The Duck Thread

[chickenchick312]

Any one have any ideas on breeds for these little babies

 

[Y-Knot]

Any one have any ideas on breeds for these little babies

I am quite sure the brown ones are Khaki Campbell. The yellow one with the brown looks like a female Welsh Harlequin

 

[Kaessa]

I am quite sure the brown ones are Khaki Campbell. The yellow one with the brown looks like a female Welsh Harlequin

X2

 

[PotatoWaffles]

It's been a while - I started a new job this week so I've been incredibly busy - but I got the duckies in the tub again. They are getting so big! I have a couple of questions, though. Would it be too early to put them outside? At five weeks old, I think it is. The daily temps are 40's and 50's with lows in 30's and possibly high 20's. I think we should wait another week because they are not all the way covered in feathers, but my fiancé reaaaaally wants to put them outside. They are messy! Also, my female Cayuga is getting a green sheen, while the male isn't. Is this indicative that their sexes may not be what we think they are? The male has to be a male, I'm thinking, because it's hard to mistake a girl for a boy when boys have parts that girls don't have, but maybe the female is actually a boy? Metzer sexed them but I know that's not always 100% correct. I'll probably just have to wait until they get their voices to know for sure.

Mr. Kitty always spies on them.

You can definitely tell the difference between Jeepers and Tater Tot. No worries about who's the boy and who's the girl with them!

Duckasaurus is finally getting her colors.

Prezzy, the male, is bigger and shows no signs of green while Michelle, the supposed female, has green in her wings and head.

Here you can see some of the green on her wings.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's been a while - I started a new job this week so I've been incredibly busy - but I got the duckies in the tub again. They are getting so big! I have a couple of questions, though. Would it be too early to put them outside? At five weeks old, I think it is. The daily temps are 40's and 50's with lows in 30's and possibly high 20's. I think we should wait another week because they are not all the way covered in feathers, but my fiancé reaaaaally wants to put them outside. They are messy! Also, my female Cayuga is getting a green sheen, while the male isn't. Is this indicative that their sexes may not be what we think they are? The male has to be a male, I'm thinking, because it's hard to mistake a girl for a boy when boys have parts that girls don't have, but maybe the female is actually a boy? Metzer sexed them but I know that's not always 100% correct. I'll probably just have to wait until they get their voices to know for sure.



Mr. Kitty always spies on them.



You can definitely tell the difference between Jeepers and Tater Tot. No worries about who's the boy and who's the girl with them!



Duckasaurus is finally getting her colors.



Prezzy, the male, is bigger and shows no signs of green while Michelle, the supposed female, has green in her wings and head.



Here you can see some of the green on her wings.

They have gotten so big, but with your temps I'd wait till they are fully feathered and you have been acclimating them to the out of doors.Can't answer your question about the Cayugas Maybe Michelle is just maturing quicker. Are they Cayugas in the pic they look black. I know I missed this but what ever became of the ducklings that got lost in the mail? did you get replacements?

 

[PotatoWaffles]

They have gotten so big, but with your temps I'd wait till they are fully feathered and you have been acclimating them to the out of doors.Can't answer your question about the Cayugas Maybe Michelle is just maturing quicker. Are they Cayugas in the pic they look black. I know I missed this but what ever became of the ducklings that got lost in the mail? did you get replacements?

We got a call from a post office two hours away that Saturday saying that they were all dead. They said that mail had been delayed that week due to weather. I thought about canceling our Metzer order and going with a hatchery an hour and a half away, but when we called them we found out that they don't allow people to pick up orders, and that their ducklings are first shipped to them from other hatcheries -wouldn't say where - and then shipped by then to the customer. We just decided skip them and have Metzer try again. They will ship on the 23rd. After this, I don't think we will be doing mail order ducklings again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We got a call from a post office two hours away that Saturday saying that they were all dead. They said that mail had been delayed that week due to weather. I thought about canceling our Metzer order and going with a hatchery an hour and a half away, but when we called them we found out that they don't allow people to pick up orders, and that their ducklings are first shipped to them from other hatcheries -wouldn't say where - and then shipped by then to the customer. We just decided skip them and have Metzer try again. They will ship on the 23rd. After this, I don't think we will be doing mail order ducklings again.

Well hopefully the weather won't cause any problems this time. Poor babies. You shouldn't need to order from a hatchery again you can hatch your own

 

[PotatoWaffles]

Well hopefully the weather won't cause any problems this time. Poor babies. You shouldn't need to order from a hatchery again you can hatch your own

I know! That's the plan. We hope they eventually start going broody, as we don't know the first thing about incubating, probably next year sometime, and then we'll use their chicks for meat. My fiancé wanted ducks for meat and eggs, and I wanted them for eggs and pets, so we compromised lol. I told him I couldn't eat the ones I hand raise, but probably ones they raise themselves.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know! That's the plan. We hope they eventually start going broody, as we don't know the first thing about incubating, probably next year sometime, and then we'll use their chicks for meat. My fiancé wanted ducks for meat and eggs, and I wanted them for eggs and pets, so we compromised lol. I told him I couldn't eat the ones I hand raise, but probably ones they raise themselves.

You'll be stronger than me, I've had ducks 11 yrs now and still haven't bee able to eat one.
Look forward to seeing your littles.

 

[hennible]

I love my chickens, but their easier to butcher than ducks... The ducks are just so sweet... And cuter... It's very hard.