ducklings?

[Duck mommy 2019]

at the moment i have five ducks (three drakes, two girls) but next spring i want to add some more girls to the flock. would two girls per each boy work? we do not have enough property to add too many ducks and do not want to get rid of any of our current ducks. also, what’s the best hatchery that could ship out like 4 ducklings? i want to get a cayuga, blue swedish, ancona, Welsh Harlequin, buff, or crested pekin

 

[Miss Lydia]

Please don’t get a crested female. The drakes will be grabbing hold of it during mating and since there is only fatty tissues under those feathers no skull to protect her brain, she’ll be at risk for some serious damage.

 

[DuckGirl77]

I don't think 2 is enough per drake, especially if all your ducks are going to be living together. I would suggest reading some threads about duck to drake ratios and others' experiences, it will help you make your decision
For me, having too many drakes I set up a separate drake flock. Yes it's a hassle but it's worse to have them beating up the girls if your ratio is off.
If you have pekin drakes you may not want a smaller breed like Welshies or even possibly some other breeds you mentioned - they're pretty small comparatively. Just a thought

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

Please don’t get a crested female. The drakes will be grabbing hold of it during mating and since there is only fatty tissues under those feathers no skull to protect her brain, she’ll be at risk for some serious damage.

really? i didn’t know that. what other breeds do you suggest?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Just try an pick females that can hold up a Pekin drake those boys are hefty.

 

[FunQuail]

at the moment i have five ducks (three drakes, two girls) but next spring i want to add some more girls to the flock. would two girls per each boy work? we do not have enough property to add too many ducks and do not want to get rid of any of our current ducks. also, what’s the best hatchery that could ship out like 4 ducklings? i want to get a cayuga, blue swedish, ancona, Welsh Harlequin, buff, or crested pekin

On your hatcheries question I do not recommend Meyer Hatchery, Metzer Farms, or Murray McMurray. Meyer and Mcmurray are partnering hatcheries with Metzer. None of them mention it on their websites and there may be more hatcheries partnering with Metzer. I bought 5 welsh harlequins from Meyer Hatchery and 3 out of the 5 died. There was no mention of where they were going to be coming from at all when checking out, talking to them on the phone when asking about if they had shipped, or when their little chat box thing on their website before I even placed the order, in fact I asked something about how they shipped and the messenger person said and I quote "We'll handle everything." That is such a lie! They don't even touch them and they give you no clue whatsoever on their stupid website. I would have never bought from them if I knew they were coming from Metzer in CA. That's halfway across the country! And it gets even better. Since we lost the 3 we decided to order from Murray Mcmurray and we bought 5 blue Swedish girls and 1 more hybrid white layer. And guess where they are coming from? Yeah Metzer farms. These next babies better come in alive or Metzer, Murray Mcmurray, and Meyer are going to be hearing from me and I'm going to report all of them!! They need to tell customers! It's cruel and extremely disappointing!!And Mcmurray never even mentioned it either, how shocking is that?! So if you are thinking about getting some ducklings call them and ask them directly "Are they actually coming from you?" Because they aren't gonna even give you a hint.
I've probably given you more info than you wanted but I am warning anyone I can.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

On your hatcheries question I do not recommend Meyer Hatchery, Metzer Farms, or Murray McMurray. Meyer and Mcmurray are partnering hatcheries with Metzer. None of them mention it on their websites and there may be more hatcheries partnering with Metzer. I bought 5 welsh harlequins from Meyer Hatchery and 3 out of the 5 died. There was no mention of where they were going to be coming from at all when checking out, talking to them on the phone when asking about if they had shipped, or when their little chat box thing on their website before I even placed the order, in fact I asked something about how they shipped and the messenger person said and I quote "We'll handle everything." That is such a lie! They don't even touch them and they give you no clue whatsoever on their stupid website. I would have never bought from them if I knew they were coming from Metzer in CA. That's halfway across the country! And it gets even better. Since we lost the 3 we decided to order from Murray Mcmurray and we bought 5 blue Swedish girls and 1 more hybrid white layer. And guess where they are coming from? Yeah Metzer farms. These next babies better come in alive or Metzer, Murray Mcmurray, and Meyer are going to be hearing from me and I'm going to report all of them!! They need to tell customers! It's cruel and extremely disappointing!!And Mcmurray never even mentioned it either, how shocking is that?! So if you are thinking about getting some ducklings call them and ask them directly "Are they actually coming from you?" Because they aren't gonna even give you a hint.
I've probably given you more info than you wanted but I am warning anyone I can.

thank you, do you know any other place i can get 4 sexed ducklings?

 

[FunQuail]

Possibly Cackle Hatchery but I would still make sure that they are in fact coming from them. If these next babies that come this week don't make it we'll be going to Cackle hatchery and picking them up. Good luck! And make sure they get a heat pack in with your ducklings, or wait until it's super warm in your area. Where are you located? You might want to look locally too, maybe there's a small hatchery in your area that you can pick up 4 girls. I'm now sort of against big hatcheries and shipping at this point.

 

[DuckyDonna]

at the moment i have five ducks (three drakes, two girls) but next spring i want to add some more girls to the flock. would two girls per each boy work? we do not have enough property to add too many ducks and do not want to get rid of any of our current ducks. also, what’s the best hatchery that could ship out like 4 ducklings? i want to get a cayuga, blue swedish, ancona, Welsh Harlequin, buff, or crested pekin

NO! 2 girls per boy will NOT work! 4 more female ducks will not work with that ratio.

You are going to have to either separate those drakes, if you want to keep them all, or get rid of at least one of them.

Right now I have 2 drakes to 8 females and that is barely working!

Please don't do this to your girls. Those boys are relentless with their mating and could possibly severely hurt or kill one of your girls.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

Possibly Cackle Hatchery but I would still make sure that they are in fact coming from them. If these next babies that come this week don't make it we'll be going to Cackle hatchery and picking them up. Good luck! And make sure they get a heat pack in with your ducklings, or wait until it's super warm in your area. Where are you located? You might want to look locally too, maybe there's a small hatchery in your area that you can pick up 4 girls. I'm now sort of against big hatcheries and shipping at this point.

michigan