Can someone please tell me a hatchery that doesn't require a high minimum i only want to buy 2 not 15!
I believe the problem with small orders (only 2 ducklings) is that it is not totally safe to ship so few birds. This would be so if you are considering newly hatched. A larger group of birds can help keep all of them warm enough.
i know but the problem with that is i don't have enough room for that many ducks at my house. Luckily i found a website that will sell me just 2. It's called MetzerFarms.com
here's a snippet from Metzer's If you wish to order fewer than the Standard Minimum number of ducks (10), the cost of the birds must be at least $39, excluding sexing charges. You may remove these birds from your order, add more to meet the cost minimum, or you may opt to pay the minimum price ($39) for these birds. Any sexing charges will be in addition to the minimum price of $39. so for those 2 duckling you will be charged the $39 plus shipping. back in april i bought 6 ducks from them and it still didn't reach the $39 so i did opt to pay the $39 but its an awful lot to pay for just two though i know their worth it. do you not have anyone near you who would want a couple ducks? buying a ceratin amount will help insure that your babies arrive healthy and happy theres alot of risk with just two.
I just ordered 3 WH from Metzers ...it's a bit pricey with the minimum requirement, but in my situation it is worth it, as I wanted 3 sexed of a particular breed. As for shipping safety, Metzers is well known for their shipping abilty, high quality stock and great customer service...and to aid in the little's safety, I opted for the grow gel and heat pack. We will see in a month (scheduled 9/9/14 hatch/ship time) Cheers' Dan
I just ordered from Metzer's as well--I think my order total was $81 for 4 ducklings. That included sexing charges, gro-gel, the heat pack, shipping, and the $39 minimum order charge for the birds. If I had only ordered 3, I think it would have been like $4 less was all, because it would have only subtracted a sexing charge and a gro-gel packet. The 4th duck is sort of my "insurance" in case anything happens to one since I can't minimum-order just one duck. Totally worth it IMO to get sexed birds of the exact breeds I wanted (2 Harlequins, 1 Blue Swedish, 1 Cayuga) since I can only have a few. If I was on a farm or commercially breeding and I needed a lot of ducks I might not have thought so, but then, if I was on a farm, I wouldn't have needed to worry about the minimum order charge TDD2--mine ship on August 25th, so we will be new duck parents together. Can't wait to see pics of your babies!