When is too late to get hatch-lings?

[RouenAtFirstTry]

I'm moving to a new house. There is plenty of land and a few ponds. I'd planned to get 4 Rouen ducks, all females from chicks. We've been waiting to get them until we move and build the duck house. Now it'll be the second week of June (at the earliest) that I can accommodate the hatch-lings. We live in the mountains and cold weather is unpredictable in the fall. My boyfriend says it will be too late and they will not be mature by the time it could get cold. Can any of you advise? These will be ducks for both eggs and meat.

 

[Apyl]

I dont see why you couldnt get them at that time. Heck there are folks here from alaska that have chicks and ducks. Where there is a will there is a way IF your worried about cold weather before they are "mature" ( is he meaning fully feathered?) enough you can give them some heat in their house.

 

[larkflying]

You should check the hatchery that you want to order from, to make sure they have ducklings available in the fall . . . a lot only go through June for ducklings.

I'd prefer having the ducklings in the summer just because we usually have a couple power outages due to winds in the fall / winter -- I always worry about the babies until they are big enough to keep themselves warm. Plus, they can go outside and enjoy the warmer weather in the summer. But as long as you can find ducklings in the fall, I'd think you could make it work. Ducks take about 8 weeks to get all their feathers . . .

 

[RouenAtFirstTry]

Just to clarify, are you saying I should take another batch on in the fall? I was hoping to slaughter each one seperately from fall to spring. Next spring I was planning on getting the same number of females and one male. Thank you larkflying. It seems like I have a lot to learn!

 

[RouenAtFirstTry]

Thanks! I was planning on wiring the duck house for a lamp while they are growing. Can you just lower the wattage on the bulb instead of raising it even higher for adults?