Metzer Farms Duck and Goose Blog

Are Your Ducks and Geese Overweight?

2012-02-05T21:07:00.000-08:00

Waterfowl have a tendency to put on extra fat if given the opportunity. A reasonable amount of fat on a duck or goose in the wild is acceptable as it helps insulate them in cold water. It is also less dense than bone or muscle so they float easier in the water with extra fat. But just as with most animals, a little fat is good but too much fat is bad.

Some breeds of ducks and geese are naturally lean, and some gain weight more easily. For ducks, the Runners rarely carry extra fat. Pekins are at the opposite end of the spectrum and can easily be too fat. Khaki Campbells are closer to Runners in this regard but Rouen, Buff, Blue Swedish and Cayuga are closer to a Pekin.

An extremely overweight Embden goose. Notice her abdomen between her legs.

There is less variation in geese. But of all geese, the Chinese are the least likely to gain extra weight but the larger Embden and Toulouse are the most likely to be overweight. Other breeds are in between the lighter Chinese and heavier Embden and Toulouse.

What is the problem with excess weight? The bird's life is probably shortened and may make it more uncomfortable due to the extra weight they must carry. Remember that the legs and feet of waterfowl are not terribly strong. Add an extra 20-30% in body weight and those feet and legs will develop problems sooner due to the extra weight they are carrying.

A flock of fit Embden geese. Compare their profile with the goose above.

Farms that have breeding birds must be extra careful in controlling the weight in their breeder birds. Extra weight in a breeding duck or goose can greatly reduce egg production and fertility.
Our commercial Pekin ducks grow extremely fast and can weigh 7.5 pounds or more in seven weeks. However, the breeder birds that produce these fast growing birds must be kept on a diet starting at two weeks of age. Due to this restricted feed, a female Pekin breeder should only weigh about 7.5 pounds at 23 weeks of age. But due to this reduced feed, she will live longer and lay more eggs with increased fertility.

So if you do want to control your birds' weight, how do you do it?

1) Only feed them a certain amount once a day.
           Pekin - .33-.45 lbs per day per bird with the higher amount if they are in full egg production
           Runners - ..25-.35/day/bird
           Other duck breeds - .3-.40 lbs/day/bird
   Heavy geese .45-.6 lbs/day/bird
           Chinese .35-.5 lbs/day/bird
           Other goose breeds .4-.55 lbs/day/bird

2) Only allow them access to their feed a limited amount of time each day
           Pekin - 2-8 hours/day (8 hours is for breeders in high egg production)
           Runners - no limit needed
           Other duck breeds - 3-12 hours/day
           Heavy geese - 2-12 hours/day
           Chinese - no limit needed
           Other goose breeds - 4-24 hours/day

Birds that must forage for much of their feed are less likely to be obese. Some people use a less dense feed (fewer calories per pound of feed) but this usually does not control the weight in a duck or goose as they have the ability to simply eat more.

If you have ducks and geese simply for pleasure, it is not critical you control their weight. But if you are keeping them commercially, it is critical you monitor their weight for increased performance and improved longevity.

A Map of Metzer Farms!

2012-01-24T21:01:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted a map drawn of our farm as I am sure many of you would like to see our layout. Pictures on our website and blog may show parts of the farm, but not the total layout.

My niece, Ellisa DiRenzo, is an artist and I asked her to draw the farm. Below is her wonderful depiction of our farm. Those of us that work and live here love her detail. Notice the windswept trees from our daily wind. See the sheep we have to control the grass? Behind the farm are the fields of the fertile Salinas Valley - supplying the salads for the nation. Looks like the van is being loaded with eggs or birds to be shipped out! Do you find the picnic table used for breaks on nice days?

Click on the picture to make it appear or to make it larger.

1 - Hatchery
2 - Greenhouse (holding many of our small breeder duck flocks)
3 - Brooder Room (for small numbers of birds)
4 - Building 1 (duck breeders)
5 - Shavings and Hay Bunkers
6 - Building 2 (duck breeders)
7 - Building 3 (duck breeders)
8 - South Goose Breeder Pens
9 - Tool/Maintenance Shed
10 - Mallard Pens
11 - North Goose Breeder Pens
12 - Red Barn (brooder building for large flocks)
13 - Our Home (for our brood)

If you would like to know more about Metzer Farms and the birds we sell, please visit our website.

Want to Watch Ducklings Hatching on Your Computer?

2012-01-16T12:49:00.000-08:00

We have a camera set up in our hatcher so you can watch our birds hatch each weekend. Just go to our Live Hatch webpage.

The camera is running live from Friday morning through early Monday morning when we remove the ducklings from the hatcher. Sunday probably has the most activity as that is when most of the ducklings are hatching.

We also have a Time Lapse showing two Pekin ducklings hatching if you don't want to watch our camera all day!

The third thing we have is a calendar of what we will be filming each weekend. If you really love Cayuga ducks, for example, you can put March 10 and 11 on your calendar as we will be watching Cayuga ducks hatch that weekend.

Drop by and watch those cut ducklings, goslings, keets and poults hatch!

Nine Steps for Effective Building Cleanout

2012-01-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

Every year in November and December we have several buildings that have to be emptied, cleaned, disinfected and made ready for next year's duck breeders. Whether you are cleaning a 7200 sq. ft. building or a backyard coop, the process is the same. I will show you the steps we follow, using our Building 3 as an example.

Building 3 before the cleanout - White Layers, Buff, Mallard and Fawn & White Runners

1) Before you do anything else, make sure your rodent bait stations are full. Typically you remove feed from the building or put it away for a brief time when you clean. If you have any rodents, their normal feed may be gone and they will be looking for alternative sources. They may now eat that bait that has otherwise been ignored.

2) Move your birds out of the building. This may be as simple as putting them outside for the day or moving them to a new pen. The best time to clean a building is when that flock is done laying - either they are molting or you will sell them. We do not clean out the litter until a flock is leaving and a new one is coming in - once a year. We add bedding once or twice a week so by the end of a year, it is up to 12" deep.

Moving the old breeders to our Sell Pen.

3) Remove all equipment from the building: nest boxes, fences, feeders, floors under waterers, etc. Ideally you can use a pressure washer to wash all your equipment. Remove all the dirt and organic matter with the first wash. Then use a disinfectant to sanitize everything. There are various types of disinfectants available: chlorines, iodines, phenols and quats. Disinfectants containg phenols seem to be most effective in cleaning our buildings.

The divider fences are out. Nacho, Juan and Guillermo are now removing nest boxes and feeders.

Nacho washing fences, ramps to the waterers, feeders, etc.

4) Remove all the bedding and manure from the building. This is an excellent soil amendment as is or pile and compost it before adding it to your soil. The carbon:nitrogen ratio is perfect for our litter so it composts quite rapidly on its own after removal. When you remove the bedding, oxygen is added with all the mixing. This oxygen rejuvenates the bacteria in the bedding and often we see water vapor rising from the heating piles of bedding within a day or two of removal.

Guillermo is using the Bobcat to clean near the waterers, notice the bedding is moist.

Juan is cleaning where most of the nests are - opposite the waterers - notice the drier litter.

Keep in mind that if you do not frequently remove your litter, a very slow composting process is occurring in the deep litter. It will not heat up excessively as it is starved for oxygen. But this low level of composting does provide some warmth to your birds during a cold winter.

5) Use the same pressure washer to wash the interior of the building. Follow up with a second washing using disinfectant - as you did with the equipment.

Nacho is washing the entire interior - ceiling and walls.

6) We have a five wide concrete pit with a wire floor along one wall of the building. Above this are the nipple waterers. Any leakage from the nipple waterers goes in these pits, along with the manure produced while the birds are drinking or lounging on the wire. During the year we periodically pump these these pits but we empty and wash them completely at cleanout.

Juan washing out the pits.

PTO powered manure pump.

Pits after cleaning. We put rodent bait stations below the white ramps.

7) It is best to let the building completely dry before you put a 2'-3" layer of bedding back in for your birds. Then add your disinfected feeders, nest boxes and other equipment.

Installing the divider fences.

8) Be gentle when you move in your new flock. It is a major stress on them if it is a new environment for them.

Juan and Luis moving in a flock of White Crested breeders.

We use these coops to move in our Mallard breeders. Notice the feathers on the floor from our clipping their wings.

9) If it is a new flock of birds, monitor them carefully. Can they find the feed and water? Is anything disturbing them? Remember, they might be in a completely different environment and it is stressful for them - just as it would be for you! If you want to provide a low level of light during the night, get a night light from a local hardware or drug store. Buy one that has a photocell so it comes on when the sun goes down and turns off when the sun comes up. Just plug it into an electrical outlet.

Our young breeders in their new, clean building!

Hints for First Time Poultry Exhibitors

2011-12-28T10:50:00.000-08:00

The following blog was written for us by James Konecny, who is the president of the International Waterfowl Breeders Association and keeps and shows ducks and geese. The pictures were taken at the Eastern Iowa Poultry Show in Iowa City, IA.

J

For successful showing, birds need to be conditioned prior to the show. All waterfowl should be fed a well-balanced, pelleted poultry feed, cleaned oats and black oil sunflower seeds and very little corn. Fresh bathing water daily is a must - as is clean bedding such as straw or pine shavings. Keep them away from mud.

Proper transport to the show is very important so as not to ruin the time and effort spent in the weeks leading up to the show. Handle the birds with care, never catch them by the wings or tails. Each bird should be crated individually if possible with each crate being an appropriate size for the breed. A nice bedding of shavings in each crate will help keep the birds clean.

At the show prepare the show cages before you place the birds in them, add additional shavings and place appropriate water and feed containers to fit each breed. I recommend bringing your own feed and a watering can with your name on it.

On the day of judging give your birds just enough water for a few quick sips, too much water will encourage waterfowl to try to bath and your birds could be wet during judging. Use a spray bottle and mist them in the morning to encourage preening.

A bit of house keeping should also be done. Remove any litter and feathers then add a few fresh shavings on top of the old ones. Waterfowl love to pull and eat the coop tags, if this happens contact a show official to have them replaced.

A nice cleaned and conditioned bird should not need too much preparation before judging. Cleaning the bill and feet and wiping off any soiled feathers with a damp cloth is advised. You do not want to interfere with the natural lay of the feathers. Some breeds require more prep than others. For example, using an oil product such as baby oil or Vet-Rx on Brown Chinese and Brown African knobs certainly improves their appearance. Don’t fuss with the birds too much as this can have an adverse effect.

After judging is completed talk with the judge if you can, and other exhibitors. When judging of your breed is complete remember to feed and water your birds.

Be a good sport, it is only one show and one opinion. Just because a bird wins one show doesn’t mean its going to win in another.

When the show is over be responsible when cooping birds out. Remove coop cups and dump any excess drinking water in the bedding not on the floor. Coop out with the same care used to coop in. Before you remove a bird from the show cage, check your exhibitor number on the tag, make sure the bird you are removing is your own. Take the coop card either right before or right after you crate the bird. Remember to close and latch the coop door when you are done.

I do not recommend watering and feeding the birds during transport. If your trip is twelve or more hours stop and give the birds a quick snack and beverage. Many times you are going to arrive back at your farm after dark. Know your birds. If your birds get stressed and frightened in the dark, wait to put them away until morning. Before all birds are returned to their home they should be sprayed with a quick shot of Frontline or Adams Flea and Tick spray. This will remove any lice or mites the birds may have picked up at the show.

All practices mentioned are what I have observed and used over the years. Enjoy your birds, have fun at the shows. Observe, Learn and Participate.

If are interested in writing a blog on waterfowl for Metzer Farms, email us. For more information on our Metzer Farms ducks and geese, please visit our website.

