Ducks paying their own way

[FenDruadin]

Congrats!! I forgot about the Asian market--that's another market that already knows they like duck eggs and are willing to pay for them. Congrats!

 

[gofasterstripe]

Thank you very much, Im so glad now they arent going to be back
logged in the fridge.
Your boys are doing well. William (magpie) has a girlfriend..Jamima, they go everywhere together while Finn plays gooseberry. Jamima does not like William going near the fence where the babies are and she tells him so too and he moves away. Finn. is like a goose, hes the watch dog, he stands while the ladies and William eat or sleeps or cleans in the pool then he has his turn..the little booger has run at me a few times, cant catch the sucker so I quack and flap my arms and walk fast after him and hes like ooops, maybe I shouldnt of done that. I think hes learned his lesson, but I still love them anyway. Im realy pleased with them and love sitting outside watching them all. My hubby says Finn..hmmm hes a bit of a queer duck but hes pretty. The 1st time he saw them (hes been working away in Kansas for over a year) he pointed at Finn and said what the hell is that,is it a crane!!!! When I said nope hes a duck...he was like...>A DUCK!!!!!!

 

[Baymule]

I don't have ducks, but they are on my someday list. Just for grins, I googled duck eggs and about the cheapest I found them was $10 per dozen. The highest was $54 for 18, shipped.

 

[FenDruadin]

Yay! I'm so glad the boys are doing so well. I re-homed one of my other drakes to another BYCer, and was so worried he would have a hard time at first like yours did. But nope--apparently he settled right in within a day with his new girlfriend (whom he doesn't have to share with anyone--maybe that's why it was so much easier for him, lol). Anyway, I love reading about their antics after they go to new homes, so thanks for posting that.

 

[katharinad]

Quote:
Metzer sell them for 70-95 cents each depending on size. That makes it $8.40-11.40 per dozen.
http://www.metzerfarms.com/Eggs.cfm
That makes $5 a very attractive price. Put the price may change a lot depending on where you life.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

My duck's eggs are waxy, not sticky. When the ground is damp (very often here in swampy South Fla) they get dirty where they're laid on the floors of the duck houses. But when it's dry they often stay fairly clean. I collect them as dirty as they are, try to wipe off some of the larger clumps of muck off while it's still damp. I don't wash them until right before I use them or sell them. I run warm water over them & use a plastic scrubby to get them clean.

I do the same thing for chicken eggs IF they're dirty. Often they are clean in the nest, and need no further help. I never sterilize them with bleach.

I agree, the trick is to find the right market, folks who know the benefits of duck eggs. Sometimes I'll add a few free ones with a carton of chicken eggs, just to let them try them. Some folks just don't like them or appreciate the difference they make.

Many chefs or bakers won't pay extra for duck eggs, even if they themselves appreciate the difference, because they cannot charge extra for the goods baked with them.

I myself would like to make money by setting up a Duck Therapy Spa. I would set up lawn chairs in the shade and give people a bag of thawed frozen peas to attract the ducks. Then they could relax in the shade and enjoy watching the ducks going about their birdy business, quacking & flapping & waggling tails, while their stress melts away and their blood pressure drops to a healthy level. How much would YOU pay for a service like that?

 

[gofasterstripe]

Quote:
Duck Therapy Spa...you would have a good thing going. I didnt know how much enjoyment I would get out of my ducks or I would of got them sooner. I would pay to come to your Spa...cool drink, bag of frozen peas...what more could a person or duck want.

My ducks lay their eggs in their nests, I have 4 adults and 6 nests so they can pick and choose where they want to lay. Its hunt the eggs most mornings coz most of them cover them up when they are finished. They stay quite clean so i just wipe them off with a wet rag and now have clean eggs.

This lady told me today they pay $4 a dz at the Asian market up in Greenville (45 min drive away) so I asked if she would pay $3, expecting her to say $2.50 she said yes $3 a dz. It wasnt till I got home and looked, she had given me $4.

 

[FenDruadin]

Duck Therapy Spa!! Ha ha! That's hilarious.

It is true that whenever people come over, they nearly all say something about how they wish they could just sit and watch the ducks all day.

About the pricing on Metzer--I assume that's for hatching, not eating, eggs. I charge $12 a dozen for hatching eggs, which is actually slightly higher than their price, but I'm selling locally so there are no shipping charges and no shipping loss. The reason I charge more for hatching is that they are more work and there's more risk--eggs that I save for hatching that don't end up getting picked up (by deadbeats who ask for something then don't show up to buy it--grrrr) go to waste if I can't find an immediate market for them. Also, I mark each egg with its collection date, keep it in a cool but not cold location, and turn them daily. People who want to hatch duck eggs are generally quite pleased to pay that price for them.

I would any day rather deal with people who educate themselves & know what they're looking for. Those folks are generally willing to pay what they know something is worth, and they're usually more pleasant to deal with all around.

 

[katharinad]

That is their prices for eating eggs.
http://www.metzerfarms.com/Eggs.cfm?EggType=Fresh

They also sell hatching eggs at around $2-2.50 per egg depending on breed.
http://www.metzerfarms.com/HatchingEggs.cfm

 

[FenDruadin]

Oh, wow--maybe I'm undercharging, lol!! That's good stuff to know.