Looking for a breeder/hatchery for less common breeds

[ducksinarow]

You might want to wait till spring and visit Rural King or Tractor Supply. My RK carries ancona ducklings. The minimum is 2-5. I got my campbells from RK and they have been very healthy. I lost none of them and did not have to deal with shipping. You will not get many eggs from call ducks. I have read 80 a year is about the maximum.

 

[learycow]

Metzer has a minimum order of 2. Folks who say they only want 5; unless you raised some before chances are you will lose some and an order of 5 will most likely only net you 2 adult birds.

I don't understand this attitude. I had someone last week talk to me about ducklings who said the same thing. That when she buys babies, whether its ducklings, turkey poults, chicks etc she ALWAYS loses 50% of them.
If this is the case, then I must be doing something wrong as i RARELY lose a duckling when I raise them. Out of over 300 last year (some I hatched, some I let me hens hatch, some I simply brooded for other people, and some I sold as babies to people who have stayed in touch to let me know how they are doing), I lost 7 total. And that includes ones that hatched deformed and simply couldn't make it!

I strongly believe that if you lose 50% of anything you get, it is a management issue that needs correcting.
A. You bought sick birds to begin with (highly possible, yet you would most likely notice it when you are at the feed store picking your birds up, or shortly after your new birds arrive home. In MOST cases, they die within a few days under the best circumstances if they are sick when you get them)
B. The contracted something at their new home (this can be contamination from other birds, not all birds show signs of sickness even though they can be a carrier. You could be contaminating them, on accident, through touching. ALWAYS wash your hands before handling baby birds)
C. Improper housing (not enough heat and they die from being cold. Too much heat and they die from heat stress. Housing isn't predator proof and they get taken or eaten)
D. Improper diets (do your research and see what they can and cannot eat. Proper diets are a MUST to raising healthy babies. Some may need additional nutrients or vitamins and if you watch and pay close attention to your babies, you will know from the different signs they can show if they are deprived of something.)

There are other reasons as well but these seem to be the easiest to remember. If you do your research, ask questions when needed, simply READ A BOOK, then you shouldn't lose any, especially not 50% of your baby birds.

I know tons of people (yes, I know everyone is different) who got ducklings from me last year who had NEVER had them before. And needless to say, no one had any losses. If something came up, they would email or call me and we would figure it out. Proper care and handling is the key to healthy animals. If you don't have the time, space, money, or care to put in the effort to properly raise animals, then its plain and simple, DON'T GET ANY

 

[jdywntr]

 

[Spifflove]

Actually Leary apparently didn't read the text he/she quoted. Also the whole post is a classic example of a strawman argument. Please research that term if you don't understand.

 

[ChristineR]

Actually Leary apparently didn't read the text he/she quoted. Also the whole post is a classic example of a strawman argument. Please research that term if you don't understand.

What is it you think Leary didn't understand? The quote was pretty simple - you stated that people new to ducks should expect to lose 3 out of 5 ducklings. His post spoke to your quote pretty well, in my opinion.

 

[Spifflove]

What is it you think Leary didn't understand? The quote was pretty simple - you stated that people new to ducks should expect to lose 3 out of 5 ducklings. His post spoke to your quote pretty well, in my opinion.

Quote: Metzer has a minimum order of 2. Folks who say they only want 5; unless you raised some before chances are you will lose some and an order of 5 will most likely only net you 2 adult birds.

Substitute argument: I don't understand this attitude. I had someone last week talk to me about ducklings who said the same thing. That when she buys babies, whether its ducklings, turkey poults, chicks etc she ALWAYS loses 50% of them.

Wikepedia: straw man or straw person, also known in the UK as an Aunt Sally,[1][2] is a type of argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position.[3] To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by replacing it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and to refute it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.[3][4] This technique has been used throughout history in polemical debate, particularly in arguments about highly charged, emotional issues.

There it all is for the reading impaired. You don't even have to resort to google.

 

[ChristineR]

Quote: Metzer has a minimum order of 2. Folks who say they only want 5; unless you raised some before chances are you will lose some and an order of 5 will most likely only net you 2 adult birds.

Substitute argument: I don't understand this attitude. I had someone last week talk to me about ducklings who said the same thing. That when she buys babies, whether its ducklings, turkey poults, chicks etc she ALWAYS loses 50% of them.

Wikepedia: straw man or straw person, also known in the UK as an Aunt Sally,[1][2] is a type of argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position.[3] To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by replacing it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and to refute it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.[3][4] This technique has been used throughout history in polemical debate, particularly in arguments about highly charged, emotional issues.

There it all is for the reading impaired, ADHD types. You don't even have to resort to google.

Leary addressed your quote, I think perhaps you need to read more carefully. He said he had multiple people buy ducklings who had never "raised some before" and they did not lose any.


The point is, it's not difficult to educate oneself. There's really no good excuse for losing 50% of more of ducklings and I would NOT recommend that everyone order double what they want, counting on half of them dying, or they will likely end up with twice the amount of ducks that they needed/wanted. Ducklings are not hard to take care of as long as you go to the trouble to learn their basic needs before acquiring them. Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks by Dave Holderread is a really good place to start.

 

[Kaugomu]

Idea

If you find anything that small orders and they have Cayugas please tell me. i'm like you lol just looking for 4 or 5.

Ideal poultry (http://www.idealpoultry.com/) has Cayugas and will do small orders depending. They have a minnimum order bassed on prices and then various charges on number ordered so I can't tell you the cost involved exactly, but they have 'em

 

[gryeyes]

Metzer Farms is my choice for waterfowl. (Going back to the OP's original inquiry.)

 

[Duck Love07 AR]

if you look at face book they may have a poultry page for your area. they have one fore Ark and it is very helpful.