muscle strength without becoming overly exhausted. I think hens have a more intuitive sense of how to assist during hatching but you can kind of follow your own intuation based on your experiences with a normal hatching timeline. The trick is not to go too fast or too slow.

There are lots of articles written about assisted hatching so I don't want to write it all out when my posts are already longer on average than most. The challenge is doing a slow assist while a hatching bird should be in lockdown for the entire hatch. Every time you need to peck away bits of shell, it can change the hatching climate with the correct temperature and humidity you need to maintain. Hens only have one temperature setting so they just plop their downy bottoms down on the eggs and their body heat and moisture does the rest. In an electronically controlled environment it becomes harder to keep the hatching environment stable.

The other curve you throw into assisted hatching is upending the baby inside the egg. I am taking meds that make me dizzy just by rolling over but after a moment of disorientation I can figure out which way is up. A baby that has no concept of gravity or that up is up and down is down may get too "dizzy" to know which way to hatch. If the eggs are pointed end down in the incubator, keep them pointed end down when handling them. If they are on their sides, make sure the air cell slant is up and stays up. Hold the egg in place while you assist in helping break the duckling free without turning the egg around to better see what you are doing.

Another important thing to remember is that you are only compensating for the duckling's short bill when hatching. Do not pop the cap off the shell, rather let the duckling push out with its feet as if it had zipped on its own. If you help too much you will have a weak duckling that will flop around on a flat surface without first pushing against the egg shape it is accustomed to its entire life. There is a succession of rapid development that takes place during hatching and rushing the process will not allow the baby to develop strength properly. Infants prop up their heads, roll over, crawl, sit up, pull themselves up, balance on their feet, then they walk. Ducklings walk so much faster but they still need to develop the correct strength first. The duckling needs to do as much as possible without help from you or it will be too weak to survive.

I have 2 shipped call eggs on day 23 right now. The eggs were very damaged in transit so I didn't expect them to get this far. One has completely drawn down and is pushing on the membrane. So you recommend poking a tiny hole in the air cell after internal pip regardless of the amount of time they've been pipped? I'm getting nervous now! I've done my fair share of assisting with chicken and peafowl eggs but never ducks, let alone calls. Any other distress signs I should look for?

RubyNala97 - My favorite duck is the Australian Spotted duck so that is what we raise. I have raised many other duck breeds and I have developed my own preference as a result of my experiences and my space limitations. Reading about duck behavior is helpful to know where to start but ultimately you just have to go with trial and error when it comes to figuring out the best breed for you. We tried Calls in the past and we have tried them again and again but they just are not the best fit with what I like most in a duck.

I've never heard of that breed. I will definitely look them up. Thanks.

I have decided to reconsider call ducks all together. Need a duck a little less noisy. Someone suggested campbell ducks ?

East Indian ducks are small and quiet. They are one breed I have considered.