9 Steps for Taking Blood Samples from Ducks and Geese

2011-12-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

We blood test annually for pullorum, quarterly for avian influenza and for other diseases as required for exporting to different countries. The following directions will work for taking blood samples from any type of poultry. You should check with your veterinarian and/or laboratory to ensure these methods will meet their needs.

1) We use 1” needles that are 20 gauge. They are attached to a syringe that holds 3ml
(3cc). You can typically purchase these at a veterinary supply company. We purchase ours
from VSI in boxes of 100. They cost about $16 per box of 100.

2) You need to ask what type of tube to use for the blood. We always use “red top” tubes that
      can hold 3 cc. The red top indicates it is sterile inside the vial and no additives have been
      added. One hundred tubes come per box and costs about $15. If you are doing quite a few
      samples, you can mark the box with numbers around the perimeter and you do not need to
      remove and mark each individual tube. This makes shipping easier and safer. The lab can
      label the individual tubes as they remove them.

3) We remove the blood from the brachial artery on the inside of either wing. Have your
assistant hold the bird on its back. Spread one wing out and pluck the feathers from the
inside of the “elbow” until you see the darker brachial vein going over the wing bone.

4) Remove the cap and sleeve of the syringe. Twist and remove the needle cover. As the
      needle is threaded on the syringe, twist the needle cover clockwise so it is tightening the
      needle as you are removing the cover.

5) Pull out the plunger of the syringe about ½” and push it back in. You want to do this now as it
      “breaks the seal” and makes it easier to pull slightly on the plunger when you are actually
      drawing blood.

6) You want to have both hands on the syringe when you draw the blood. One hand steadies
      the syringe and the other controls the plunger on the syringe. The needle should enter at a
      very slight angle (almost parallel) to the vein. Be careful you do not go all the way through
      vein as it is more difficult to find that “sweet spot” as you pull it back out through the vein . As
      soon as you insert the needle into the skin, pull back very slightly on the plunger so when you
      do enter the vein, blood will immediately enter the syringe. Once you start to get a good flow
      of blood, FREEZE! Any movement may remove the needle from the vein. Just gradually
      pull back on the syringe. Do not pull back hard on the syringe as the resulting suction may
      collapse the vein from which you are trying to get the blood. Typically 1.5 cc is plenty for
      diagnostic work. Once you have sufficient blood, remove the needle, press briefly
      on the puncture spot and release the bird. Only rarely does the bird bleed enough to notice it
      on the feathers after its release.

7) Sometimes you cannot get a good flow of blood and you must remove the needle to try the
      other wing. Oftentimes the blood pools on the wing. Check with the laboratory to see if this
      blood is acceptable for the tests you are doing.   If so, just suck up sufficient blood from this
      pooled blood.

8) As the tubes have a slight vacuum, all you have to do is stick the needle into the tube and the
      blood will be sucked out of the syringe and into the tube. The best way to dispose of the
      needles is to put them in a “sharps” container, which can typically be purchased from the
      same company from whom you purchased the syringes. Do not put the syringes in the
      sharps container with the needles. The syringes can be disposed of as typical garbage.

9) Set the tubes at a 45 degree angle and put them in a refrigerator to slightly cool them. Use
freezer packs to keep the blood cool until it arrives at the lab.

Visit our website if you need a list of laboratories or avian veterinarians in your area. We also have another blog on shipping veterinary samples.

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy - A Valuable Organization

2011-12-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) is a nonprofit membership organization working to protect over 180 breeds of livestock and poultry from extinction. Its mission is to protect the genetic diversity in livestock and poultry species through the conservation and promotion of endangered breeds. These rare breeds are part of our national heritage and represent a unique piece of the earth's bio-diversity.

Karakul Sheep

I have been a member of ALBC for many years and was recently invited to become a board member. My first meeting was at their annual conference in Wichita, KS this past November.

There were extraordinary speakers with fascinating topics. I would encourage you to attend next year's conference in North Carolina. A few examples of this year's presentations:

Handspinners and Knitters Want to Buy Your Rare Breed Wool!
Tail to Snout: What It Takes to Be Successful With Heritage Hogs
Rare Breeds Farm Tours, The Delight is in the Details
Tradition and Techniques: Learning to Cook with Heritage Breed Meats
Uncommon Fare: People Want Interesting Food
How Heritage Chickens Can Help Save the World!

I would also encourage everyone to become a member. Annual dues are only $35 and the four main benefits are:
1) You are supporting an organization with a vital mission of saving rare breeds of livestock and poultry
2) Bimonthly newsletter/magazine with some excellent articles on how people are saving and using rare breeds throughout the USA
3) Rare Breeds, Breeders and Products Directory
4) Access to the ALBC technical and research staff. I have used them myself!

Watusi cow and calf

You may own some rare breeds of poultry now! Following is how the ALBC ranks different breeds of livestock and poultry. For each category, I have listed the breeds we offer.

Critical: Fewer than 500 breeding birds in the US and five or fewer primary breeders
Ducks - Welsh Harlequin
    Geese - Buff, Pilgrim and Roman Tufted
Threatened: Fewer than 1000 breeding birds in the US and seven or fewer primary breeders
Ducks - Buff and Cayuga
    Geese - Sebastopol
Watch: Fewer than 5000 breeding birds in the US and ten or fewer primary breeders
Ducks - Khaki Campbell, Rouen, Black Swedish and Blue Swedish and all our Runners
    Geese - African, Brown Chinese, White Chinese, Large Dewlap Toulouse
Recovering: Breeds that were in another category but have now exceeded Watch numbers
Study: Breeds that are of genetic interest but do not qualify otherwise

Buff Geese - Critical

I was very impressed with the professionalism and passion the staff has with their mission. It is not a large staff but it is a very dedicated group of believers.

Jeannette, Ryan, Angelique, Chuck, Jennifer, Michele, Anneke, and Alison at the 2011 Conference

Chuck Bassett, who has skillfully lead the organization through ten years of growth, is retiring and a search is being conducted for his replacement. If you know anyone who has an interest in applying for our Executive Director position, have them contact the executive search firm with whom we are working.

The ALBC realizes one of the the best ways to preserve a breed is to make it a profitable animal to raise and sell. Only then will there be more demand for that breed and more breeders. Hence the emphasis is on the unique attributes some breeds have in terms of meat taste and texture, capacity to handle challenging environments, ability to reproduce and care for their young on their own, wool quality, etc. Consumers want a choice in what they purchase. Heritage breeds of livestock and poultry provide that alternative.

The main activities of the ALBC are:
Research on breed characteristics and populations, and publish an annual Conservation Priority List
Education about genetic diversity, breed attributes, and the role of livestock in a more sustainable agriculture.
Technical, marketing, and promotional support to a network of breeders, breed associations, and farmers.
Assistance to gene banks to identify important genetic materials that should be collected from endangered breeds.
Genetic rescues of threatened populations.

The ALBC is a valuable organization to farmers and consumers - now and in the future. Please consider joining this vital effort to preserve rare livestock and poultry breeds. I am a member and director and wholly support the mission of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

Can Medicated Feed Be Used for Waterfowl?

2011-11-30T20:48:00.000-08:00

Many people say No. I will explain why I feel the answer is Yes.

First of all, there are four drugs (medicines) that are approved by the USDA for the use in ducks. These have been used successfully for years to control a variety of waterfowl diseases. They are Chlorotetracycline, Neomycin, Novobiocin and Rofenaid.

The bigger concern, however, is sacked feed sold at your local feed store. Some of these sacked feeds (especially starter feeds) have medications in them to control coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is an internal protozoa parasite that can harm chickens, turkeys, game birds and occasionally waterfowl. As coccidiosis is a common problem, and most people have chickens, the feed manufacturers will often include medication in starter feed to better control this disease. But what about waterfowl? Will it harm them?

Non-medicated Starter Feed by Ace Hi - though I would prefer a starter as a crumble, not a mash

We have contacted all the feed mills that we could find that make sacked poultry feed in the US. From material they have sent us or from their website, we have learned that these 29 mills make 59 different starter feeds for chickens, waterfowl and game birds. Of these 59 starter feeds, 19 have a medication in them to control coccidiosis.

Four drugs are used. Fifteen of the feeds contain Amprolium, 1 has Monensin, 1 has Lasolocid and 1 has BMD (Bacitracin methylene disalicylate).

Medicated Starter Feed with amprolium by Kalmbach Feeds

To investigate this further, I asked for the assistance of Dr. Larry McDougal of the University of Georgia and Dr. Alison Martin of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC). Both of these individuals have done extensive work with coccidiosis. They found research that had been done here in the United States and abroad on the effect of these four drugs on waterfowl. As Dr. McDougal said “Not one of these papers described any harmful effects to waterfowl except where the normal dosage was significantly overdosed.”

Non-medicated Grower feed by Southern States

Many of you have heard of Dave Holderread, of Holderread’s Waterfowl Farm in Oregon. Dave is an expert on waterfowl and an ultimate waterfowl breeder. He conducted research on coccidiostats with Oregon State University in 1982 (1). His paper states “Frequently publications pertaining to waterfowl state that medicated feeds should not be fed to ducklings and goslings. In some localities, producers and hobbyists who raise a small number of ducklings and goslings can only purchase medicated chick, turkey or game bird starter and grower feeds. Because of the lack of documented information on this subject and the numerous requests for advice on this matter, anticoccidial drugs zoalene, sulfaquinoxaline and amprolium were mixed in mash feed and fed to ducks up to four weeks of age.”

His conclusion was “From this experiment, it appears that sulfaquinoxaline, zoalene, or amprolium at the manufacturers' use levels for chickens and turkeys did not cause mortality, stunted growth or cripples when fed to Khaki Campbell ducklings to 4 weeks of age."

Therefore, it appears research shows these drugs do not harm waterfowl if used at the rates commonly used with chickens and turkeys.

Medicated Chick Starter using amprolium by Lone Star Mills

Have there been coccidiostats used in the past that were harmful to waterfowl? Probably and that is why the myth began. But those drugs are no longer allowed or no longer used in the United States.

What if you have the choice of medicated or non-medicated starter feed of equal nutritional value? My recommendation would be to use the non-medicated feed. There is no point in feeding medication when it is not needed.

HOWEVER, if the choice is nutritionally correct medicated starter feed or non-medicated feed that does not meet the nutritional needs of the ducklings and goslings, I would definitely recommend the nutritionally correct, medicated starter feed. Research shows the medication will not harm the waterfowl.

(1) Holderread, D., Nakaue, H.S., Arscott, G.H. 1983 Poultry Science 62:1125-1127

Can You Move Laying Ducks During Egg Production?

2011-11-25T12:36:00.000-08:00

If you move ducks that are laying eggs into a different pen, will it adversely affect their egg production? If you had asked me this question three weeks ago, I would have said "Absolutely! Yes, egg production will drop dramatically!". Well, I would have been wrong.

In late fall we have to clean a lot of our buildings in preparation for next year's duck breeders. Normally we move all the breeders from a building to our sell pen and start cleaning out one years worth of manure and bedding. Our Khaki Campbells were still laying fairly well in a building that was otherwise empty. My breeder manager, Guillermo, decided to move them into an empty pen in another building so we could get another two to three weeks worth of eggs from them before that building had to be cleaned, too. Then he could clean the first building completely.

If he had asked me prior to the move, I would have said "It won't work, but go ahead and try if you want. They will stop laying within a couple days of their move." I encourage employees to try new things but I knew how this was going to work out.


