# Found a hatchery for call ducks!



## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

I've been looking for a hatchery that sells call ducks for a long time. Like Muscovies, you always had to buy from an individual because none of the hatcheries sold them. Anyway, while looking for something else, I stumbled across this site:

http://www.efowl.com/Call_Duck_for_Sale_s/21.htm

Has anyone heard of them or used them? 

Also we had a man tell us that call ducks are extremely hard to raise with low hatch rates due to the ducks small bill, they can't peck their way out of the shells and that their survival rate trying to hatch eggs is only about 35-40%. Does that sound right? If so, will they set their own eggs? 

I would really like to get some call ducks as I'm in love with the little things, but not sure they're worth the hassle.


----------



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I think Johnson's Waterfowl in MN sells them too.


----------



## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

It says they have some, but no online catalog or site. I wish businesses would realize they'd do more business if they would make a presence on the WWW. It doesn't have to be elaborate or fancy or expensive, but something to "look" at. shrug


----------



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

6e said:


> It says they have some, but no online catalog or site. I wish businesses would realize they'd do more business if they would make a presence on the WWW. It doesn't have to be elaborate or fancy or expensive, but something to "look" at. shrug


If you call and leave your address she'll send you a flyer with photos. They carry lots of different waterfowl. I got my buff geese, runner ducks, wyandottes and silkies from her. The chickens were drop shipped.


----------



## sherekin1261 (Mar 17, 2004)

I was thinking about ordering from them as well. I have heard they are reputable and they have a nice selection. I have also heard the same thing about hatching. Another breeder I know who incubates the eggs helps her ducklings get that first pip in the shell so they can breathe. She said once that is done, they do fine. THeyre the perfect size for a small child to show in 4-H 

Shere


----------



## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

I have call ducks and in the spring when they were a year old, my hen laid I think 7 or 8 eggs and sat on them for what seemed like forever. She hatched out 4 of them but the poor things went through the chicken wire and couldn't figure out how to get back in (I never dreamed they would be small enough to get out). They got too cold and died *sniff*.

The next spring, my hen laid 3 eggs. That's it...3 eggs. We tried to incubate them but none of them hatched. This year will be year 3 and I now have 2 hens, so I'm hoping to get some eggs from them this year. Raising babies has proven to be hard for me so far, but I just love the call ducks so I'm gonna keep trying.


----------



## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

It's my understanding that e-fowl is simply a broker. They have no birds, ship no birds, hatch no birds.

If they have found someone to drop ship Calls, that you keep looking until you find that hatchery and order directly from them.

Most hatcheries won't ship Call ducklings, because they are too small and fragile to be mailed.

Eagle Nest Poultry in Oceola Ohio list a call duck assortment for $5 per bird. Besides Calls, they list Black East India ducks. No choice of colors and no sexing. Their catalog says their Calls are exhibition quality. There is going to be a minimum order, which is the number of babies shipped necessary for the ducklings to stay warm. On bantam chicks and Guinea keets, it is 30 birds. 

Holderreads will ship a small number of adult Calls. Expect to spend some money.

Since their price per bird is the lowest anywhere, maybe an oder could be split, or the excess ducklings sold off after you take your pick.


----------



## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

One additional comment:

Call ducks are very distinctive looking. A good Call looks a lot like a rubber duckie. If you like that look and that is what you are expecting, I suggest you purchase from someone who raises poultry for exhibition.

If all you want is a little duck that looks like an average duck, then you an take your chances with a commercial hatchery. You might get "rubber duckies" you might just get something that looks like an ordinary duck, and may or may not be small.


----------



## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

We went to a poultry auction here awhile back and most of the true call ducks, what you're calling the "rubber ducky" look sold before we got there and we got there early. The rest of them, some being true call duck looking and some being just a small duck, were horribly expensive. I'll try that hatchery in Ohio and MN.


----------

