Ducklings For Sale
Ducks are typically hardier than other poultry such as chickens or turkeys, some strains can lay as many eggs as the best chicken layers, and they are fun to watch with their antics in your backyard, your barnyard or your pond. They grow quickly and will rid your garden, yard or orchard of slugs, snails, earwigs or any other bug they can find. When it comes to cooking, we hear both professional and amateur bakers swear by the virtues of replacing chicken eggs with duck eggs.
We have the following breeds of ducklings available for sale:
Indian Runners:
All Runners were originally bred in Southeast Asia for high egg production and excellent mobility. There is evidence of their ancient ancestry from stone carvings in Java that are over 2000 years old. These ducks are still being used as they were then. Flocks of ducks are herded daily from field to field eating waste rice, weed seeds, insects, slugs and other bugs. They are then put in a bamboo pen at night where they lay their eggs and are released the following morning to clean other fields. During the course of their lives the ducks may cover hundreds of miles in their travels. Therefore a hardy mobile duck is absolutely necessary-you will not find a better foraging duck than the Runner.
All Runners were originally bred in Southeast Asia for high egg production and excellent mobility. There is evidence of their ancient ancestry from stone carvings in Java that are over 2000 years old. These ducks are still being used as they were then. Flocks of ducks are herded daily from field to field eating waste rice, weed seeds, insects, slugs and other bugs. They are then put in a bamboo pen at night where they lay their eggs and are released the following morning to clean other fields. During the course of their lives the ducks may cover hundreds of miles in their travels. Therefore a hardy mobile duck is absolutely necessary-you will not find a better foraging duck than the Runner.
They are light in weight, there is also less chance of them trampling the vegetation in your garden or yard. Because of the high egg production of the native ducks, duck eggs are used in a variety of ways in Southeast Asia. Not only do they replace the typical chicken egg but duck eggs are made into two unique products, the balut (a partially incubated duck egg) and the salted egg (fresh eggs put in a salt solution or salt mud until the salt has permeated the entire egg). Due to the emphasis in coloration over the past 80 years in the breeding programs in England and the United States, the Runners no longer excel at egg production. They are very average at this point.
Why are they called Indian Runners? Tradition has it the ducks were first imported into England in the 1850s and were named Indians as the ship had proceeded from India and had traded with the "Indies". It wasn't until 1909 that the importing family acknowledged that they came from Southeast Asia - not India. But by then the name had stuck and the breed was extremely popular throughout the country. Until the Khaki Campbell was bred, Runners were by far the most productive egg laying ducks. Prior to the turn of the century there were many egg trials in England where representatives of different breeds and farmers were put on a common site and their egg production monitored and compared.
Rouens:
Rouens are probably the second most popular breed in North America. They are very beautiful and closely resemble wild Mallards in coloration. The original breed was developed in the Normandy area of France and was given the name Rouen after the city of Rouen. They are second to only Pekins and Muscovy in size and are said to have the most flavorful meat.
Some people call Rouens Mallards but that is incorrect as Mallards fly quite easily and Rouens do not. A Rouen is at least three times the weight of a Mallard.Rouens are probably the second most popular breed in North America. They are very beautiful and closely resemble wild Mallards in coloration. The original breed was developed in the Normandy area of France and was given the name Rouen after the city of Rouen. They are second to only Pekins and Muscovy in size and are said to have the most flavorful meat.
Mallards:
Mallards are native to most countries in the Northern Hemispheres. It is thought that all domestic ducks except Muscovy are derived from the wild Mallard, or "Greenhead" as some call them. They are a small, flying duck that is hunted widely. In addition, they do an excellent job of hatching and raising one or two broods of ducklings a year. Mallards start to fly for short spurts at 10-12 weeks and are flying very well by 16 weeks. It is also at about 14-16 weeks that the males get their beautiful coloring - prior to that both the males and females are similarly colored in shades of brown.
Mallards are native to most countries in the Northern Hemispheres. It is thought that all domestic ducks except Muscovy are derived from the wild Mallard, or "Greenhead" as some call them. They are a small, flying duck that is hunted widely. In addition, they do an excellent job of hatching and raising one or two broods of ducklings a year. Mallards start to fly for short spurts at 10-12 weeks and are flying very well by 16 weeks. It is also at about 14-16 weeks that the males get their beautiful coloring - prior to that both the males and females are similarly colored in shades of brown.
Ducklings are $7.99/ea
2 duckling minimum per sale, per customer.
ALL SALES ON LIVE ANIMALS ARE FINAL. NO RETURNS.