The ducks were walked into a trailer and driven to their new pen, about 80 yards away. The construction of the buildings is exactly the same, though their new pen was a mirror copy of their first pen (for the new pen the water was on the west side and nest boxes on the east side instead of east and west in the older pen). In addition, they have new neighbors on both sides of their new pen. Now, look at the egg production of that Khaki Campbell flock.
                  Eggs
Nov. 15       86
          16       90
          17       97
          18      103
          19       92
          20       99
          21       98 The ducks were moved this day after their eggs were collected.
          22     102
          23     107
          24     100
          25     110

You can see they have not gone down in egg production! The move was a stress but there were many things in common between the old pen and new pen: same feed, same feeders, same nipple waterers, same bedding, same lights, and same light schedule. They are a bit more nervous but otherwise have taken well to their new pen.

I still do not recommend moving breeders while they are in production - especially if they are early in production and you are getting more eggs each day - but I have learned you can move older flocks if you have a real reason to do so and the new pen is very similar to the old pen.

See - you can teach an old duck farmer new tricks!

Crossroads Poultry Show Report

2011-11-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

I attended my first large poultry show this past weekend - the Crossroads Poultry Show in the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. It was a great experience! There were over 10,000 poultry from 40+ states and Canada. Each bird is judged using the Breed Standard for that particular breed - feather coloring, structural correctness, style and balance.

1747 Ducks
    395 Geese
      68 Guineas
      42   Turkeys
8024   Chickens
10,276 Total Poultry - with about 20% being Junior exhibitors

Half of the Champions Pavilion with Large Dewlap Toulouse in the front. In the back is the sales area where exhibitors can bring birds they are not showing and sell them during the show.

The Marsh Blue Ribbon Pavilion. The cages were double high in the far half of the building because of the number of birds - as each bird gets its own cage.

Along with their volunteers, these are the people that dreamed up and brought this show to fruition - twice! Bill Wulff, daughter Jennifer Wulff-Frank, granddaughter Samantha and son David. I tried throughout the show to get the whole family together for a picture. I finally had to go with these four as Bill's wife, Joyce, was taking someone to the airport! Always working! This show took a tremendous amount of planning, organization and management and all net proceeds go for youth awards and scholarships. 10,000+ poultry and their caretakers owe the Wulff's a big Thank You. A show edition will be printed up in the January issue of the Wulff's Poultry Press.

We had a booth at the show and handed out literature and answered waterfowl questions. We also brought our Waterfowl Sexing video and played that throughout the show. There always seemed to be someone watching it! It was very rewarding meeting many of our customers at the show.


P. Allen Smith and Kathy Hopkins

Kathy, of Silver Spring Farm, won Best of Breed with her Buff goose, which she purchased as a gosling from Metzer Farms. Kathy loves her Buff geese and wants to share their special attributes with everyone. With Kathy is P. Allen Smith, who has become well known nationwide with his GardenHome television spots, is also a poultry advocate. He was at the show to present an award for the best display of a heritage breed from his Heritage Poultry Conservancy.

The Super Grand Champion Bird was Danny Padgett's Male Black Muscovy. This was judged to be the best bird over all the chickens, geese, turkeys and guineas. It is rare for a waterfowl to be judged the best bird in the show. Congratulations to Danny!

For those of you not familiar with the judging process, if a bird wins in its class (young female Pekin duck for example), it then competes against all other Pekin winners (male and female) to determine the Best of Breed. The Best of Breed then competes against all other Breeds in its Class (Heavy Duck). The Best of Class then competes against all other ducks for Champion Duck. The Champion Duck then competes against the Champion Goose for Champion Waterfowl. The Champion Waterfowl then competes against the best chicken, turkey and guineas for Super Grand Champion Bird.

If you have an interest in showing birds, check with your local county fair and see what they have to offer. Talk to the person in charge of poultry as they usually know of all shows in your area. We also post an extensive list of poultry shows on our website. Start a new hobby!

The Absolutely P.C. Calendar

2011-10-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

I was recently intrigued by an advertisement in Practical Poultry, a poultry hobbyist magazine published in England. It was for "The Absolutely PC Calendar featuring Fancy Chicks as you’ve never seen them before." I couldn't resist and ordered a copy. It is fantastic.

Clare, Miss June, Secretary of the British Poland Club

The calendar indicates that the idea was conceived at a National Show on a Saturday evening while celebrating a winner or two. That is quite obvious. The reasoning was the Poultry Club, which sponsored the calendar, tends to be dominated by men. Some of the ladies and their fowl involved in the fancy decided to make sure they got noticed. This calendar is the result.

Miss May, Sue, Judge and Vice Chair of the Rare Poultry Society

All the ladies featured in this calendar are exhibitors and keepers of poultry. They are experienced in the handling of chickens and the birds (feathered variety) are tame and are used to being handled regularly.

All proceeds from the sale of calendars will go to The Poultry Club of Great Britain which is the United Kingdom’s only charity devoted to the conservation of rare and pure breed poultry, including large fowl, bantams, ducks, geese and turkeys. The calendar itself was sponsored by Cotswold Chickens. Its cost is about $14 and to order, contact the club by email at info@poultryclub.org. My copy only took a week to arrive and I think it would make a great gift for any poultry enthusiast.

My only complaint is that there are no ducks and geese featured! I will not take it as an insult, however - just a simple oversight. Maybe next year.

One more thing - these two pictures are just samples. You should see the rest of the months!

Will Incandescent Heat Lamps For Brooding Be Banned, Too?

2011-09-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

I am sure you have read that many incandescent lamps will soon be banned. But I am also sure many of you use heat lamps for brooding your young birds. Will incandescent heat lamps be banned, too?

In December 2007 the federal government enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act which requires all general-purpose light bulbs that produce 310–2600 lumens of light (a typical 100 watt incandescent light bulb puts out 1150 lumens) to be 30% more energy efficient starting in 2012. The efficiency standards will start with 100-watt bulbs in January 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in January 2014. As current incandescent light bulbs cannot meet these efficiency standards, they will no longer be sold.

However, light bulbs outside of this range are exempt from the restrictions. Also exempt are several classes of specialty lamps, including appliance lamps, rough service bulbs, 3-way, colored lamps, stage lighting, plant lights.... AND HEAT LAMPS. There are much more efficient bulbs that can replace the standard incandescent bulb - but there is nothing currently available to replace incandescent heat lamps.

So, don't worry, you will still be able to purchase standard heat lamps for brooding your ducklings and goslings (and chicks, keets and poults) - at least until a more energy efficient alternative is available.

Will Postal Changes Affect Mail Order Hatcheries?

2011-09-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

We are extremely dependent on the US Postal Service (USPS) to ship our ducklings and goslings throughout the US. Large orders going to customers near an airport, it is cost effective to ship air freight. But for everyone else, the only alternative is the USPS.

The USPS has been losing billions of dollars the past several years due to a variety of factors. Therefore, they are looking at multiple cost saving measures. When new rules are being proposed by the USPS, however, hatcheries start to worry.

Following are three major changes coming to the USPS and my estimation of how they might affect mail order hatcheries such as ours.

1) No Saturday Delivery This has been discussed for quite awhile. In fact, I went to a Postal Commission Hearing in May of 2010 to present the hatchery concerns - which I reported in my blog. They are not proposing the closure of Post Offices on Saturday - just that there will be no rural deliveries. If you did have birds show up on a Saturday, you could still go to the Post Office to pick up your birds. This is the normal procedure for most customers anyway - they prefer picking their babies up instead of waiting for their mail carrier. And, as most hatcheries mail on Monday or Tuesday, it would be extremely rare for a shipment to arrive on a Saturday.

2) Closing USPS Distribution Centers Due to the lower volume of mail, the USPS will be closing many of their mail sorting and distribution centers. We don't know how this will affect the speed of your delivery. We mail on Monday and they arrive at your nearest major airport Tuesday afternoon. From there they go through a distribution center and on to your local post office. We trust that our ducklings and goslings will still get to you on time.

3) Changing Standards The USPS has delivery standards (how soon you will get the mailed piece) that they try to meet with all their mail. There has been recent publicity on the ability of the USPS to save $1.5 billion by delivering the mail one day later than now due to savings in overtime and air shipping expenses. This was a major concern to hatcheries as our birds must arrive within about 40 hours of mailing. It would not work if they arrived in 64 hours - one day later. However, the proposal to add a day in delivery standards was not for Priority Mail, which is what we use for day old birds, but for First Class Mail and Periodicals. Each of these will take an additional day if the USPS does change their service standards. The only two classes of mail available to live birds are Priority and Express. Neither of these are scheduled to change.

So, for now, we appear to be safe. The changes proposed by the USPS to save money do not appear as if they will affect the safe and quick delivery of your ducklings and goslings (and chicks, keets and poults). For more information on the mailing of day-old poultry, go to the Shipping Options page on our website.

Sources of Poultry Flooring

2011-09-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

In my last blog I wrote how much easier your life will be if you use plastic or wire flooring around the drinkers for your ducks and geese. I am sure many of you said "That's great, but where do I find this poultry flooring?" Well, in this blog I have listed a selection of manufacturers.

Unfortunately some of these may have minimums above your needs. But you never know until you ask! If you are a manufacturer that is not listed, notify me and I will add your information.

Plastic Flooring
These normally come in pieces that are about 2'x4' or 3'x3'. Some interlock and some do not. Some are impregnated with an antimicrobial agent, most are not. Some are manufactured internationally but have North American distributors. Some are white and some are colored. Ask if their flooring is appropriate for the age and type of your poultry.

Gillis Agricultural Systems    Willmar, MN    800-992-8986    sales@gillisag.com

Double L Systems    Dyersville, IA    800-553-4102      info@doublel.com

CanArm    Brockville, ON, Canada    613-342-5424   agsales@canarm.ca
                  Ogdensburg, NY, USA        800-267-4427    agsales@canarm.ca

Southwest Agri Products    Dallas, TX 800-288-9748   info@swapinc.com

Farmer Boy Ag    Myerstown, PA 800-845-3374   inquiries@farmerboyag.com

Valco    New Holland, PA   717-354-4586

Alibaba.com    A listing of several Chinese manufacturers

Giordano Poultry Plastic    Caraglio, Italy    39 0171 619715

SKA   (click ENG by the logo to have it in English) Sandrigo, Italy    39 0444 659700
                      pbrusaterra@ska.it

Vencomatic    Calgary, Alberta, Canada 403-241-7692 info@vencomatic.ca

FarmTek    Dyersville, IA    800-245-9881

Agri of Virginia    Broadway, VA 800-328-6378 agriavint@aol.com They do not have a website so I am showing a picture of their flooring below.

PVC Coated Welded Wire

You can use welded wire that is not covered in plastic, but it will not last as long and may be more abrasive on their feet without the cushioning of the plastic. There are two ways to galvanize welded wire: before welding (GBW) and after welding (GAW). Before welding looks better but after welding lasts longer. Ask which you are getting. The lower the gauge number, the thicker the wire (14 gauge is thicker than 16 gauge).

Wire Cloth Man   Mine Hill, NJ 800-947-3626    njsales@wireclothman.com
                              Houston, TX 800-947-3256    txsales@wireclothman.com
                              St. Petersburg, FL   888-947-3256     flsales@wireclothman.com
                              Tulsa, OK    877-947-3626    oksales@wireclothman.com

CE Shephard   Houston, TX    800-324-6733

Riverdale Mills    Northbridge, MA 800-762-6374    info@riverdale.com

Louis E Page, Inc. Littleton, MA 800-225-0508    page_wire@comcast.net

Valentine, Inc.     Lemont, IL   800-438-7883    shop@havestuff.com

Wingzcatalog.com

Gerard Daniel    Hanover, PA 800-232-3332    sales@gerarddaniel.com
                            Fontana, CA   800-635-8296    sales@gerarddaniel.com

Academy Welded Wire Fence    Orange, NJ   800-427-0854 info@weldedwirefence.com

Good luck with your flooring changes. Using wire or plastic flooring in your duck and goose pens around their drinkers will keep the pen much drier and cleaner. Send me pictures of how you keep your pens dry!

