Mandarin Duck thread ( for posting pictures and discussing)

[mikeybrownie]

They like slipping through the small hole in the back then flying out the big one

 

[BYC-user-174785]

Do any of your male mandarins check out the nesting boxes before the female does? Mine is! He sits in the opening and hangs out before jumping down like he's telling his hen it looks good to him! Lol! They are so comical.

Yes that is perfectly normal! The males help choose the nest site.

I am nearly at two dozen duck eggs, and I think they are mostly wood duck and mandarin. But Red Crested Pochard should be laying soon. That is the fun part about having different species that lay similar eggs, so its always a surprise as to what you hatch!

 

[3BirdGirlz]

Oh good! Thanks Blue

 

[poultryaddicted]

I have just bought myself 12 mandarin eggs, i am wondering will it be okay to hatch them under a broody chicken?

 

[bensteph821]

Hi, I have a question or two

. I had two pairs of regular mandarin ducks since last summer and are about ready to lay. I just acquired two more pairs but the one pair is a white male and a regular female. The other pair is just white. This is my first year breeding them and was wondering can you mix the white with the regular? Is that a commonly done thing and will they even cross color breed eachother?? Also, do you need to have one nesting box per pair and does it have to be a duck box? Can it just be something enclosed where they feel private?

Thanks for any help!

 

[BYC-user-174785]

I have just bought myself 12 mandarin eggs, i am wondering will it be okay to hatch them under a broody chicken?

Yes it will be okay. I use bantams and put eight to ten eggs under each hen. Just set my first eggs yesterday.

Hi, I have a question or two

. I had two pairs of regular mandarin ducks since last summer and are about ready to lay. I just acquired two more pairs but the one pair is a white male and a regular female. The other pair is just white. This is my first year breeding them and was wondering can you mix the white with the regular? Is that a commonly done thing and will they even cross color breed eachother?? Also, do you need to have one nesting box per pair and does it have to be a duck box? Can it just be something enclosed where they feel private?

Thanks for any help!

This is from Jamie Lord's website (www.mallardlanefarms.com):
That should have some information about nest boxes. They should have elevated wood duck style nest boxes. You can find designs by googling it. I do have some hens using an elevated pheasant nest box but it is not the best site in comparison to wood duck boxes. Plus if you want them to raise their own ducklings, those are the boxes that you will need.

Yes you can breed a white drake over a regular hen. I have a pair like that. One of my white drakes wont pair up with a white hen after I lost two white hens in an attack, so he is with a regular hen. Not the best pairing since I am trying to raise whites, which I do not ahve many of compared to regulars. This is again from Jamie's website:

 

[poultryaddicted]

Thanks blue creek farm for answering my question
Do you let the bantam hatch the ducklings or do you move them to an incubator a few days before?

 

[BYC-user-174785]

I let them hatch the ducklings. Once they are dried up a bit they are moved into a brooder.

 

[poultryaddicted]

Okay,it is just that i read somewhere that the humidity may not be best under a hen when time comes for hatching and that the egg can dry out

 

[BYC-user-174785]

Sorry, forgot to mention that you will need to get the eggs wet to simulate a duck hen coming back after swimming.