To butcher, not to butcher?

Ranita- first of all
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I don't know where you live but holderread farm in Oregon has adult cayuga ducks you can buy. They have really good stock too that would be perfect for putting with your drake and getting into the hatching/egg selling game if that's something your interested in. If you have the extra funds you can even have the adults shipped to you.
Next time I am in the area I am picking up another campbell female from them for my drake.
 
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Thank you for the suggestion, but I am upwards of 2,000 miles from Oregon! (Western NY) Google maps says it'd take about 40 hours to traverse, so shipping won't work either. I'm not breeding or selling, so not worried about SQ or anything, just that they're healthy, and I'd like to get them quite young, so they'll be as friendly as the birds we've raised so far. I have looked into getting some eggs to hatch ourselves, but I've had enough of trying to figure out what to do with unwanted males. We went the hatching route when we started our chicken project and initially got ALL males. We kept just one (my favorite bird!). The last three we took to auction, and it gave me nightmares. If I had known what to expect we might've just prepared them for dinner, but the kids would have hated us for it.
 
Ducks are seasonal layers so ducklings may not be available until next month. You might want to look at your local Craigslist for females. That is my plan for the spring. That way, they can go straight into the pen after quarantine. To make your ducks more friendly try peas. My ducks come faster than my dogs when we whistle because they know they will get their treat. Peas=begging ducks
 
Thanks! I will try the peas. I found a "McMurray Hatchery" on line that says their day-olds will be available mid-Feb. I worry about them being shipped, though...anyone have experience with this company?
 
We're in Central NY and had 45 chickens and 10 ducks sent to us last Spring from Murray McMurray. We are sooo happy with our critters! The customer service at M.McM is wonderful - we're on a first name basis with a few of them! We've just finalized our next order and will be calling it in by the end of the week. Good luck!
 
I believe they were born on Thursday or Friday morning and they were at our post office first thing Monday morning. Our post master knew to expect a shipment of chicks and ducks. And ours were not the only ones... When we got to the post office we saw 2 huge boxes and two little ones - we thought the big ones were ours. Nope! 45 chicks keep themselves really warm in a snug little box - same for the duckers! They can survive I think it's like 72+ hours with no food or drink because they're still absorbing the nutrients from the shell.
 
I don't eat any kind of poultry, haven't since I was little. So no I would never eat my duck. Even when I get land I wouldn't eat my future flock. I go to the Denver Chicken Swap every month and I see poultry sell fast so that would be my first stop. Second stop would be Craigslist.
 

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