If you were to buy a duck or hatching eggs (updated with more options)

TattooQ27

Songster
Apr 10, 2009
276
5
181
Upstate NY - Albany area
Would you be more likely to buy from someone selling:

1) purebred ducks/eggs from hatchery quality purebred parents
2) purebred ducks/eggs from show quality parents
3) mixed breed ducks/eggs from hatchery quality purebred parents
4) mixed breed ducks/eggs from show quality parents
5) ducks are ducks, doesn't matter as long as they are healthy
6) Other (explain please?)

Also....

What do you use your ducks for:

1) Showing
2) Breeding
3) Pets/meat/eggs
4) Other (explain please?)


Please assume for the purposes of this post that the person selling the eggs is not a big time breeder, just a small local farm wanting to sell hatching eggs for a little extra cash.
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Why I ask....

I have 4 ducks right now and I am looking to add to the flock. I am having a hard time deciding between having breeding pairs for purebred offspring or if I want to keep things fun and have an assortment of sizes, shapes and colors like what we have now. We really want to try to sell the fertilized eggs (only for maybe $5 or $10 per dozen) but we want to know if people would be willing to spend that on mixed eggs from purebred (unrelated) hatchery quality stock or if people only really want purebred eggs from purebred show quality stock. I WILL NOT rehome the ducks we already have so if people would be happy to buy mutt eggs we will buy 4 more assorted purebred ducks to complete our flock. If people only want purebred eggs then we can buy the opposite genders of what we have now and then pen them off as breeding pairs. If people only want eggs from show quality stock well then we can toss our idea of selling the eggs out the window because we only want 8 ducks and I am not giving up my current duckies for any amount of money, lol.
 
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I don't have ducks yet, but if a total noob opinion is okay...

I'd prefer to buy locally rather than ship for all those obvious reasons.

I'd love to have pure bred, one because I'd like to help a struggling breed, but two because a pure breed breeder wants good feedback and healthy animals so they're likely to take good care of them. That's the theory, it's been proven wrong time, but in a perfect world the little guy is the good guy and the commercial breeders are the less caring all about money ones.

We're in the city right now, so we could only have four. It would be nice to have eggs, and as a pet I think they're cute and amusing. Since we can only have four I doubt that we'd try for meat, but you never know.

Some day, perhaps in the next 1-2 years, we could have a place further out where we could have chickens, ducks, maybe even a couple goats, but for now I think that ducks would be a nice addition to our family and a good learning experience for us all.
 
I'm buying ducks for the first time this year. I want runner ducks. I want all females so I am ordering from a hatchery. I just want them to have the eggs for eating and to enjoy the pleasure of having a few. I may also hatch some of my own, but I the only way I knew to ensure females was to order from the hatchery.
 
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Great opinion, thanks!

We aren't able to have a big operation or anything (and wouldn't want that anyway) but we are thinking we would like to try to sell some eggs to help offset the costs of duck ownership. We wouldn't need to make much money since they aren't expensive pets to own but we need to weigh our options in breeds. We have 4 different breeds right now and so far their offspring have been super cute but since we are really duck owners cause we think they make great pets, we don't really care if the offspring aren't true to standards. We know we want to add to our flock so we are trying to decide what to get. We could spend a little money and get show quality breeders but honestly if the eggs of mutts sell just as well as eggs from show breeders we would prefer to have an assortment of healthy ducks with great personalities.
 
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I knew I was forgetting something... IF you go with pure breeds you can sell hatching eggs/ducklings as pure bred/show quality. All ducklings are cute, but for folks wanting pure and not wanting to order a lot or pay outrageous shipping that could work well for you... actually I really wish there was someone doing just that close to us but alas... *sigh*

I reckon if you're going to sell eggs, and you have the space/laws to have a male in with your girls, then why not sell fertile ones now and again? And from what I've read on here hatching is addictive... so this is a way you can do the hatching, but not have to keep all the babies... though, that in itself could be problematic I bet... at least for a sucker like me!
 
ONE! oh hun if we could just have one of anything we would not all be BYC ADDICTS!!!! Oh and runners you would definitely need two they must have a friend to run with and if you can stop at two you are suck a diciplined lady.
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LOL, I would never be happy with one duck. I am of the mindset that you should never have one of any animal unless you know for a fact that the animal is better off alone. I always buy animals in at least pairs because everyone (including animals) should have a friend that speaks their language.
 

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