Breeding Call ducks

[NEK38583]

I got a pair of call ducks at a show last fall, and they have not laid their first egg. They look young. Is their anything I should do to get them to lay/breed. I know with madarin their is a lot that needs to be done is that the same with call duck. I would greatly appreciate any help. Thanks

 

[chickboss]

I'd like to know to since they are in my future...

 

[call ducks]

call ducks are not good layers at all, they should have started to lay around march-april depending on where you are. Mine start in April.

 

[NEK38583]

Quote:
Do you have to do anything special like make the special nesting box like you have to for mandarins ?

Thanks for you help it is greatly appreciated.

 

[AlpineRanch]

We got our first calls a year ago. From what other people told me many times they are 15 months old before they breed and lay eggs. Mine are breeding but the hatching in the incubator was very poor. Out of 25 eggs, only 4 hatched! Now with the mom's gone broody, they are hatching out fine on their own. The biggest thing I had to deal with was that having too many drakes in the calls really gets bad...much worse than my farm ducks. The calls were vicious towards eachother during breeding time! Hope that helps. Oh, and mine loved sitting in a small dogloo to nest!

 

[call ducks]

Quote:
Do you have to do anything special like make the special nesting box like you have to for mandarins ?

Thanks for you help it is greatly appreciated.

will most ducks wont use a nest box, but will build a nest on the floor and lay in that.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

our ducks lay anywhere...
some of the call ducks do not lay. Is your hen pretty small? Even the fall hatch birds should lay by late spring, but the drakes are not always fertile that young. Are you sure you have a pair? Any pictures?

 

[duckluck]

My Hodum Call duck whites started laying at around 7 months last November, but they were also free ranging at that time and so had access to many nutrients they would not normally get in a pen or a cage.

You have to be sure they have the correct diet for laying or it can really curtail their fertility/laying activity.