How to ship a duckling?

[Yukon]

Im looking for a male pekin duckling, and Im having a hard time finding one where I live. Luckily I have a great friend on Skype who is doing everything she can to help me. She is willing to buy one locally and ship it to me. Im just not sure how exactly to ship a duckling. Can anyone tell me how they would go about shipping a duckling once she finds one.


Thanks

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Im looking for a male pekin duckling, and Im having a hard time finding one where I live. Luckily I have a great friend on Skype who is doing everything she can to help me. She is willing to buy one locally and ship it to me. Im just not sure how exactly to ship a duckling. Can anyone tell me how they would go about shipping a duckling once she finds one.


Thanks

I know you're kind of desperate right now, but I have to strongly discourage you from trying this. It is much too hot this time of year in that area to ship ducks. They very possibly wouldn't survive the shipping or would die soon afterward.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know you're kind of desperate right now, but I have to strongly discourage you from trying this. It is much too hot this time of year in that area to ship ducks. They very possibly wouldn't survive the shipping or would die soon afterward.

X2! fall and spring are best times for shipping then they need grow gel and or some kind of fruit for hydration. You want to ship while it's still cool in fall and just nice a warm in spring. We've all read pretty heart breaking stories about ducklings[poultry] dieing because of cold weather or hot weather. If shipping in fall and these are just hatched duckling they will need a heat pac. Duckling till feathered cannot regulate their body temps.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I know you're kind of desperate right now, but I have to strongly discourage you from trying this. It is much too hot this time of year in that area to ship ducks. They very possibly wouldn't survive the shipping or would die soon afterward.

X3

Single duckling shipping is already a bad idea. Most places won't ship less than 2 because of this. As much joy as a little ducky can bring you, a little body in a box would certainly bring you sorrow. As any of us who have lost ducks/ducklings can attest, there is no replay button. Maybe you can find someone near you that also wants a duck or two in the next couple months, then you could have a few ducklings shipped together in the fall when it is cooler and they would have a better chance (still not a guarantee) of making it. This duck will be your friend for 10-15 years. Give him a couple months so he has the best possible chance. (You can use this time to set him up with the best ducky accommodations for when he arrives).

If you really want one faster, I would consider the pond adoption mentioned earlier. Most domestic ducks in a pond are still in their first year (they don't survive longer than that) so they will still have a long life with you and would love you all the more for saving their lives. There are two young Pekin drakes at our fairgrounds right now - I am sure they were hatched this last April and sold by our local feed store. (My flock can't handle any more drakes or I would take them.)

I hope the best for you and your ducky buddy, and so does everyone else here on the forum, but these warnings are coming from those who have been there, done that, and seen the same tragedies happen too many times over.

 

[jducour]

No one has mentioned the laws against shipping poultry. You need to look into the specific laws in your area. In my area, they have to be shipped within 24 hours of hatching, or you have to go through a longer process to make sure they aren't carrying disease. If your friend can find a duck less than 24 hours old, she would still have to find grow gel and a heating pad, and then the little baby would have a chance of surviving. I ordered 4 ducklings this March from a very reputable breeder, and even with grow gel, heating packs, and 4 birds in the box to keep them warm all 4 arrived dead. The post office misplaced my box, and they ended up arriving 7 days after they were hatched. It was heartbreaking, and I will never do it again. I found 4 of my adult female ducks locally from people trying to find them new homes. Best thing - no duckling messes!

 

[JadeComputerGal]

No one has mentioned the laws against shipping poultry. You need to look into the specific laws in your area. In my area, they have to be shipped within 24 hours of hatching, or you have to go through a longer process to make sure they aren't carrying disease. If your friend can find a duck less than 24 hours old, she would still have to find grow gel and a heating pad, and then the little baby would have a chance of surviving. I ordered 4 ducklings this March from a very reputable breeder, and even with grow gel, heating packs, and 4 birds in the box to keep them warm all 4 arrived dead. The post office misplaced my box, and they ended up arriving 7 days after they were hatched. It was heartbreaking, and I will never do it again. I found 4 of my adult female ducks locally from people trying to find them new homes. Best thing - no duckling messes!

