Murray McMurray Hatchery?

[FernbergFarms]

Yes! You should! They are wonderful! My ducks lay me lots of eggs and they have wonderful personalities!!
@KCNC06 how many did you order? What breeds? And did they all get there safely?

 

[KCNC06]

Yes! You should! They are wonderful! My ducks lay me lots of eggs and they have wonderful personalities!!
@KCNC06 how many did you order? What breeds? And did they all get there safely?

I got 10 ducklings this morning. Hopefully all female because that's what I ordered. I'm trying to balance out the ratio in our flock a bit. I got 2 Khaki Campbell, 2 Cayuga, 2 Buff, 2 Golden 300, 1 Black Swedish and 1 Blue Swedish. Our current flock is mostly White Layers with a couple Rouens, Khaki Campbell, Cayuga and mixes.
Now I really need to remember to start using our duck eggs! We have 30-ish girls already, and since most are White Layers we get a LOT of eggs! Our White Layers tend to go broody pretty frequently...not a great trait for a breed that lays so many eggs! That's why our flock is mostly White Layers, they made a lot of babies a couple years ago.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I got 10 ducklings this morning. Hopefully all female because that's what I ordered. I'm trying to balance out the ratio in our flock a bit. I got 2 Khaki Campbell, 2 Cayuga, 2 Buff, 2 Golden 300, 1 Black Swedish and 1 Blue Swedish. Our current flock is mostly White Layers with a couple Rouens, Khaki Campbell, Cayuga and mixes.
Now I really need to remember to start using our duck eggs! We have 30-ish girls already, and since most are White Layers we get a LOT of eggs! Our White Layers tend to go broody pretty frequently...not a great trait for a breed that lays so many eggs! That's why our flock is mostly White Layers, they made a lot of babies a couple years ago.

Yes, you should remember to eat more duck eggs! They bake up so good, making the best souffles, custards, pies and cakes. We cherish the duck eggs my neighbor gives us occasionally. I am so glad your ducks are OK! Wow! You have a nice size flock going on!

 

[Birdsonghill]

Yes, you should remember to eat more duck eggs! They bake up so good, making the best souffles, custards, pies and cakes. We cherish the duck eggs my neighbor gives us occasionally. I am so glad your ducks are OK! Wow! You have a nice size flock going on!

Here's an update on the chicks from Murray McMurray, all 27 doing well and growing up fast. I still have a few things to do in the coop/run, but they are in the new coop now, but confined to the inside for now.

 

[chickmamato7]

My first 7 chicks came from Murray McMurray. They arrived within 3 days of ship date, all happy & healthy. Customer Service was excellent (I called them with a question) and my chicks developed into beautiful birds with no deformities. My second batch came from Meyer. It took 4 days from ship date and chicks arrived stressed, but all survived. I'm not sure if it was a postal issue or a hatchery issue, but the experience was not as positive. The chicks are now doing well and developing normally at 6 weeks old.

 

[KCNC06]

My 10 ducklings ordered from McMurray, shipped from Metzer, arrived safely and appeared healthy. One of my 2 Buff ducklings was smaller than the other 9 ducklings when they arrived but only slightly smaller so I assumed she had just hatched much later in the day. I gave them all Save-a-Chick probiotics, one day on one day off for the first week. They're now 2.5 weeks old so most are growing very quickly. All except the little Buff. I read the article by Metzer about probiotics for runts since their vets say runts are usually the result of gut Flora imbalance. That didn't make much sense with mine though since they got probiotics their first week and their feed has probiotics. I gave them more of the probiotics anyway hoping that would help my wee Buff. Yesterday she seemed to be feeling unwell so I made a separate brooder section for her with their heater and her own food/water. Extra vitamins in the water and yolk from a hardboiled duck egg and hemp seeds in the food. She seemed to love that mix of food! She had been huddled in a corner trying not to get pushed around by her rowdy sisters. I honestly wasn't expecting her to survive the night based on how pathetic she looked yesterday afternoon. By bedtime she had a lot more energy and looked happier. I'm making her stay in the separate section though to be sure she's eating and drinking enough...and so the others don't trample her if she doesn't make it. She has a LOT more energy today and keeps climbing on top of the heater and stretching like she's trying to decide whether or not she wants to jump the wall into the big pen. She's about half the size of her siblings though. I'm hoping she'll recover and grow but know failure to thrive may be what's going on.

