They are often kept on wire, and due to their light-weight they don't tend to develop leg problems easily, but over time you may be dealing with arthritis, or pododermatitis if they're being housed on it for extended periods of time. Looking at it from a welfare perspective, I believe they would rather be housed on grass or other soft bedding.
Call ducks do well on either a feed formulated for all poultry such as All flock feed, or Purina flock raiser, or a feed formulated specifically for waterfowl such as Mazuri.
Calls start laying in the spring, into early summer, then tend to stop after that. They are not known for their eggs, so only expect about twenty-five/thirty each per bird.
I hatch mine at 35% for the first twenty-three days, then up it to around 70% during lockdown. Especially with show-quality calls, they have a hard time pipping out of the shell due to their short beak so you often have to candle quite often during lockdown to track their progress. After the internal pip, if they don't make an external pip after twelve hours, I make a safety hole and guide them out as needed afterward.
5. I've always heard that Calls need to be clipped/pinioned, or housed in a covered pen. I see pictures though where they are clearly out and about enjoying the grass and what not. How do you all keep yours?
Feel free to disclose any other important information I might need to know.
I have never trimmed any of my Calls wings, and they have always stuck near their coop.
