I NEED ducks. UPDATED I bought Ducks

[obsessed]

So I was thinking of ordering some ducks. I prefer duck eggs to chicken eggs. They are soooooo much better, thicker, creamier, richer. So how many duck (females) do I need? I have a family of 5. Two adults, one teenager, two toddlers. I think we will eat more eggs if we had them cause they are fresh. But we definitely eat about 2-3 doz a week.

I was looking at McMurry's and they have a minimum order of 10 for ducks. Should I go with 10 just in case some don't make it? Or should I split them up like 7 and then get a couple of meat ducks.

 

[nettie]

runners or khaki campbells will faithfully lay an egg a day (except in winter)... i know runners lay over 300 eggs a year (i think campbells are similar too)... So you can calculate how many ducks to get easily... How many eggs do you eat a day? That's how many egg laying ducks you should get.... If your family can eat up to 3 dozen a week, i'd day get no less than 5 female runners or khaki campbells...

36(eggs) divided by 7(days) equals approx. 5.15 eggs a day...

Remeber that ducks take about 20-25 weeks to mature enough to lay, and you'd be getting ducklings... Just make sure you do your research about taking care of them, they are different than chickens!

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

We had a khaki campbell and she did lay very nicely...plus they are sweet ducks, so 2 for 1 benefits!

 

[ChickenToes]

Some hatcheries offer hybrid ducks that are bred for laying abilities, but if you want a purebred it's hard to beat a Khaki Campbell.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
how big and what shape is a .15 egg >>???

go with more ducks than eggs you need. some will die and most will not lay every day.. If you have extra eggs you will not have any trouble selling them..

 

[nettie]

lol, 5.15 was a mathmatical approximation....

i get all 10 layers, you might lose some in shipping, and they might not all make it to adult hood.

 

[Omniskies]

If you're wanting eggs then definitely spend the extra money and get all females. It's usually easy to find extra males if you ever decide to get fertile eggs.

Spending a dollar extra now will save you a fortune in feeding males before you can separate one from the other.

The last time I ordered Indian Runners from McMurray I was given a bunch of extras and still ended up being credited for having less than the ordered amount. Make sure you _immediately_ give the babies a little sugar water as soon as you get them. I even recommend leaving them alone until the next day so they have time to mellow out. Both Indian Runners and Campbells are high strung and should get some quiet time to adjust to all of this whole hatching/traveling business.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

If you are ONLY wanting eggs and maybe pets, try a local waterfowl rescue. They always have domestic ducks they are trying to adopt out. Like with any adoption there are rules, like you usually can't eat the duck or it's offspring, or sell the duck or it's offspring.

Many a times I have been tempted to adopt from the local rescue which seems to always have an abundance of rescued waterfowl. The only thing stopping me, is I free range my geese and that if requested I would sell their eggs.

But really, look around for a local rescue. They should have ducklings to adults, males and females. Sometimes you have to adopt in pairs if the waterfowl are already mated off, but eggs are eggs.

Terrie and waterfowlrescue delve into a run waterfowl rescues, so try to contact them and they may be able to help you out!

-Kim

 

[jmc]

The bred-to-lay Khaki Campbells will outlay ANY breed of poultry, chickens included, if given fine care and night lighting programs in winter.

In fact, as Mr Duck himself, Dave Holderread, says, you will find really no better laying poultry--period--than the Khaki Campbell. It is amazing that more people don't keep Campbells instead of chickens for eggs.

As some have said in this regard, ducks are the most undervalued poultry in existence. And in my short experience--even in the dead of winter--(and in most others experience as well) ducks are hands down easier to raise.

Runners used to be best egg-laying ducks until a few decades ago---but, 'no mas' as they say!!!

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Quote:
I have to agree with all of this. This is why I'm getting serious about my Khakis. They are amazing layers, my girls haven't skipped a beat all winter. I have 3 nice girls and I get 3 eggs every single day.