How many of you make money on ducklings?

[DUCKGIRL89]

Wow. I have seen duck for sale here on craigslist. I had no problem tradeing my calls for the khakis. And have a home for some some more ducks. Maybe the market is bad in your area? Things sell great on CL. Except drakes

I was just wondering how everyone else were doing selling their ducks/ducklings.

 

[cbohn80]

i'm willing to bet that people arent buying the duck eggs simply because they've never had them and are used to chicken eggs. why dont you try giving some away to your regular customers, maybe half dozen at a time to let them see how good they are. i'll bet they'll come back for more. i love duck eggs more than chicken eggs by far.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Like Ian- here in Australia I do very well selling ducklings young pairs and fertile eggs. In a good spring I can sell enough to feed the entire flock - pay for all their food and bedding - ( and frozen peas

) electricity for the incubator and lighting for the brooder even the petrol and entry fees for the shows I go to for the whole year. What I make in the other 9 months is all profit. I have show quality birds of a very rare colour- so being able to sell an adult bird for $100 and eggs for $40 -$60 a dozen it adds up very quickly. I also sell at Auctions twice a year, breeding up a range of age groups to cater for people wanting ducklings- as well as those who want more independent older birds.

Ducklings and eggs are priced very differently over here though. With virtually no large hatcheries- and not being able to ship through the post, demand is very high for just about any surplus a breeder has to offer each spring.

My ducklings start at $20 each from a few days old, That is where the best profit lies as the costs are so few.

Selling eggs when I have 6- 7 females laying at a time is easy - 2 dozen every Monday can be posted if you allow for those too dirty, misshapen or too small and still leaves me with plenty to hatch for myself. But with only one - people are less likely to buy the eggs for hatching. Its also very important to test the fertility of eggs. Hatching your own at the same time as selling - I always know how good the fertility of the eggs collected are.

With only a small number you would really struggle to even break even with a breed that hatcheries can supply with the prices in the USA. Take into consideration that you have to feed and house the flock year round, before you can say that it is making you money. Going for a pure rare breed will increase the demand for what you have- otherwise people are just going to take the easy way and go to a hatchery. People are also spoiled for choice. At a hatchery- you can sift through the catalog and choose two of this- two of that and six of another and choose what sex you want them.
Selling some eggs and ducklings is a good way to reduce the costs of keeping them though, even if they dont bring in a profit- contribution is still good.

 

[mandelyn]

I don't know if I'll make any money or not. I'll let you know in March.

I have a waiting list of local folks for Saxony ducklings... but waiting and actually buying are two different things.

 

[cbohn80]

$100 per bird? man that duck better make me scrambled eggs every morning for that kind of money. i have a flock of 10 ducks that cost me $45 all together.

 

[Rosebud 18]

I didn't get mine to make money I just fell in love with them last year after I got a pair of pekins.
I have offered to give people the eggs but they don't want a duck egg. I had my husband to ask some of the guys at the stores that he goes to. He had some of them tell him today that they hadn't had a duck egg since they were kids and they liked them then and they would like to try them again. So he's going to take several dozen to them next week. I'm giving them away. I boiled 4 dz. today and made a large pan of potato salad and deviled some. Gave away most of that. I feed half of the ones left to the ducks, chickens and geese and going to give them the rest tomorrow. I still have 7 1/2 dz. in the fridge. Going to boil some more next week if no one wants them. I get between 12 to 16 a day but can only eat so many.

 

[KrazyKZ08]

Quote:

i hope that movement spreads over here

 

[GrannyCarol]

I wouldn't even want to think how much I spend on my pets.

Some people seem to do well on Ebay selling fertile eggs for hatching. I don't know if they make money on them or not.

You might be able to make money selling ducklings in the spring as day olds, hatching eggs, eggs for eating... maybe you can find a market for feathers, I guess they are a "hot" fashion accessory right now, so feather prices in general are up.

Chances are though, you'll spend a lot, love your pets and not make much back.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I boiled 4 dz. today and made a large pan of potato salad and deviled some. Gave away most of that. I feed half of the ones left to the ducks, chickens and geese and going to give them the rest tomorrow. I still have 7 1/2 dz. in the fridge. Going to boil some more next week if no one wants them. I get between 12 to 16 a day but can only eat so many.

Rosebud 18 - have you tried baking cupcakes with them & giving THOSE away? Every recipe I use for baking is better instantly when I use a duck egg instead of a chicken egg. I bet after a few cupcakes you could sell the duck eggs to anyone who bakes.

To Duckgirl - it seems to me the number of ducks one would need to make a PROFIT would be more than most of our backyards could handle. I think you could definitely sell eggs and ducklings, and make some money back, but I think it would be unrealistic to expect to profit from duck ownership. It seems to me you would need a flock of at least 100 to "make" money.

The ducks make up for it - as far as I am concerned.​

 

[DB_Tex]

Actually I did a little math projecting the average number of eggs laid by a khaki Campbell and a modest price of 4$ a dozen for duck eggs (modest for my area... I already have a list of people who want to buy, and none of my ducks have laid yet..) Each healthy laying campbell hen is worth $700-$1000 gross a year in eggs. But this is in Phoenix, where almost no one backyard farms, and I have a huge market of people that want them for health reasons and hobby chefs.
If you're savvy, you can make your pets pay for themselves and maybe give you a little to invest elsewhere in your farm. But the crux of it is that to "make big money" you have to go big. When your go big, you invest more, and when you're heavily invested, you'll be ruined if something goes wrong. You have to keep everything in perspective and your goals humble.
The big hatcheries are probably the only people who really "make money" in duck breeding, and only a handful of those actually improve the breeds while they do it.