New to hatching ducks, questions

[nuts4chickens]

My children and I were thinking about trying to hatch some ducks for Christmas. We've hatched plenty of chickens, but never a duck. We dont really know anything about ducks. But we thought it would be fun to try something new. Are there any breeds that are harder to hatch than others? What is a good breed to start out with. We would have to buy the eggs from ebay. Currently we are looking at calls, Welsh harlequins, and runners. Any advice? We definetly want to do a Christmas hatch, but would it be better to wait til Spring for ducks for any particular reason?

 

[FunnyBunnies12]

I wouldn't even touch eggs on ebay. I've never personally dealt with eggs on ebay but read from others not to because there is no guarantee. I would order from reputable breeders like Metzer Farms, they actually have a schedule of what eggs they are still hatching/shipping and what ones they don't ect. And different breeds.
Here is their website..... http://www.metzerfarms.com/ I'd wait until Spring, I've got ducklings that hatched late in the season in the basement, and boy oh boy what A LOT of work they are and MESSY!!

 

[easttxchick]

I agree about the ebay thing-I ordered Call(white and gray) eggs off of ebay and ended up with 2 mallards and a Gray Pied Call. Get your eggs from a reputable place. Call eggs will be very scarce this time of year, so if that's what you really want, I would wait until spring for them.
Ducklings are messy, for sure, but oh boy are they CUTE!
Good luck whatever you decide to do.