How Do I Keep It Dry Around My Duck & Goose Drinkers???

2011-09-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

For ducks, water is more than a nutrient. It is a source of entertainment, a way to keep clean, a method to make eating easier, a way to keep cool in hot weather, an area to mate and a place to find great things to eat. No wonder they spend so much time near water and make such a mess with it!!!

After speaking to hundreds of duck and goose hobbyists and farmers, problems with water is one of their major concerns. "How do I provide it to them in the best way possible and how do I prevent a mess?" It boils down to your drinker/waterer and the flooring around the water source. I will discuss the different types of waterers in another blog. For now, let us look at the best flooring around their water source.

Flooring
No matter the type of waterer you use (bucket, bell waterer, nipples, or automatic float waterer) a slatted or wire floor under the waterer works wonders. The objective is to not allow your ducks and geese to play in their spilled water. This prevents mud from spreading throughout the pen, reduces your bedding bill and keeps the birds and their drinking water cleaner.

You can use many different types of flooring. You want the openings large enough that the water and manure drop through but you want enough surface area that the birds are comfortable walking on it. In fact, ducks and geese often prefer wire or slat flooring in warm weather as it allows cooler air to circulate below them. The picture above is our breeder ducks on the wire flooring under their nipple waterers. Below is a single flooring piece, 5'x10'.

We have great success with PVC coated welded wire flooring. It is most commonly 1"x1" but we have also used 3/4"x2 1/2" and 1"x2" openings. The PVC coating greatly extends the life of the wire but is more expensive and often difficult to find. You want to get as thick of a wire as possible. Remember that the lower the gauge number, the thicker the wire. The main advantage of welded wire flooring is that there is very little surface area - any spilled water immediately flows through the flooring and out of reach of the duck or goose. The only disadvantage of the welded wire is that it eventually rusts and you must repair or replace it before it injures the feet of your birds. The picture below is the 1/2"x1/2" PVC coated welded wire we use in our smaller brooder room.

There are also many types of plastic flooring made for poultry. Any of these should work well and they typically have a longer life than wire flooring. Below is a 2'x4' plastic poultry flooring piece in use and individually.

For our brooder barn, we purchased a very nice flooring.... for ducklings. Unfortunately the hocks of the geese became caught in the holes from about 3 to 10 days of age. To prevent this we had to put 1/2" hardware cloth over it. This is not good as the manure does not drop through easily and quickly builds up on the floor. But if we only had ducks in there, and no welded wire - it would work great!

Prior to the introduction of plastic flooring, strips of oak were used in the United States. In Asia, strips of bamboo is used. Below is a picture of a hardwood platform and another gray plastic flooring we tried that was originally designed for swine.

No matter the type of flooring you choose, you will need to build a frame to hold it. Normally this is made from 2"x4" lumber. For extra longevity, use treated lumber. For our wire platforms, we put a 2x4 support every 12". Even then, the wire stretches and sags between the 2x4s after a couple of years.

If your waterer is over dirt, dig a pit and place the flooring over your pit. You want that water to soak into the ground, not flow out from below the flooring into your bedding. Normally a pit that is 1'-2' is sufficient. If you decide to dig a deeper pit, you should probably build a wooden frame liner to prevent the sides from collapsing. You only need to line the top 12" of the pit walls. The picture below shows the pits we built for our new goose pens. These pits were lined with plastic so the manure would not leach into the soil.

If your pit is lined with plastic or concrete, you will need to be able to pump it out periodically. We have a manure wagon for our interior and exterior pits. For smaller operations you can use a simple trash pump to suck it out and spread it on your used bedding, a pasture or garden area. If your pit is not lined and you don't have a large number of ducks or geese, it will probably soak into the soil and not require frequent cleaning.

You want to make sure the flooring is wide enough that it catches all the splashed water and manure your ducks and geese generate. Ours are all five feet wide.

By using wire, plastic or wood flooring under your waterers, you will alleviate one of the biggest problems confronted by duck and goose hobbyists and farmers. Your life will be much easier - less bedding to spread, fewer dirty eggs, and your ducks and geese will be happier as they will be cleaner and always have fresh water to drink.

Please refer to our blog on sources of poultry flooring, so you can find the flooring you need.

What do you use around your waterers to prevent mud and mess?

"Domestic Duck Production, Science and Practice" - The Book

2011-08-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

I didn't know about this book until a customer told me about it. I am happy he did as we are

changing some of our management practices because of it. Domestic Duck Production, Science and Practice is a book written for commercial producers. Much of the information concerns raising ducks for meat but the section on breeder management applies whether you have Pekin breeders to produce meat ducklings or Golden 300 Hybrids, White Layers or Khaki Campbells for egg production. Even if you are only a serious hobbyist, there will be information in this book that will make you say “Really?” and you will realize there might be a better way to care for your ducks.

The main change we are making because of this book is our use of light. Historically we have grown our ducks on natural day length and then increased the day length to 17 hours between 20 to 25 weeks of age to bring them into egg production. The authors' recommendation is to maintain the ducks on 17 hours of light their entire life and bring them into production with an increase in quality and quantity of feed when they are sexually mature. “Excellent results have been obtained by maintaining meat strain ducks and drakes on a constant photoperiod of 17 hours from day-old until the end of the breeding cycle. Since this programme is simple and applicable at all latitudes it deserves to be adopted as the standard method for rearing Pekin breeding stock.”

Research supports all the information in this book with some of that research being done by the authors. There is a list of references at the end of each chapter if you want to do further research on a specific topic. There are many graphs showing the results of the research and quite a few formulas showing the effects of different variables on weight, age of maturity, etc.

This graph shows the increased egg production from Pekin breeders that were fed 80% of full feed (Controlled growth) up to 18 weeks versus those that were fed all they wanted (Ad libitum feed) their entire life.

The chapters in Domestic Duck Production, Science and Practice are:

History and Biology of the Domestic Duck

Systems of Production

Housing and Environment

Husbandry of Table Duckling

Nutrition and Factors Affecting Body Composition

Rearing of Parent Stock

Management of Breeding Ducks

Fertility and Hatchability

Genetic Improvement

This drawing shows the ideal duck feeder to prevent waste. Divide these numbers by

25.4 to get inches.

A few other "Did you know?" items in this book:

Prior to egg production, female mallards eat a diet predominantely composed of animal foods to satisfy their demand for protein for egg production. Males, in contrast, subsist mainly on a vegetable diet.
Average weight of a 7 week Pekin in 1928 was 3.6 lbs. In 2011 it was 8.1 lbs.
In Asia, ducks are grown in buildings above lakes stocked with fish. The slotted floors allow the droppings to feed the algae which feed the fish. Up to 2000 ducks can be grown on each 2.5 acres of pond using this method.
There is true value in keeping the bedding thick in cold climates as the composting generates heat which reduces the heating bill and/or feed consumption.

The problem with a specialized book such as this is that there are few potential buyers and they have to charge more for the book. Yes, the price is $109.95 but for those of you earning money from your ducks, this can be paid back quickly with the valuable information in it. If you are a commercial producer, the other book we recommend is Nutrition and Management of Ducks by Dr. William Dean and Dr. Milton Scott, which emphasizes the nutrition of ducks. Both books can be ordered in the book section on our website.

Do you have any waterfowl books that you have found valuable but we do not sell?

Best Bedding Materials For Waterfowl

2011-08-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Ducks and geese use more bedding (or litter) than chickens as their droppings are wetter and they make more of a mess with their drinking water. Therefore, you may be adding bedding on a daily basis if you have a high concentration of birds in your pens. Bedding can become an expensive part of your hobby or business due to the cost of the material and the labor to add and remove it.

No matter what type of bedding you use, you must ensure it has no mold in it and it stays dry before use. The moisture from ducks and geese can produce a perfect environment for mold growth in your bedding. Aspergillosis, the most common mold, can be devastating in a flock of poultry if it starts growing in your bedding.

Shavings
Shavings is a very good bedding. If it is dry, it does an excellent job of absorbing moisture. It is also easy to clean out of your building - whether with a shovel or a tractor. Unfortunately it is fairly expensive. It can be purchased in bulk (loose) if you use large quantities or in bundles if you don't. There are different qualities of shavings - the best is dry and in thin slices. Thicker chunks of wood do not absorb moisture as well and do not break down in the soil as fast either. We have used a variety of woods with no apparent difference among them. We have even used redwood with our laying ducks - though that tends to stain the eggs which is not good if you are selling the eggs for eating!

You do not want to use shavings with large amounts of sawdust if it is for day old birds. They may eat the shavings which does not provide them any needed nutrients and may kill them if it swells in their gut and blocks all passage. This is rarely a problem with ducklings or goslings over one week of age. If shavings are expensive and straw is cheap, put the shavings in the nests and straw in the pen as clean eggs are critical whether you are eating them or hatching them.

Straw
Straw is the most common type of bedding used. The advantage of straw is that is is typically inexpensive and available almost everywhere. Ducks and geese also love to dig through freshly spread straw looking for unharvested grain and other tidbits. The two main disadvantages of straw are that it is more difficult to remove from a building and it does not absorb moisture well. We have chopped it in the past and this helps with both of these problems (see the picture above). By chopping the straw, you are exposing more cut stem which can better absorb moisture and by making smaller pieces it easier to remove from your pen.

In our outdoor goose nests, we use a combination of straw and wood shavings. If we only use straw, it does not absorb moisture well. If we use shavings only, the geese dig through it to make their nest and the eggs end up being laid on dirt and all the shavings are outside the nest.

Rice Hulls
The use of rice hulls is common wherever rice is grown. It is also typically inexpensive but does not absorb moisture well and can be difficult to use because it blows easily. In my opinion, the critical necessity of rice hulls is that it is clean and mold free. Of course all bedding must be mold free but the two times we have tried rice hulls (because wood shavings were not available in the winter) we have experienced mold problems in our duck eggs. As soon as we started bedding with rice hulls, we were candling out an additional 10-15% of our eggs due to mortality form mold growing in the eggs. However, many people use rice hulls so it all depends on the cleanliness of your rice hull suppy.

Newspaper
Some feed stores sell bales of chopped or shredded newspaper. The advantage of processed newspaper is that it absorbs moisture very well. The disadvantage is that it does not hold its form when it gets wet. It can become a very slick, wet surface with excess moisture. When we were chopping our straw before for our duck buildings, we would chop a bale of straw and then a stack of newspaper. The straw provided a fluffy structure and the newspaper did a good job of absorbing moisture. It was an excellent combination.

Ground Corn Cobs
Though we have not tried this product, we have read it can be used successfully for poultry bedding. As this is ground into a variety of sizes, it has been recommended that you use the smaller sized pieces, 1/4" or less. It has been shown that ground corn cobs will absorb more moisture per pound than shavings, straw, leaves or newspaper.

Other Products
We sell our manure/bedding to a composter and he suggested we try a product he gets from municipal green waste sites. After branches and leaves and other plant materials are chopped, the material is screened by size. We are now trying the smallest sized material. The sample we received is dry but heavy. He hopes we can use it as the pieces are smaller than shavings and break down more completely in his composting process - enabling him to make a more salable product. In addition, it is much less expensive for us than wood shavings. We will let you know how this product works.

Research has been done on cotton milling waste and leaves, with both showing promise as a poultry litter, too.