That is terrible, Jen. Just terrible. I had hatching eggs that got misdirected once, but I can't even imagine live ducklings being misdirected.

Your situation, though, was considerably different because of the time of year. It's much too hot in the midwest to ship ducklings or ducks right now. It's suffocating heat both inside and outside the box. Ducklings and ducks can survive shipping at the appropriate times of year, but no amount of Gro-Gel is going to keep them alive for long in temperature extremes they couldn't otherwise survive.

I'm very sorry for what happened to you. It must have been a traumatic thing to see.

 

[jducour]

That is terrible, Jen. Just terrible. I had hatching eggs that got misdirected once, but I can't even imagine live ducklings being misdirected.

Your situation, though, was considerably different because of the time of year. It's much too hot in the midwest to ship ducklings or ducks right now. It's suffocating heat both inside and outside the box. Ducklings and ducks can survive shipping at the appropriate times of year, but no amount of Gro-Gel is going to keep them alive for long in temperature extremes they couldn't otherwise survive.

I'm very sorry for what happened to you. It must have been a traumatic thing to see.

It was terrible. I was so careful to select a breeder, and the right time of the year, etc, but once it goes to the post office, it is out of our hands. The breeder didn't seem phased, offered to ship four more the next day, but there was no way! I ended up going to a feed store and getting straight run ducks. Not the breeds I wanted, but I can't imagine life without these feed store ducks! I had to open the box at the post office to verify the death, and they had been dead for so long. I am just glad I didn't take my kids with me to the post office

. I agree that you shouldn't ship any duckling this time of the year. One thing to @Yukon , if there aren't any ducklings available to you right now, it is because it isn't the right time of the year to ship a duckling. One thought - Could you get a hatching egg? It won't guarantee the sex, but it is a thought if you don't want to adopt an adult or wait until spring for a duckling. I have a lady in my city that will hatch any egg for a nominal fee. Just a thought.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

It was terrible. I was so careful to select a breeder, and the right time of the year, etc, but once it goes to the post office, it is out of our hands. The breeder didn't seem phased, offered to ship four more the next day, but there was no way! I ended up going to a feed store and getting straight run ducks. Not the breeds I wanted, but I can't imagine life without these feed store ducks! I had to open the box at the post office to verify the death, and they had been dead for so long. I am just glad I didn't take my kids with me to the post office

. I agree that you shouldn't ship any duckling this time of the year. One thing to @Yukon , if there aren't any ducklings available to you right now, it is because it isn't the right time of the year to ship a duckling. One thought - Could you get a hatching egg? It won't guarantee the sex, but it is a thought if you don't want to adopt an adult or wait until spring for a duckling. I have a lady in my city that will hatch any egg for a nominal fee. Just a thought.

Jen, it sounds like you had a nice breeder. It was someone who offered to ship you more even though it wasn't their mistake. Large-scale breeders don't form emotional attachments to their ducklings/ducks, and that might be why the breeder didn't seem fazed by the loss, at least not while you were on the phone with them. I form bonds with all ours, and it makes it really, really hard for me to let any go even though I have to.

I'm so happy you got some healthy and now happy ducks from the feed store. I have mixed feelings about the whole feed stores selling ducklings and chicks thing, and I'm very glad to know that at least yours ended up with a good mom.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And what about a road trip to pick up said duckling. At least that way duckling wouldn't be spending time in a box of horrors[possibly] and you'd have some travel time to bond.

 

[Yukon]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm just glad I asked here before doing it. It looks like I will have to find one locally eventually. I have thought about hatching an egg. The only problem is I would need to spend more money on an incubator that is only going to be used once, and I won't be certain to get a male.