Duck Breed Focus - Cayuga

[FaerieGlynne]

Can't get deliveries to my home and have a box in town. I guess I haven't checked but don't think that they would take delivery on live ducks. I could maybe get them delivered to a friend's house and be there the day they arrive. I was just hoping to go and get them locally

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Live ducks normally go to the P.O. and you get a call at 3-5am to pick them up (they can't leave them on the porch in the weather). So nobody gets them delivered to their home or a P.O. box. Even the feed stores have to go to the P.O. in the early AM and pick up their birds. With Metzer (I think most shippers), they ship Monday and you would get them Wed/Thurs depending on the P.O. I always get the grow gel in case it is Thursday.

You can call your P.O. and they can tell you the time they normally get them in.

 

[N F C]

Can't get deliveries to my home and have a box in town. I guess I haven't checked but don't think that they would take delivery on live ducks. I could maybe get them delivered to a friend's house and be there the day they arrive. I was just hoping to go and get them locally

When I ordered chicks, the hatchery gave me a choice of home delivery or PO delivery. Since I could get them several hours faster picking them up at the PO, that's what I opted for. I really didn't want my birds bouncing around in the back of the delivery person's truck for hours until they could get to my house.

Same with the ducklings I'm getting in April. The PO will give me a phone call as soon as they get them and will hold them for me instead of loading them onto the delivery person's truck.

All you have to do is notify your PO ahead of time to let them know you are picking them up. Doesn't hurt to remind them at the PO office and your delivery person a few times. And be sure they have your phone number.

In addition to getting them faster than waiting for home delivery, you can open the box right in front of the postal employee and they can verify any losses you may have (hopefully, there won't be any but good to check).

 

[sharpiewashere]

Here are my Cayugas. The top is Salem, the drake, and the bottom is Sam, the hen. These two are by far the most laid-back ducks we have ever owned, although Sam is a tad bit wilder than Salem. They are about as tall as my Pekins, but like others have said, not nearly as chunky. They are very light, friendly, and the adore the cat. Five months old soon! Sam has yet to lay an egg, but I blame the winter for that.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

When I ordered chicks, the hatchery gave me a choice of home delivery or PO delivery. Since I could get them several hours faster picking them up at the PO, that's what I opted for. I really didn't want my birds bouncing around in the back of the delivery person's truck for hours until they could get to my house.

Same with the ducklings I'm getting in April. The PO will give me a phone call as soon as they get them and will hold them for me instead of loading them onto the delivery person's truck.

All you have to do is notify your PO ahead of time to let them know you are picking them up. Doesn't hurt to remind them at the PO office and your delivery person a few times. And be sure they have your phone number.

In addition to getting them faster than waiting for home delivery, you can open the box right in front of the postal employee and they can verify any losses you may have (hopefully, there won't be any but good to check).

Interesting... I know I wasn't given the choice and Murdoch's (our feed store) had to pick up their shipment at the same time I did. Maybe different areas. I know a limitation is they have to be able to be "delivered" in 72 hrs so maybe we are far enough out that to the P.O. is all they can do and meet that requirement.

 

[cayugaducklady]

I bought 4 sexed ducklings from Metzer late spring last year. I was able to request a delivery date and they sent me an alert when they shipped.

I called the post office the day I received the alert to go over the pickup procedures. Luckily my local PO was very familiar with chick shipments.

They'll ask you for a contact name & number.

I turned my brooder on the day before so it could come up to temp.

The day they were delivered I got a call from the post office around 5AM. They told me which door to go to and when they would open it (around 6:30am). This gave me an hour & a half to go through my setup, check temps, etc. Have food and water ready for them.

I got there early and joined the lien of all the other locals picking up baby chickens. At 6:30 the door opened up and the employee asked us our names & what we were there for.

You may want to bring something warm to cover the box with in they'll be delivered in cold temps.

All of the chicks were peeping but my ducks were peep-screaming the loudest. Everyone stared at me as I walked away from the door.

I used a low duck-duck-duck call to them all the way home in a very poor attempt to soothe them. Not sure it soothed them much but now as adults that call makes them come running to me in most conditions.

I ordered the grow gel and the poultry certificates.

When i got home I put them in their new home.

Have a backup plan for brooding. Within about 5 minutes my girls were able to squeeze their bodies through the tiny surgery crate holes about I set up for brooding so I had to move them to the bath tub.

 

[FaerieGlynne]

Wow there is always so much I don't know! Glad I can order and get delivery at the post office! Now I think I'll order from Metzer to get my ducklings. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Tevyes Dad]

As soon as you take them out of the box, dip their bills in the water of their waterer in their brooder and make sure they swallow a drop do this one by one as you unpack them. When they are all unpacked make sure each one takes a drink on their own. This makes sure they know where the water is and have at least a sip. This is probably the single most important thing on day one. If you can't get special duckling food, you can use unmedicated chick crumbles, but they will need additional niacin. I put it in their water from capsules, many people add brewer's yeast (not baking yeast) to their food. I also put probiotics and electrolytes in their water the entire time in the brooder. (That is why I do the niacin in the water, I make 2 one gallon pitchers of "duck water cocktail" at a time and fill their waterer from them. Then the food can just come from the bag.) It seems that a lot of problems I read about with ducklings are due to deficiencies, so I don't want to take any chances there.

 

[FaerieGlynne]

As soon as you take them out of the box, dip their bills in the water of their waterer in their brooder and make sure they swallow a drop do this one by one as you unpack them. When they are all unpacked make sure each one takes a drink on their own.  This makes sure they know where the water is and have at least a sip.  This is probably the single most important thing on day one.  If you can't get special duckling food, you can use unmedicated chick crumbles, but they will need additional niacin.  I put it in their water from capsules, many people add brewer's yeast (not baking yeast) to their food.  I also put probiotics and electrolytes in their water the entire time in the brooder.  (That is why I do the niacin in the water, I make 2 one gallon pitchers of "duck water cocktail" at a time and fill their waterer from them.  Then the food can just come from the bag.) It seems that a lot of problems I read about with ducklings are due to deficiencies, so I don't want to take any chances there.

Your ongoing advice has been invaluable! I can't thank you enough.
When you say you add electrolytes and probiotics, how/where do you get those?

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Your ongoing advice has been invaluable! I can't thank you enough.
When you say you add electrolytes and probiotics, how/where do you get those?

You are quite welcome. I used "Durvet Performance Poultry Probiotics & Electrolytes for poultry" which I bought from my local feed store. Many people recommend Save-a-chick products which should also be available at the feed store. I really don't know the difference. I chose the one I did because it came in a bottle big enough to get through they entire brooding period x 2 and it came with a convenient scoop for 1 gallon of water plus it had both the Probiotics & Elecrolytes in a single product. So my water routine was take two 1 Gallon pitchers, cut a niacin capsule in half and pour half in each pitcher, put 1 scoop of Performance Poultry in each pitcher and fill with water and stir. I am not sure how much niacin was in each capsule, but I know it was more than was "recommended" by someone else at the time and I haven't seen any warnings about excessive levels of niacin and since it is a water-soluble vitamin, I would expect that any overage would just pass through - I know it was the lowest dose I could find in the supplements section at Wal*mart. (Please correct me if this should be a concern and feel free to educate me if you know differences between the Durvet and Save-a-chick @casportpony --- after all, I will be doing another brood this spring

).