Final Bedding Criteria
Absorbs moisture
Must be free of molds
Keep dry before use
Easy to handle and use
Is not harmful to the birds if it is eaten
Will decompose once it is removed from your pens

What works well for you and why?

What Temperatures Kill In An Incubator?

2011-08-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

We all know the ideal temperature for incubators range from about 98 to 100.3 depending on the stage of incubation. But what happens if your incubator becomes too hot or too cold? Of course each circumstance is different but I can tell you some of my experiences and maybe this will help you in case you have a problem in the future.

Low Temperature:
We remove some of our fertile duck eggs at 17 days of incubation and sell them as balut (a Filipino and Vietnamese delicacy). Recently we set aside 160 large balut on Thursday for a customer that was to pick them up on Friday. On Saturday we realized they were not going to be picked up. I decided to put them back in the incubator but first I checked their shell temperature. The surface temperature of each egg was between 71 and 73 degrees. Remember, these eggs had been out of the incubator for 48 hours in flats in a case at room temperature.

We monitored those eggs and ten days later 75% of them hatched! They were a day late but we still hatched 120 ducklings! This was only 13% less than if they had not sat out for two days.

These eggs were old enough that they were putting off more heat than they required, so development was slowed but not stopped. So if for some reason your incubator has a problem and cools down for a period of time, don't worry. It probably will not adversely affect your hatch.

High Temperatures
High temperatures in an incubator are an entirely different matter. Injury or death depends on how hot it gets and how long it is hot. Hot temperatures for brief periods usually cause no problem. But sustained higher temperatures allow the entire interior of the egg to become hot and that is when injury and death occurs. And if it is an older embryo, it is generating heat and this makes overheating even quicker.

There are no black and white limits with overheating. Years ago I lost all the eggs in an incubator when it was 105 degrees for six hours. But on another occasion, I had no losses when the incubator was 102 for four hours. An interior temperature of 103 almost guarantees death.

What To Do When You Discover Your Hot Incubator
Immediately cool the eggs with water. If you have lots of eggs, spray with a garden sprayer or hose. If you have just a few eggs, dunk each egg in cool, not cold, water. Blow air over the eggs to more quickly cool them. Each time the egg dries, wet it again. Remember that as you cool the eggs, the shell will cool faster than the interior - but it is the embryo in the interior that must be cooled. Therefore, you want to cool the shell lower than the ideal temperature. And as I described above, don't be afraid of cooling them too much as temperatures below ideal will not be a problem.

If you have an infrared thermometer, I would cool the shell to 80-85 degrees. If you do not have a thermometer, hold it against your eye lid. Once it feels slightly cool, put it back in the incubator and turn it on (assuming you have fixed the problem in your incubator!).

Don't Give Up On The Eggs
Once you stabilize the temperature, wait a day and then candle the eggs. If they have died, you will know as there will be no movement and all blood veins will have disintegrated. Only then should you throw away your eggs. If you are not sure, leave the eggs in the incubator. You have little to lose keeping them in the incubator.

What experiences do you have after finding incubators colder or hotter than they should be?

New Poultry Event Calendar

2011-08-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

We invite you to visit the new Poultry Event Calendar on our website. There are 64 events currently listed. We want to list every poultry event in the nation - from a local fair to a national conference. But - we especially want your events!

We are looking for any fairs, shows, poultry festivals, clinics or workshops, or tours of urban poultry coops. Anything pertaining to poultry from commercial to hobby is eligible.

On the page is a simple link to an event submission form. All we need is a date, event name and location and contact name and phone number or email for more information.

We will advertise this Metzer Farms Calendar as the place to go for event information - so make sure your event is included!

How Do We Know Pekins Originate from Wild Mallards?

2011-07-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

We have read that all domestic ducks (with the exception of Muscovy) originate from wild Mallards. But how do we know that?

Charles Darwin wrote in 1883 that the middle four tail feathers curl upward in the males of only one breed of wild duck, the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). This characteristic of a curly feather on the male is in all domestic ducks. He felt, therefore, there was little doubt that the wild Mallard was the parent of all breeds of domestic duck.

Notice the black, curly feather on the male's tail.

Are there similarities in growth, maturation and body composition between Mallards and domestic ducks? Yes.

The maturation rate of Mallards and domestic ducks is very similar. Both can lay their first eggs at about 20 weeks of age.
In commercial breeder operations the ratio of males to females is also very similar - about five females to every male to maintain peak fertility.
Both Mallards and domestic ducks achieve mature body weight by about 12 weeks of age when both their primary and secondary wing feathers are mature.

Note the white, curly feather on the male Pekin duck.

In the wild, a female Mallard does not actively feed her ducklings and she may travel great distances to find feed. The ducklings must feed themselves and keep up. Therefore, thigh and leg muscle and bone, along with webbed feet, must develop rapidly to not only travel looking for food but to swim and escape predators. Mallards and Pekins are very similar as theynormally achieve 80% of the mature weight and length of leg bones and muscle by 28 days of age! They need these legs early!

On the other hand, breast meat weight, as a percentage of adult weight, is less than 20% by 28 days! This is not surprising as Mallards don't have mature feathers until they are 12 weeks of age so there is no rush to get a large breast for flying until then. Pekins are also slow in breast meat development.

If you think of all the variety of domestic ducks, from the large Pekin to the slim, upright Runner, it is astounding that they all originate from the wild Mallard. A great deal of genetic work has occurred over the hundreds of years to achieve such a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

Much of this information came from an excellent book I just received, Domestic Duck Production - Science and Practice. I have ordered ten copies from the publisher in England and will blog its availability once it arrives. It is written for the commercial egg and meat producer but has fascinating background information on ducks, too.

Two Duck Breeds Only Available July 18 and 25 This Year

2011-07-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

For two weeks every year we hatch Silver Runners and Silver Swedish. For 2011 it is July 18 and July 25. If you want these rare colors, now is the time to order.

Why do we only hatch these colors for two weeks a year?

A flock of Black Swedish males and Silver Swedish females.

So that we can produce 100% blue colored Blue Swedish and Blue Runners, we have two breeder flocks for each breed. Using the Blue Swedish as an example, in one flock we have Black Swedish males and Silver Swedish females. In the other flock we have Silver Swedish males and Black Swedish females. All the progeny from these crosses will be the correct blue color. In June when we need breeders for next year, we switch the males so Black males are with Black females and Silver males are with Silver females. We collect these purebred eggs for about three weeks and hatch them for breeders. Then we switch the males back to where they were originally and go back to producing the correctly colored Blue Swedish for the rest of the season.

A flock of Black Runner males and Silver Runner females.

So for July 18 and 25, we do not have Blue Swedish or Blue Runners available but we will have the Silver Swedish and Silver Runners.

As we only hatch these twice a year, they are not on our price list but we charge the same for them as the Blue Runner and Blue Swedish. Give us a call (800-424-7755) if you have an interest in these Silver Swedish or Silver Runners!

Metzer Farms at Crossroads Poultry Show in October

2011-07-07T00:11:00.000-07:00

I am going to the Crossroads Poultry Show in Indianapolis in late October. This is one of the largest poultry shows in America. I will not be exhibiting but rather I will have a booth to meet customers and poultry enthusiasts such as yourself. I hope many of you take the time to visit this great show.

There will be visitors from around the world and exhibitors from every state in the nation. If you want to see a wide variety of breeds and many quality exhibition birds, this is the show to attend. This is the first time the APA (American Poultry Association) and ABA (American Bantam Association) will have a Joint National Meet since the last Crossroads Show in 2006. There are also over 35 Breed Clubs that are having their National Show at this Crossroads Show. There will be chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and guineas shown. In addition, the Rabbit National Show will be during the same week in another facility on the fairgrounds.

Prior to the show I will make some more videos on ducks and geese and their management. I already have two produced: How To Sex Day Old Ducklings and Goslings and Our Hatch Day. I will be showing these videos at the show. What other topics would you like covered in a video? Now is the time to let me know so I can get them made! Some possibilities are:

How to Sex Adult Ducks and Geese
How to Blow Eggs for Decorating
When and How Should I Help an Egg Hatch?
How to Candle Duck Eggs

What video would you like to see on waterfowl?

I also volunteered to give a presentation on a waterfowl topic. As there are 25 meeting rooms at this conference facility, it will be easy to schedule and present a waterfowl topic. What would you like to learn about ducks and geese? Nutrition as they grow, treating diseases, handling injuries, housing needs, waterfowl flooring, techniques of hatching.....? If there seems to be a topic of interest, I will schedule a presentation to share what I know and then encourage a sharing of knowledge from those in attendance.

The dates are Friday October 28 through Sunday October 30 and it will be at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. There will be a Junior and Open show. You can mail your birds to the show and pick them up when you arrive. For more information on the show, go to the Crossroads Poultry Club website. This will be continually updated as more information is available. There are also many informative articles on the show in the Poultry Press. In addition, there are two Marriott Hotels and a Sheraton Hotel giving special rates to show attendees.... but book your rooms soon!

It seems like I am really pushing this show. Well I guess I am - it is the best way to meet poultry enthusiasts such as yourself and the more that attend... the merrier! See you in Indianapolis!

John Metzer

Metzer Farms' Traveling Catalog

2011-06-24T00:14:00.000-07:00

Our catalog has been to five continents - we are only missing Australia and Antarctica! I am bumping the gift certificate award for the first picture from each of these continents to $150! For complete rules, visit our website . Now that summer vacation is here, I know duck and goose fans are on these two continents now! If you forget to pack our catalog, download it and print it from our Metzer Farms website once you get to your destination.

Following are some of our winners from five continents!

Asia: Loren King on the Great Wall of China, China

Asia: Joseph Whi in Bangkok, Thailand

Africa: Alex Visio at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

Europe: Frank Chandler (our very first winner) in Rome, Italy

Europe: Ethan Graves at Stonehenge, England

South America: Maria Tate at the Panama Canal, Panama

South America: Carmen Tate, Panama Canal, Panama

North America: Giovanna Coraggio at Glacier Bay, Alaska

North America: Alex Capstraw at Disney World, Florida !!

We just need Antarctica and Australia now..........

What Is So Special About A Constant Incubator Temperature?

2011-06-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

Most of you have incubators that have several different ages of eggs in them. And you have your incubator set to one constant temperature. Right? What I learned the other day is you want one constant temperature during incubation. But not the incubator temperature - the shell temperature!

Last Friday we were visited by Jerry Garrison and Phillip Percy, technical advisors from Jamesway, the company that built our new Incubators. Jerry told me they are learning that the shell temperature is the important temperature, not incubator temperature. And the reason you want to know the shell temperature is that closely follows the temperature of the embryo which should be stable throughout incubation.

We have single stage incubators for our duck and goose eggs, which means all the eggs in that machine are set to hatch on the same day. We start the incubator temperature at 100.3 and by the time they start hatching it is set at 98.2. But he said if we measured the shell temperature, it should always read about 100.2!

Why does the shell temperature differ from the incubator temperature? Initially the embryo is very small and not generating any measurable heat. But the egg shell is cooler than the incubator because small amounts of moisture are evaporating from the shell which cools it - just as our sweat cools us. This water loss is normal as an egg loses 13-14% of its weight during incubation.

However, as the embryo grows, it starts generating more and more heat. Eventually it is producing so much heat that it's shell temperature can be two degrees warmer than the air in the incubator. The egg is warming the surrounding air - not vice versa.

So how do you know the shell temperature of incubating eggs? You can get a infrared thermometer. You can get inexpensive one for only $60 but they do not measure in 1/10's of a degree. To measure as accurately as necessary you need to spend several hundred dollars.

The best way to maintain a constant shell temperature is to have a single stage incubator (only one age of eggs in the incubator). To have a shell temperature of 100.2, you need it to be 100.3 in the beginning and then gradually reduce it until it is about 98.2 when they start hatching. For more information on single stage incubation, click this link and select the third article.

