Call Ducks. Better to start with eggs to incubate, or live birds?

[torbaynewfs]

Hi all! I have been interested in Call Ducks for a long time, and we are finally getting ready to jump in! But is it better to start with eggs to incubate, or live birds? It is more costly to ship live birds, but money not being a deciding factor, which is better? Also taking into account that there don't seem to be "good" people in my area (upstate NY) with either. I have seen some pretty BAD places people have, and of course want to start with health above all!!!!!! Any info or ideas would be helpful! Thanks!

 

[kuecker1]

If money isn't the deciding factor then there is no doubt that adult ducks are the best. Call duck eggs can be very tricky to hatch and there is no way to know the quality of the ducklings that will hatch from the eggs. By buying adult birds you can see the quality you are buying. I would say buying adults is the best thing to do.

 

[70%cocoa]

I totally agree - start with the best quality adult pair or trio you can find. Aim for a breeder who has a history with the breed and who knows what they are doing. Otherwise you are buying into a whole lot of unknown factors.

I'm assuming that you want to breed and perhaps show?

 

[torbaynewfs]

My daughter is interested in showing them in 4H. She already shows chickens and has shown previous ducks, so yes I guess we would be doing some showing. And probably a small amount of breeding to maintain a flock of a certain number, but not for selling. I guess the biggest problem is finding someone who sells adult birds for sale and that it reputable. I have no idea how to locate a person like that. All the people I have found in the last year that are near me have not been really good.

 

[jbourget]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=609152&p=1


^ I have several for sale on this thread

 

[DB_Tex]

Have you tried networking in the 4H crowd OP? maybe try attending a sales auction at a chicken stock or poultry show to get started locally. I've heard of people scoring major deals and feeding average looking birds up, or buying a winning bird from another youth that was only raising it as a one year project. My kid's 4H leader always suggests going for the rarest possible breeds for better shots at placing in round robins. I've had my eye on Holderreads "Bantam Duckling Assortment" ever since, with a special curiosity towards silkies.

 

[torbaynewfs]

We got a couple leads from our 4H group. One we cannot seem to contact and the rest have nothing currently and maybe getting into something else, or the place was less than clean and the birds were quite skittish!! Most of our polutry club does chickens. I dont think anyone else is doing ducks this year at all. Still in contact with some leaders in other areas as well.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Call ducks are tricky to hatch, Unless you have a lot of experience successfully hatching ducks, you will probably fail at hatching Calls.

National Call Breeders of America
Dennis Fuller, Secretary
1729 Otterville Road
Independence Iowa 50644

Maybe they can recommend someone in your area.