I think Metzer farms produces very healthy and fine-looking birds. Of course they are not always show quality, which they state on their website. As with any breed of animal, if you want show quality, you buy from a breeder that shows and specializes in the breed. But if you want some fun healthy pets with personality and great productivity, Metzer provides just that.
I love my Metzer birds. I can't say that I would order live chicks from them again, or any hatchery for that matter, simply because I prefer to hatch my own chicks and have them imprint on me. But I ordered from them at first to make sure I had healthy sexed birds, and that's just what I got. Their accuracy in sexing was 100%. It's funny how my Metzer birds always seem to stick together in my flock, while the mutts that I hatched often wander off in their own little mini-flock. My Metzer WH's, buff, Cayuga, and fawn/white runner are fairly calm and much more prone to eating out of my hand than the mutts I hatched that imprinted on me. That still baffles me lol. The only flighty bird I have from Metzer is my chocolate runner, but each duck has their own personality. She is still gorgeous and produces lots of pretty green eggs.
There is alway risk involved when shipping live chicks. In my first shipment, one of the six ducklings arrived dead, which was very sad. Metzer customer service is stellar, and they agreed to replace the duckling. I ordered two additional ducklings as travel buddies. Then, through no fault of their own, that shipment was delayed in transit for several days due to winter storms. None of the chicks survived, and the post office called us that Saturday asking if we really wanted a box of dead ducks delivered to our doorstep. That was very disheartening. Once again, Metzer replaced the three birds, even though it wasn't their fault the shipment arrived late. The second replacement arrived in time and all were healthy, but I decided to forgo ordering live chicks in th future. That is my personal decision, and the majority of people have no problems with their orders. Metzer does their best to ensure the birds arrive safe, but it's never guaranteed.
There was a small issue when I ordered the first time. I had ordered a blue Swedish, which I was most excited about because they're so dang beautiful. But the day my order hatched, Metzer called saying there was a mixup on their website, and they weren't actually scheduled to hatch any blue Swedish that day. I was disappointed, but they let me choose a replacement, my fawn/white runner. Then, when I elected to order the travel buddies for my replacement, I seized the chance to order another blue Swedish. She was very pretty (and holy schmoly was she LOUD, I kid you not she had her adult quack at two weeks!) but I only had her for about six weeks before my ducks ganged up on her and plucked and drowned her :/
I'm off topic now... Anyway, Metzer produces fine birds. I am very happy with mine
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