If you are used to setting every week, how do you switch to single stage incubation? You would need at least two incubators and set eggs every two weeks. Your first egg set of the spring would be in one incubator. Ten to fourteen days later (10 days if you are setting chicken eggs, 14 for ducks) you set all your eggs in the second incubator. By rotating your egg set from one incubator to the other, you have created two single stage incubators! Just be sure the incubator is capable of sufficient ventilation to cool itself when it is full of older, heat producing embryos.

The biggest advantage of the multi-stage incubator is that it is easy. The disadvantage is the embryos will be slightly cool early in the incubation and slightly warm late in incubation.

I found the idea of a constant embryo temperature fascinating - and how that varies from the incubator temperature. Do any of you have experience measuring shell temperatures or using single stage incubation?

How Metzer Farms Supports Youth Poultry

2011-05-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

I feel it is important to support youth activities. Over the years we have received many requests for support from junior poultry exhibitions, fund raisers and clinics throughout the country. I don't think we have turned anyone down. We provide gift certificates for their raffles, awards or silent auction prizes. If you have an event, please don't hesitate writing us. We will help as much as we can. You have been great customers of ours. The least we can do is contribute to your event to help spread the joy of raising waterfowl!

My wife, Sharon, and I also believe in the importance of giving back to our local community. We both grew up here and I was very active in 4H and FFA. Our three children, Janelle, Marc and Erin, were very active in the Gonzales 4H club. So every year we try to buy an animal at the youth auction at either the Salinas Valley Fair or Monterey Fair. The Salinas Valley Fair was last weekend and we headed down thinking we would buy a lamb for the freezer. Well it turns out we bought a pig and a Champion Pen of Poultry!

As you can see, they are not ducks or geese but rather chickens, which I don't view as the ultimate poultry. But many people do so I will go along with their illusion. I guess they don't understand the advantages of waterfowl over chickens.... but that is the subject of a future blog. All we can do is convert as many as we can, as fast as we can to waterfowl!

From left to right, Sharon Metzer, Ralph Rianda of the King City FFA, John Metzer and Hostess Jeanne Aguirre.

For those of you with children that exhibit and sell their animals at fairs, this was an outstanding auction. There 610 animals sold. Swine averaged $7.83/lb. live weight, lambs $12.60, beef $3.56 and goats $13.67! These kids do very well due to the tremendous financial support of the individuals and businesses in the Salinas Valley.

How do you support your local junior poultry members? What are the average prices at your nearestl 4H and FFA fair auction?

An Experiment To Reduce Cracked Eggs

2011-05-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

All our ducks are in buildings that are 40' wide. Along one side we have a 5' wide concrete pit that has a wire floor over it. Nipple waterers run the length of the building, centered above this pit. Most of the nests are on the opposite side of the building so they stay as dry as possible. As you know, ducks always congregate near their water to not only drink but play and bathe in the water. One problem with the wire floor is that any eggs laid on the wire floor have a much higher chance of getting cracked.

It was brought to my attention that some flocks were laying many of their eggs on the wire - resulting in dirtier eggs and more cracked eggs. So for several days we recorded how many eggs were laid on the wire and how many cracked eggs there were for each breed. On average, 15.3% of the eggs were laid on the wire (more than I expected!) and 2.8% were cracked or broken. This was too high, too! So we decided to run an experiment. We chose our flock of White Layers as the test flock as it is fairly large and it was above average in wire eggs (34.5%) and cracks (3.4%).

We put a fence along the wire pit (the fence on the left in the picture) and put in two gates, one at each end. For ten days I went out each evening before their lights went out (about 8:30pm), moved the ducks off the wire platform and closed the gates. This prevented the ducks from going on the wire floor from 8:30pm until 7:00am the next morning. In the morning the gates were opened and eggs collected. Some eggs were laid along the fence but the vast majority were laid in the nest boxes where they should have been all along. A few ducks would not have laid when the gates were opened at 7:00am and would deposit their eggs on the wire when they were drinking, but it was less than 1% of the eggs. None of this surprised us.

The experiment, however, was to learn how soon they reverted to laying on the wire again after I stopped closing the gates in the evening. You see, I had no desire to spending 45 minutes each evening walking through duck pens herding ducks and closing gates. So after 10 days of keeping them off the wire during peak egg laying times (3:30-6:30am), I stopped closing the gates at night. They could go on the wire, drink anytime and lay their eggs anywhere.

Before we started our experiment, they were laying 160 eggs on the wire. Now that they are "trained" we are only getting 45-55 eggs on the wire (10.8% of eggs laid). Prior to the experiment we were getting 3.4% cracked eggs from our White Layers. During the period they had no access to the wire at night we had 2.8% cracked but now we are down to 1.8% cracked! I have no idea why it is less now than during the 10 day "training" period but the key is we are getting fewer cracked eggs than before.

So what is the moral of the story? You can often train your birds to do things that are better for you, better for them or better utilizes your resources. We are going to move the fence to some other flocks that are laying too many eggs on the wire and see if we can train them to lay in their nest boxes, too. I hope so!

How have you trained your ducks to make your job easier, increase their productivity or improve their environment?

Mixing Medicine for Small Flocks of Ducks and Geese

2011-03-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Mar 09, 2011 @ 04:21 PM

Oftentimes there is confusion on how to mix commercial sized packages of medicine or vitamin supplements for small flocks of ducks and geese. In addition, many injectable medicines are shown for heavy livestock, not smaller poultry. I will show you how to mix medicines for small flocks or individual birds using some simple examples.

Read the instructions Does it give one medication level for chickens and another for turkeys? If so, use the more dilute formula (more water/less medicine) as waterfowl drink more water per pound of body weight than non-waterfowl. Therefore they will get more medicine per bird.

Powder Medicine Open the package and measure how many teaspoons of medicine are in the package (assume for this example there are 12 teaspoons and the package is supposed to be mixed with 256 gallons of water). Divide the number of gallons of water by the number of teaspoons in the package: 256 / 12 = 21.3 gallons of water for every teaspoon of medicine. Knowing there are four ¼ teaspoons in every teaspoon, you can divide the 21.3 by 4 and get 5.3 gallons of water for every ¼ teaspoon of medicine. Knowing this, you can then mix slightly less than ¼ teaspoon of medicine in a five gallon bucket of water for your ducks and geese.

Liquid Medicine How many ounces of medicine are in the container? Assume 8 ounces and it is to be mixed in 128 gallons of water. Divide the number of gallons of water by the number of ounces in the bottle: 128 / 8 = 16 gallons of water for every ounce of medicine. As there are 6 teaspoons in every ounce, divide the 16 by 6 and you get 2.7 gallons of water for every teaspoon of medicine. Knowing what you learned above, you can now divide the 2.7 by 4 and it will show you that you can mix .7 gallons of water with every ¼ teaspoon of medicine.

Injectable Medicine Assume the package says to give 10cc medicine for every 200 pounds of body weight. Dividing 10 by 200 shows that you are to use .05cc for every pound of body weight. If you can, weigh your sick bird. If not, look at the weight ranges on our Duck Breed Comparison Chart and Goose Breed Comparison Chart on our website. Normally a sick bird will be on the lighter side. Assume you have a Khaki Campbell and it weighs four pounds. To determine how much medicine to give it, multiply its weight (4) by how much medicine it is supposed to get per pound (.05 in this example). This gives a dose of .2cc.

Rules for powder medicine:

Divide gallons of water by teaspoons of powder medicine to get how many gallons of water for each teaspoon of medicine.

To convert gallons of water per teaspoon of medicine, to gallons per ¼ teaspoon of medicine, divide gallons by four.

Rules for liquid medicine: Divide gallons of water by ounces of liquid medicine to get how many gallons of water for each ounce of medicine.

To convert gallons of water per ounce of liquid medicine, to gallons per teaspoon of medicine, divide the gallons by six.

Rules for injectable medicine: For injectable medicine, divide cc's of medicine by pounds of body weight. Multiply this number by the weight of your bird to determine the dosage.

Explanation of Stock Solution Most larger farms dispense medication via a proportioner. Normally one packet of medicine is mixed in one gallon of water and this is called the “stock solution”. Then the proportioner is set to pump one ounce of the stock solution in one gallon of drinking water. With this method, one packet will treat 128 gallons of water (there are 128 ounces in one gallon). Most of you will not be using a proportioner. I only explain this so you can understand why the label has information about a “stock solution.”

Summary These are just examples. You will have to do the math with your specific medicine. Remember to give the medicine as long as prescribed. If you don't, you are contributing to the proliferation of antibiotic resistant bacteria. You want the bacteria affecting your ducks and geese to be completely killed. If you stop medicating before instructed, there is a chance the more resistant bacteria will live and reproduce. If you medicate the prescribed length of time, there is little chance any bacteria will live – reducing the chances of antibiotic resistant bacteria developing.

Announcing New "Black Duck" Contest on Website

2011-03-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Tue, Mar 01, 2011 @ 10:02 PM

We have started a new contest on our website that we hope you enjoy. We have hidden a Black Duck somewhere on the website. Everyone that finds the Black Duck and registers their find will be entered in a drawing each month for $40. Following is a copy of our Black Duck..... but it does not qualify as a "find" - sorry.

Once you find the Black Duck, just click on it and you will be taken to a registration form. We ask that you limit your entries to one per month. Winners will be shown with their first name, initial of last name, city and state.
At the end of every month we will randomly choose a winner and move the Black Duck to a different page on our website. And as we have over 100 pages of very useful information on our website, we have many places to hide it! We think this first one is pretty easy to find though.
We just initiated the contest this morning and already have six successful entries! Time for you to go find the Black Duck!

Our next blog will show you how to measure out medicine or supplements for a small number of birds when the package is for 100 gallons of water or more!

Our Pekin Duck Breeding Program

2011-03-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Mon, Feb 21, 2011 @ 09:57 AM

All my Pekin breeding stock comes from Grimaud Freres, a French poultry breeding company. I have many customers that grow Pekin ducklings year round - some purchase ducklings weekly, others every other week, and others monthly. To supply these ducklings, I import Pekin breeding stock twice year.

Two sets of eggs are brought in for these Pekin breeders: the male line and female line eggs. Of course males and females hatch from both sets of eggs. But it is the females from the female line and males from the male line that are kept for my breeders. The remaining birds, called off-sex, are sold as commercial ducklings (to be grown for meat). With this type of breeding program, the selection emphasis on the female line is for excellent egg production and high fertility. The male line is bred for larger size, fast growth, and excellent feed conversion. When you cross a male from the male line with a female from the female line, you produce a large number of ducklings that grow quickly with good feed conversion. My Grimaud Hybrid is called the Star 53 by Grimaud Freres.

I was visited recently by Laurent Bomard, Grimaud's Western Hemisphere representative

(on the left in the picture).

Laurent explained that Grimaud's genetic program is now putting a much stronger emphasis on feed conversion. Feed conversion is expressed as a ratio: the pounds of feed it takes to produce one pound of duck. A feed conversion of 2.00 (or 2.00:1) means it takes two pounds of feed to produce one pound of live duck – a seven pound duck would have eaten 14 pounds of feed. Of course the desire is to reduce this number. With increasing feed costs, the feed efficiency of commercially grown poultry is critical.

Muscovy ducks and individual feeding stations behind them.