 

[Birdsonghill]

Meyers and Murray McMurray are both reputable companies and in the vast majority of cases deliver good healthy stock. Humans work there and do make mistakes occasionally, most likely. However, the majority of dead, weak chicks delivered are, usually, because of shipping and handling. Most of the handling issues arise during postal operations. Badly shaken chicks, some with broken legs and wings were delivered to me once, after taking 4 days(12 dead or dying) That was a long time ago, but I have had chicks arrive left on the outside dock(against USPS policy) because "they stink" on a cool night after 3 days shipping.(lost 7) I think most of the chicks, that fail to thrive, purchased from either company (and others of good repute) are not their fault (the hatcheries). I did receive a deformed chick once that someone did not inspect well before shipping(one eye missing). Oh well, humans do make mistakes. MMC promptly gives credit for dead (or missed sexed birds over 10%) and I have had positive relations with them for at least 43 (1977) years, starting by mail ordering chicks, after reading tiny magazine adds (no internet or PC's)! Sure glad to hear of your safe delivery! Enjoy your birds!

 

[KCNC06]

I made my little duckling stay in that separated part of the brooder for 3 or 4 days and gave her extra probiotics and added egg yolk and hemp seeds to her food. She's still smaller than the rest but has a LOT more energy. We've had nice warm sunny days this week, much warmer outside than inside (thank you air conditioning!!) so the babies have been spending the day in a pen outside. They all seem to love it, even the little one. Hopefully the few days of extra everything was what she needed.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I made my little duckling stay in that separated part of the brooder for 3 or 4 days and gave her extra probiotics and added egg yolk and hemp seeds to her food. She's still smaller than the rest but has a LOT more energy. We've had nice warm sunny days this week, much warmer outside than inside (thank you air conditioning!!) so the babies have been spending the day in a pen outside. They all seem to love it, even the little one. Hopefully the few days of extra everything was what she needed.

Glad your little duckling is better! I had a poor Whiting's True Blue chick killed by a Red corn snake about 5 feet long and thick as an average woman's wrist. I thought I had filled up all the cracks and holes in the new coop well enough. I was wrong! The largest opening I have found and sealed since the attack was about 1/2 inch x 1-1/2 inch, and as I knew, if the head can squeeze through so can the snake! I caught it in the act of just beginning to swallow the poor bird. I now am paranoid a bit more than normal! I feel guilty of negligence for missing such a large hole! I think they are safe now. Anyway, the remaining 26 chicks are growing so fast and look the picture of health.

 

[corriemartin]

I got 10 ducklings this morning. Hopefully all female because that's what I ordered. I'm trying to balance out the ratio in our flock a bit. I got 2 Khaki Campbell, 2 Cayuga, 2 Buff, 2 Golden 300, 1 Black Swedish and 1 Blue Swedish. Our current flock is mostly White Layers with a couple Rouens, Khaki Campbell, Cayuga and mixes.
Now I really need to remember to start using our duck eggs! We have 30-ish girls already, and since most are White Layers we get a LOT of eggs! Our White Layers tend to go broody pretty frequently...not a great trait for a breed that lays so many eggs! That's why our flock is mostly White Layers, they made a lot of babies a couple years ago.

What do you do with all those eggs? We have 8 hens, and they've been laying gazillions of eggs (way more than the chickens). Eight eggs a day adds up really fast. Lots of people around here want to buy free-ranged chicken eggs, but not duck eggs.