We ordered 3 ducklings (2 Rouen, 1 Welsh Harlequin) that hatched Mon 4/4 morning and shipped that evening, but I was surprised that instead of coming from CA to WA (state) they were shipped from the new hatchery in TN. They thankfully arrived Weds 4/6 in the morning just before 8 am so the trip was short despite the distance, but I was nervous that they were shipped from TN instead of CA to WA. We called and they said their system does not differentiate east/west in terms of locations, but the disappointing part is that I have seen customers are assuming the new hatchery in TN will focus on customers on the east part of the country, when this is not actually true (and they haven't corrected any customers that I have noticed on the Facebook page).
Our ducklings arrived healthy and peeping with a heat pack and so far they are growing quickly and well, but I was also frustrated that there was no GroGel with them when their website states that they automatically include GroGel with all their duckling/gosling shipments. Thankfully their trip was fairly short and they were thirsty when they arrived, but if the trip had been delayed even a bit longer... I feel like this could have easily been a close call. So it's not that I can say the experience went poorly, but I'm disappointed with the handling and details with this. Also, one of the Rouens has feathers on her leg.
(On a sidenote, John Metzer responded to my email regarding this and said that unless they are going to Northern California, they always go through Memphis first because USPS often uses FedEx for air shipments. He added a few other thoughts on shipping I didn't find particularly relevant, but he did not address the lack of GroGel in our box.)
On top of that, we got 5 ducklings spring 2021 from Metzer via a local feed store. We had special ordered 5 Buffs, 2 died en route so we added a Cayuga and Rouen from the store for 5 total again. Despite doing everything right, like feed, temperature, water, probiotics, etc., feeding Mazuri feed (grower then breeder when they started laying, etc.), our Buffs never grew to full size, nor did our Rouen and have been constantly underweight despite 24/7 food access this entire time. We ruled out parasites/worms, asked a few vets, and no ideas other than potentially genetic issues. One of the Buffs died last fall due to severe egg binding (she was too small) and the Rouen recently died of severe bumblefoot that had eaten into bone (despite having treated it from the time the scab first appeared). So we lost 2 of the 5 before they turned 1. The Cayuga is the only one who got to full size. The Buffs also don't look at all like the Buff breed should look and very light/cream-colored, on top of being very small.
I did contact Metzer about this, not to blame but just to ask if others had any similar problems, and initially they made it sound like I had not fed them properly—the person I spoke with was not familiar with the Mazuri waterfowl feed. They were busy setting up their TN hatchery so I never heard back again.
I don't mean to say all of this to rag on Metzer at all, but I find it important to make others aware of some of these things in case they experience something similar, because these ducks are my daughter's babies and this past year has been incredibly stressful and heartbreaking for our family. I have wracked my brain to figure out if we could have done something differently, but we did all the research and followed all the best advice for our duckies. It could be possible there is something else I'm completely unaware of playing a role. But in case anyone is reading this wondering these things as I have, at least you might know you aren't the only one. <3 I hope that with our new 3 ducklings we'll have an easier time (like I said, so far, so good, so time will tell).
I had my replacements shipped the end of March & even though on Metzer’s website they explain that priority mail usually does not prove any faster than express, I decided to call and update my shipping to express hoping they would get here much faster than the first time. With express, it took them 2 days to get here!
Both the runners were lively & continue to be! 