Grimaud has developed equipment to measure the feed conversion of each individual duck in a flock. With this information, they can select the better converting ducks for breeding stock. Each duck has a chip implanted in its neck (much the same as is done with horses and dogs for identification purposes). Each feeder can only be used by one duck at a time. When the duck reaches for feed, the scale automatically weighs the feed. When the duck leaves, the scale again weighs the feed and records the difference as feed eaten by that particular duck. The advantage of this system is each duck does not need to be penned separately to record the feed consumption – they can be grown in a flock.

The back side of the feed hoppers. Notice the Muscovy on the other side of the short wall.

For large operations, feed conversion is critical. Assume you grow 10,000 ducks a week, their feed conversion is 2.4:1, you process them at 7 pounds live weight and feed costs you an average of $340 a ton. With this scenario, you will use 4368 tons of feed, costing $1,485,120 in a year. Now let us assume you grow our Grimaud Hybrid ducks and achieve a feed conversion to 2.3:1. With everything else constant, you have just saved 182 tons, or $61,880 dollars a year. Even if you are only growing 100 ducks a week, you will save $618 a year.
Grimaud started with Muscovy ducks and became the world's leader in Muscovy breeding (France consumes much more Muscovy than Pekin duck meat). They then turned to Pekins, rabbits, pigeons, geese and guineas. Our French Toulouse geese are of Grimaud breeding as are our Pearl Guineas.

The other major, international breeder of Pekin ducks is Cherry Valley of England. Both companies sell breeding stock internationally. I visited Cherry Valley in 2008 when I was in Europe visiting hatcheries and researching which new incubators to get for our hatchery. Both companies are excellent Pekin breeder companies.

Is anyone doing any selection on their ducks or geese for characterisitics other than size or appearance?

Clipping Duck and Goose Wings to Prevent Flight

2011-03-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Feb 11, 2011 @ 04:20 PM

Clipping the wings of your birds is really very simple. Some things to keep in mind:

1)Clip only one wing. This keeps them off balance when they try to fly.
2)Leave 3-4 of the large flight feathers at the tip of the wing. By leaving these feathers, the wing looks more normally when it is folded against the body.
3)Use heavy scissors or tin snips.
4)Clip within 1-2 inches of the skin.

Mallard wing before clipping.

Mallard wing after clipping.

Right wing has been clipped on this male mallard duck.

Embden wing before clipping.

Embden wing after clipping.

By leaving a few feathers at the tip of the wing, it appears more normal.
The left wing was clipped on this Embden goose.

Keep in mind that ducks and geese go through several sets of feathers as they mature. For ducks, wait until they are at least 15 weeks of age and geese 17 weeks of age before you clip the feathers. At that point they will have their final set of feathers.

Feather clipping needs to be done annually. Depending on your location, adult waterfowl molt and grow a new set of feathers in the summer or fall. When you start seeing feathers on the ground from their molting, keep a careful watch. You don't want them to fully develop their feathers and discover they can again fly before you clip the wings!

The only ducks we have that fly easily are the Mallards. I have read of all breeds of geese flying except the Super African, Large Dewlap Toulouse and Sebastopol. Of course the Canada are very capable of flight.

Is Your Feed Company On Our List?

2011-03-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Thu, Feb 10, 2011 @ 10:56 AM

Can you buy feed that is made specifically for waterfowl? Probably not. Most of our customers cannot and they are not sure which chicken, game bird or general poultry feed to use. We are going to help solve your problem but we first need your help.

We are contacting feed manufacturers throughout the US and Canada and collecting the nutritional breakdown of each different sacked poultry feed they make. From this information, we will recommend which feed to use, for each feed company, for the different phases in the life of your waterfowl.

However, we want to make sure we have information from as many feed manufacturers as possible. Below is a list of those companies we have contacted. These are not feed stores, but rather the names of the companies that make and sack the feed. If the manufacturer of your feed is not listed, please send us the name of the manufacturer and method to contact them - phone number, website or mailing address.

Once we are satisfied we have most feed companies represented, we will put a page on our website with our recommendations. But first we need your help to make sure we have all the major sacked poultry feed companies represented.

The feed manufacturers we have, updated December 2011:

Ace High
ADM
Bartlett
Belstra
Big V Feeds
BlueBonnet Feeds
Blue Seal
Co-op Feeds
Diamond
Evergreen
Farmers Best
Flint River
Ful-O-Pep
Hiland
Homestead
Intermountain Farmers
Kalmbach Feeds
Kelley's Feed
Kent Feed
LA Hearne
Lone Star
Manna Pro
Martindale Feed Mills
Mazuri
McGreary
MFA Inc.
Modesto Milling
Nutrena
OH Kruse
Payback
Pennfield - Nature's Nutrition
Poulin
Purina
Scratch & Peck Feeds
Southern States
Stillwater Milling
Union Grove
United Suppliers

Thank you!

A Friend's Great Duck Poem

2011-03-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Feb 04, 2011 @ 07:19 PM

Our county has three Farm Days each year. These enable all third graders in the county to have a field day and learn about agriculture. Denis Wagner helped me for many years at the Monterey Farm Day. The other day I received a book he published titled "My Ducks - and other poems". I typically do not read poetry but I really enjoyed his duck poems.... and wanted to share the first with you. For those of you with ducks, these words will form pictures in your mind and a smile on your face.

My Ducks
Where are my ducks?
I look out my window to discover
they're out in the road stopping traffic,
waddling in the middle lane,
dipping into the water-filled swale in the asphalt,
mindless normads on a lark,
then the procession moves into the neighbor's yard
eating his chrysanthemums down to nubs.

I go to their pen and bang the feeding bucket
to get them to come home. Instead
they move on to the water trough near the garden,
swim like partygoers in the Caribbean.
Wading and wiggling their tails,
then web walking like ice skaters over the adjacent grass.
God only knows their methodical evolution.
I look up to see mallards fly along the river, realizing
my white Pekings are malamutes of man's invention
having nothing to do with normalcy.
But they do pacify me into laughing hysterically.

What odd balls,
not much different than some of my acquaintances.
Nothing like myself.

Thanks, Denis. Do any of you have favorite poems of waterfowl? For more information on Pekins, you can go to our website.

Time to Prepare Those Duck and Goose Nests!

2011-03-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Jan 19, 2011 @ 01:30 PM

Now that spring is approaching, it is time to prepare your nests! Whether you have 2 ducks or 1000, you want to make a nest that meets the needs of the female duck or goose. If your nests don't, they will make their own nest somewhere else – and they may choose a spot inconvenient for you or unsafe for them.

The nest should only be large enough for one bird to get in, turn around and sit comfortably on their eggs. You don't want it so large that two birds can sit on one nest. It rarely works for two to share a nest as more eggs will get broken and if you want them to hatch the eggs, eggs may get cold between them, all eggs will probably not hatch at one time and there may be confusion between the two females on which babies are which. A duck nest should be about 12”x14” and a goose nest about 18”x18”.

Our duck nest boxes. A 1"x4" along the top and both fronts. Use screws, not nails to hold together.

The next box rolled to show the bottom.

Notice how we have cut slots in the plywood so the nest walls slide into the nest back. No nails or screws are used to hold these parts together. It is just the 1x4s along the top and fronts that are screwed. Use at least 1/2" plywood.

Your birds may be very protected from predators but their instinct still tells them to hide their nest. For this reason you will want sides and a back on the nest. Back it against a wall or fence or put it in a corner. If it is outside, it will definitely need a top for protection from the weather.

To keep the eggs cleaner, we have put burlap and plastic feed bags on the bottom of the nest. This is fine with ducks but geese tend to shred it. If you have concrete or wood floors, make sure you have plenty of bedding in the nest. There is no need for a wooden bottom.

An unbedded goose nest. It just needs a coat of paint.
We use a layer of straw followed with shavings. Notice it is built for two geese, entering from either end.

The parts of our goose nests. The nest is 48" long. Plywood pieces are 36"x48". "Threshhold" is 31" long. To save weight, all is 1x4 lumber except the ridge (2x4) and support lumber (2x2) on center divide.

Kathy Hopkins, who commented below, sent us pictures of some of her goose nests.

Tractor Supply Tuff Tub, 28"x22" x 8" deep. About $20. Perfect size for geese.

Kathy's A Frame goose nests. Notice the tub for the goose.

Here she has nests set up between bales of alfalfa hay.

If you have a sizable flock, you want one nest for every four females. If you want every bird to set, then you need a nest for every female.
Anything soft can be used for the bedding: straw, hay, shavings, sawdust, peat moss, etc. It needs to be clean and dry. Depending on your weather and density of ducks, you will need to add bedding every one to three days if you collect the eggs daily. Start with at least 2” for ducks and 4” for geese. If they make their own nests, make sure they don't have any large sticks in there!

Have the nests built and bedded at least two weeks before you expect the first egg. If you wait for the first egg, it may be too late to convince them to use a new nest when they have already chosen a spot for that first egg.

What can be used for nests? For small quantities, use wooden boxes, tires (not the best as eggs may end up inside the tire), or basins. For larger flocks, you can build nests. The locking design of our duck nests works very well. The handles at the end enable you to periodically pull the nests up and out of the bedding.

When a flock starts laying, leave the initial eggs in the nests for a week so the birds are drawn to those nests and continue laying in the nests. Pick up any eggs not in nests and put them in the nests. Spread out the eggs. The natural tendency is for birds to lay an egg in a nest already with an egg. Inevitably half the nests don't have eggs and the remaining nests have one to five eggs each! Destroy any nests that are made in a high traffic or dirty area (near the water). We have our nests on one side of the building and the waterers on the opposite side so the nests stay as dry as possible.

Do you have any nest suggestions or ideas for easy to make nests?

For more information on incubation (in incubators and with birds) go to the incubation section of our website.

Classic Roman Geese

2011-03-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Sat, Jan 15, 2011 @ 05:07 PM

I was given an opportunity the other day that I couldn't pass up.

Most people are familiar with Roman Tufted geese, a smaller white goose with a tuft of feathers on their head. But more common in Europe is the Plain Headed Roman goose – without the tuft. These geese are one of the oldest breeds of domestic geese. Their origin is disputed but their claim to fame was the saving of Rome from the Gauls. The story is the squawking of their Roman geese awakened the soldiers to the advancing Gauls and preserved the city of Rome.

Roman geese are some of the smaller domestic geese, with males typically weighing about 12 pounds and females about 10 pounds. Records indicate they were a fairly prolific goose (50-65 eggs per season) but with dwindling numbers and breeding for show qualities only, the breed has lost some of its productivity.

Being smaller, though, they are an active breed that will do well in small pens and in large pastures. I can visualize the beauty of a flock of these smaller, white geese strewn across a green pasture. Being smaller, they will eat less, can tolerate less space and will leave less manure behind. The 1982 Standard describes them as "active, alert, docile rather than defiant." For a comparison of other goose breeds you can go to our comparison chart on our website.

Patiently waiting in the box.

Dave Holderread imported a small flock of these Plain Headed Roman geese from Canada in 1995. In his effort to simplify his breeding program, he sold his last breeders to Dana McGuire two years ago. Dana realized she could not keep her geese and offered them to me two weeks ago. Arrangements were made and she mailed them to me last Wednesday by Express Mail and they arrived Friday morning in wonderful shape.

As you may know, geese are very curious, intelligent birds. We built the pen for our new geese inside a larger Embden pen and immediately the Embden came over to see who their new neighbors were. Hopefully they were being welcomed to Metzer Farms. However, I was told a fight did break out through a common fence and the Roman made a much larger Embden gander take off in retreat. The Roman was probably a little cranky after its long journey.

What could be a worse name than Plain Headed Roman? Dana also thought it was a poor name and decided to rename them Classic Romans. I think this is a great name, with implications of their classic Roman ancestry. Unless you can come up with a better name, their name is now Classic Roman geese.

