Thinking about getting Call ducks

[MillersFarm]

View attachment 1584720 What do you think of our silver? This one is the mum to our duck, the best silver in the country. Our pair cost £400.

Australia will have slightly different standards to the U.K.

I would probably go to one of the shows and then meet one of the breeders and ask to buy some.

Pretty, do you have any other pics of her rather than just the one of the magazine?

 

[Upper Brook House Farm]

Yes, good quality mallards sell for a pretty penny here, as do silvers and whites. Dilute varieties tend to sell for less than £250 a pair for elite exhibition or £150 for basic exhibition. Do you have Exhibition whites, silvers or snowys?

That's about $650 for us, Never seen a call pair go for that much, Although they're very common and easy to find here in the US.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

Pied, white, and apricot sell best around here.. Even my black calls will go pretty fast.View attachment 1584696
But I would try and stick to breeding lighter colors.. I can sell extra for my whites, pastel, snowy, and pencileds(pied) You wont get much for mallard color unless they're show quality. I tried selling a pair of show quality mallard colored calls for $60 but no one seemed interested in them, The hen was pretty good quality too.
View attachment 1584710

I was more interested in getting Mallard coloured but I’ll get what’s available except for white. And very cute call ducks.

View attachment 1584720 What do you think of our silver? This one is the mum to our duck, the best silver in the country. Our pair cost £400.

Australia will have slightly different standards to the U.K.

I would probably go to one of the shows and then meet one of the breeders and ask to buy some.

The Silver is very pretty.

And I’m thinking if the ones for sale around aren’t the best quality to show, I will probably contact Mr Peel who developed the white Chinese and Camden White Toulouse geese. As he knows a lot of people who breed and show waterfowl, and I got some more natural mallards from Mr Homes (I think that’s right) who Mr Peel told us about.

Also early next year I’m probably going to purchase a young pair of stud quality Brown Chinese geese from Mr Peel. I plan on showing them as often as I can.

This is Mr Peels website:
https://www.peelridgestud.com/
He has some very great articles on what to look for in show quality geese and ducks and more.

 

[Going Quackers]

I have calls, i got them as my "pets" raised my first pair in the house they swam in the bath tub lol.

Be prepared for the noise! since you have mallards you have quacking already but still they are loud little suckers...

Very personable, i call them my pound cake ducks. I still have a few but lost some to predators, some were running with my larger Muscovy but you have to watch bigger ducks don't bully them.

These were my original four, sadly now only 1 exists of that... but i still have offspring of them.

 

[twigcrafter]

I'm thinking of getting some PET quality whites. There is an ad for a pair for $50.00. I think that sounds fair right? I'm worried about winter though. I asked to be put on their spring hatch list. But part of me wants to just go get them today! lol. Any thoughts???
Thanks.

 

[MillersFarm]

I'm thinking of getting some PET quality whites. There is an ad for a pair for $50.00. I think that sounds fair right? I'm worried about winter though. I asked to be put on their spring hatch list. But part of me wants to just go get them today! lol. Any thoughts???
Thanks.

$50 is a bit 'meh' for just a pair of pet quality, Do you have any pics of them? Also, if you do plan on getting some calls I strongly suggest having a good drake to duck ratio, call Drakes don't need as many girls as a normal standard drake would but I would still try and have 3 hens for 1 drake to avoid over-breeding problems later on in the future.

 

[HuffleClaw]

I say, go for it!

 

[twigcrafter]

I have 4 full sized female anconas, do you think they would Uhm, fancy them? or would the size difference be too much.

 

[MillersFarm]

Also, Lots of people try to sell mallards or mallard mixes as "Pet quality" gray calls as well, so i'd watch keep an eye out. Mallards(Drakes) will have a yellow-ish green bill while gray calls (drakes) should have a more green bill like this guy little guy

 

[MillersFarm]

The drake would still favor call hen more than the larger girls, He might try to breed them but I don't think that would work, None of my call drakes try to breed my bigger girls, I'll see one chase a hen around every now and then but i've never actually seen them successfully breed a standard hen.