Call Ducks Hatchery

[Mrs. Turbo]

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Everyone is having trouble hatching call ducklings this year......must be the weather??? No one knows. We haven't hatched many ducklings and I only filled a few orders. We do have some ducklings available that no one on my list wanted, but not many and we have only hatched a handful of whites from 8 breeding pens so not enough to fill orders. I just listed some pastels and silver appleyard call ducklings on eggbid last night and today. After next week it will be too hot to ship, I am actually pushing it shipping next week........I might have some later for pick up only and we should have some young adults ready to ship in September.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

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I am addicted to call ducks

I love the little beasties and they aren't as loud (at least mine aren't) as one would think. I have one female who will go off for no apparent reason

but most of my girls are fine unless they are distressed in some way. The swedish ducks have voices just as loud and go off just as often as the calls do.

Mine fly every now and then (usually to catch up to each other) but they haven't ever tried to fly away. They know where dinner is served and the pools are kept

I keep mine in a pen at night, and they freerange in an area around the chicken coop during the day - usually they hang out by the porch looking for bugs that hide in the taller grass (I need to weed-whack

)

Bad side is that since they are smaller, it is a danger free ranging them a little - I had one girl taken by a hawk. I doubt a hawk would go after one of my bigger waterfowl. At the time I only had the calls out, though, so now that I have swedish and geese out also, they have a little more protection (makes a hawk think twice, perhaps before diving into the big group).

I have grays, black bibbed, blue bibbed a khaki female, and a silver male - I just got some white babies (got eggs and hatched them) - the whites are still fluffies, though.

Other than easier prey for pedators - I don't see a downside at all to owning them. If you kept them penned - they would be safer from hawks and such.

meri

 

[Haley_LinckHillPoultry]

www.natureshatchery.com

they have calls

 

[chickensioux]

I ordered 6 call ducklings from Natures Hatchery. They were around a week old when they shipped. They are great!!!

 

[UrbanQuack]

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Oh how funny is that, I used to live in Naperville, Illinois, where this hatchery is. Now I live in Miami Florida, but let me tell you, I love laws in Illinois. Here in Florida, I think Im supposed to keep call ducks penned, only pekins and muscovies are fine.

 

[Scott]

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"breeders are having a hard time hatching this year"... I heard the same thing, but why is that? I heard that from several breeders. Why would that be? Were they not getting many eggs or the hatch rate was down? Are calls difficult to breed? Seems like the ducks could be left to their own devices, the eggs gathered, then sat under a broody hen like a cochin or silkie. So, what makes it a not good year for call breeders? I'm just curious as I hope to rear some from my four next spring.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

I've also heard that Calls are having a rough hatching season.

People who I've spoke to say that it's a poor hatch rate, sometimes a poor survival rate for ducklings. They just drop dead. I've also been told that SQ ducklings (that is, from SQ stock) have a harder time pipping the shell because their bills are so short.

On the upside, I like my trio that I picked up a few weeks ago. It's really very hard getting them to like people. They're still young and very small but it's true that they are loud. My females are learning to quack and my male is still peeping.

They can fly though.

Edited To Add: Here are pictures.

The male is the Magpie. The females are the Black Bibbed.

All of them with a average sized poultry waterer for size comparison.

 

[tonini3059]

Yeah I am having a hard time hatching my own eggs, I would hate to be buying other people's eggs. Mine seem to be doing fine wiggling in the egg, but when it comes to the last 3 days they just die. It gets so frustrating. Mine are starting to lay again so we will see how this round goes.

 

[Luvducks]

Everyone's Call Ducks are beautiful! I hatched ONE Call egg from shipped eggs this spring. Started with 18. Four of the ducks were completely formed but never fully grew. These were incubated. I am a newbie but have learned so much from BYC. Now I realize that is difficult to hatch shipped Call Eggs BUT, It Can Be Done. Also I am at a high altitude and my eggs came from the East Coast. Not the shippers fault because the eggs were fertile. I opened each one so I can learn from this.

When my hatch pretty much failed I ordered Call Ducks from Nature's Hatchery. I had Six young Calls delivered on Wednesday! I was not to receive any ducks until spring 2010 but when they had some available they called and shipped. I did request Snowy Calls because I hatched the one Snowy Male but they were none available so I took what I could get. Two Khaki females, One of the mallard Looking males and three Grey females. I amHappy with all of them.

Nature's Hatchery were very friendly and All ducks arrived in Great condition. They had a long haul from Chicago to Colorado. I will buy from them again.

So, I want to breed my Snowy to the females from Nature's and see what I get. May be offering free eggs for shipping to experiment and see how it goes. I will post pictures later. Hang in there everyone because you will get your Calls and they are worth the wait!

 

[feedstorechick]

So how old were the call ducks you got from Nature's hatchery? Day olds or older? I'll have to check out their website.