We will not be selling any Classic Roman geese this year as we want to expand our small flock (five males and four females) so hopefully we can offer them in 2012. In addition, I will be mating three of the males to some White Chinese geese. I want to test the resulting crossbred birds as a smaller, high quality meat bird.

So let us see how Dimitri, Celestine, Bonnie, Barnabie, Ferdinand, Phoenix, Obidiah, Abigale and Elanor do on our farm. I will keep you posted.

Six Steps to Keep Ducks From Eating Their Eggs

2011-03-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Sat, Jan 08, 2011 @ 10:27 AM

Some poultry develop a habit of eating freshly laid eggs. We have never seen it in geese but have with ducks. It can be prevented if you follow these steps, with the most important first.

1) Have an adequate number of well bedded nest boxes. It is highly unlikely a duck will purposely break and eat an egg. Normally they acquire the taste when an egg is accidentally broken and they find they like the taste. So make sure you have enough nests (a minimum of one nest for every four females), your birds are not overcrowded (at least five square feet per bird) and each nest has at least two inches of wood shavings, sawdust, straw or hay in the bottom. It is important there is a 3-4” front on the nest so the bedding stays in the nest. We will discuss nest construction for ducks and geese in a future blog. We have found the larger, clumsier ducks, such as Pekins, accidentally break and then eat more of their eggs than the lighter breeds.

2) Pick up any broken eggs quickly and do not toss cracked or broken eggs back to your ducks.

3) Make sure your ducks are getting a well balanced layer feed that has at least 3% calcium. And remember, by mixing chicken scratch with a balanced layer feed, you are making an unbalanced layer feed. The scratch adds carbohydrates but little protein and few minerals. If you are having an egg eating problem, buy some oyster shell at your local feed store and allow them to eat as much of that as they want. Just put it in a feeder and place it in a dry spot. They may eat more than they need but not enough to harm themselves.

4) Remove the offending ducks. Watch your birds and see which are doing the breaking and eating. Any incriminating yolk on their bills?

5) Give the birds other things to play with and eat instead of eggs. Put in chunks of vegetables: cabbage, lettuce, carrots, beets, potatoes, etc.
6) The last alternative is using fake eggs. Some recommend putting golf balls in the nests. Ducks are not brilliant but I think they are smart enough to quickly learn they cannot eat a golf ball, then ignore it and continue eating eggs.

Besides losing good eggs, there are also health concerns for your birds if they continually eat raw eggs. An essential vitamin is biotin and eggs contain avidin, which binds and prevents the use of biotin. Cooking deactivates the avidin. But if your birds continually eat raw eggs, they may develop a biotin deficiency.

Some people have said to put hot pepper in an egg and the birds will learn to not eat broken eggs due to the pain from the peppers. The problem with this theory, however, is that peppers cause no discomfort to birds! They even put hot pepper in bird seed to prevent squirrels from eating it! In my research I did find there is a compound, methyl anthranilate, that birds detest. It is a naturally occurring compound that is found in concord grape skins and burns the pain receptors in birds just like hot peppers do us. It is used in all sorts of bird repellents but it is not sold in smaller, retail quantities. I wonder? Is there enough methyl anthranilate in grape juice to train ducks to not eat their eggs?

I ran an experiment by putting duck feed in two troughs. In one trough I poured water on the feed at one end of the trough and Welch's grape juice on the feed at the other end. On another feeder, I poured water on half and Grape Kool-Aid on the other. The result? All was equally eaten. If there was any methyl anthranilate in either product, there wasn't enough to bother the ducks! Of course, hungry ducks will eat most anything. It is like putting two kinds of feed in front of a hungry Black Lab (our dog). Everything will be eaten – taste does not enter into the equation!

So until someone can find something with adequate amounts of methyl anthranilate in it to put in “training” eggs, you will need to follow the six steps listed above to prevent your ducks from eating their eggs.

Are My Ducklings' Leg Problems Due to a Niacin Deficiency?

2011-03-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Dec 29, 2010 @ 03:22 PM

Niacin is a critical vitamin required for the correct development of ducklings and goslings. In fact, waterfowl have a higher requirement for niacin (also called nicotinic acid) than chickens. Niacin is formed from the amino acid tryptophan and waterfowl do not synthesize niacin well from tryptophan.
What do the birds look like if there is a niacin deficiency? If there is a lack of niacin in their feed, initially some birds are reluctant to move about. Eventually their hocks swell and their legs develop a bowed shape. It becomes very difficult for them to move about and they do not gain weight or thrive.

A series of pictures from the book, Nutrition and Management of Ducks, with permission of the authors, showing a normal duckling (A) and ducklings (B,C,D) that were fed Niacin deficient diets.

How can this happen? If you are not using a balanced chick starter designed for broiler chicks or game birds, you may have problems. If you are using a chick starter developed exclusively for laying chickens, it probably does not have enough niacin. Do not make their diet exclusively whole grains, like Chicken Scratch. On very rare occasions, the lack of niacin could be from a mistake at the feed mill.

So how much niacin do waterfowl require? It should be at least 60 parts per million (ppm). Oftentimes this is not on the label but if you contact the manufacturer of the feed, they should tell you the minimum guaranteed level in the feed. You can go to our website for a complete list of waterfowl nutrient requirements.

A bottle of Niacin tablets, 500 mgs per tablet.

How can I supplement niacin? Niacin can be easily purchased at a nutrition or drug store. Typically the pills contain 500 mgs of niacin per tablet. Assuming a duck is eating about .35 lbs per day (this is how much a Pekin is eating at about 3 -4 weeks of age) , they need 10 milligrams (mgs) of niacin a day. So, theoretically, one pill has enough niacin for 50 ducks. But if you are grinding up a pill and spreading it over pelleted feed, much of it will sift to the bottom and not be consumed. Add a little water to the feed and it will “stick” to the pellets.

An alternative is to add it to their drinking water (assuming they have no swimming water). If they drink 100% of the water you give them, you only need to add one 500 mg tablet to every 8 gallons of water. But we both know that does not happen. If you think they are wasting half their water, then add one 500 mg tablet to only four gallons of water. For your own calculations, go to the table on our website on daily feed and water consumption of ducklings.

Two broiler chicks, the one on the left was fed a niacin deficient diet.

Photo courtesy of DSM Nutritional Products.

Are there alternatives to pure Niacin? If you are concerned with the possibility that other vitamins may be missing, too, you can purchase Vitamin B liquid supplements. The GNC product I found had 20 mg of niacin per dropper full. This is enough for two ducks that are 3-4 weeks old. This might be the best way to administer niacin if your birds are exhibiting leg problems. By administering the niacin to each bird, you will know they are getting the required niacin.

A feed ingredient that is rich in niacin is dried brewers yeast. There is about 5mg niacin per 15 grams (one tablespoon) of human grade brewers yeast. Livestock grade brewers yeast is not as concentrated. There is only about 1.5mg niacin for each tablespoon of livestock grade brewers yeast.

What if only a few of my birds have leg problems? Variability within a flock is normal. Each bird varies on how well it forms niacin from tryptophan, either due to genetics or the different microflora in their gut. It would not be unusual to have a single flock of birds, with some exhibiting a niacin deficiency and others walking perfectly normally - but all eating the same feed.

Glory, a duck that was rescued by Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary, arrived with leg problems due to a niacin deficient diet.

How long does it take for recovery? Except for the extreme cases such as the picture above, improvement is normally seen within several days and there can be complete recovery.

The Popularity of Christmas Geese in England

2011-03-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Dec 24, 2010 @ 02:08 PM

Most people in the US do not eat goose at Christmas. In England, however, fresh goose is a very popular Christmas treat. England has a population of 51 million and there are over forty farmers that commercially raise geese for Christmas sales. For the US to match that ratio, we would need over 240 goose farmers and I would wager there are fewer than 20 in the US that grow geese for the Christmas market!

Most of the geese in the UK are grown on pasture and sold as free range geese. After the first eight weeks, geese can be grown exclusively on green grass. Only at the end are they given all the grain they want. The two largest goose hatcheries in England are Norfolk Geese and Gulliver Poultry, though there are other, smaller hatcheries that supply day-old goslings, too. Though any goose can make a Christmas goose, it is normally the Embden breed that is used due to its large size and white feathers.

The UK has a British Goose Producers Association. This organization provides information to growers, promotional material for better marketing, an annual farm tour of a goose producer and helps coordinate sales among members. Their website has a wealth of information on the tradition of goose at Christmas, a list of members selling Christmas geese, and nutritional information on goose meat and fat. The US has no comparable goose association.

If you have an interest in growing geese for the local market, I encourage you to visit some of the websites of members of the British Goose Producers. See how they grow and market their birds to individuals, butcher shops, restaurants and grocery stores in the UK. It is a market that is just in its infancy in the US.

There are many recipes for goose. The common ingredient in all the recipes, however, is that the skin is pricked to allow the excess fat to drain out. Ducks and geese are genetically predisposed to have more fat under their skin than chickens and turkeys. The reason for this is they spend quite a bit of time in cold water and the advantages of fat are that 1) fat is a great insulator and 2) as it is lighter than meat and bone, it allows the bird to float easier in the water. But during cooking, with some slight pokes of the fork in the breast skin, the excess fat will drain out. But you want to save that fat!

Goose fat is a real delicacy in many cultures. There is even a UK website exclusively on the history, nutritional benefits and use of goose fat . Goose fat has a high burning (or smoke) point which means foods can be cooked at a high temperature without the fat burning or breaking down. It also has a lower proportion of saturated fatty acids compared to other animal fats such as butter and lard. The biggest selling point however is the unsurpassed taste of foods cooked using goose fat. It has traditionally been prized in Europe for frying and roasting vegetables.

We have a page on our website that has a list of our customers throughout North America that sell fresh duck eggs locally. We would like to do the same for those of you that sell fresh goose at Christmas. If you do sell fresh duck or goose, please send us your name, city, state, what you sell, and contact information (phone number and/or email) and we will include you on our Christmas Duck and Goose Page. Send a picture, too! If your birds end up in certain stores or restaurants, send their name, too. There is no charge, it is just a service to our customers to spread the word about their ducks and geese!

Now it may be too late for you to rush out and get a Christmas goose in time for the 25th – but there is another holiday in a week that can be your excuse for a delicious goose dinner!

Everyone at Metzer Farms wishes you a heartwarming Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Salted Duck Eggs - How to Prepare, Where to Sell

2011-03-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Sat, Dec 18, 2010 @ 11:41 AM

In the United States, few duck eggs are eaten. In other parts of the world, however, duck eggs are a major portion of the diet. Over 65% of all duck eggs are produced in China and over 90% of all duck eggs are produced in Asia. Interestingly, waterfowl increased their share of consumed eggs in the world from 6.57% in 1991 to 7.02% in 2007. So the growth of duck eggs is faster than chicken eggs in the world! Take that, chicken farmers!

Duck eggs are eaten fresh, salted, thousand year old and balut. If you have an interest in any of these products, visit our website for pricing and shipping information. In this blog I will discuss salted duck eggs - future blogs will cover balut and thousand year old duck eggs.

Salted duck eggs are prepared by one of two methods. The original method was to mix salt and clay or charcoal and pack that around a fresh duck egg. The most common method in the United States is to immerse a fresh duck egg in a salt brine. Any plastic or glass container will work but we salt our duck eggs in plastic garbage cans. Fill it ¼ full of water and then add eggs until they are about 4” from the top. As the salt water will make them float out of the water, you need to place some type of plastic panel or screen on top of the eggs and place several bricks on them to ensure all eggs are held down in the water. Then you pour a bag of water softener salt over the eggs and then finish filling your container with water. You must make sure there are always salt crystals in the water. If there are no crystals, add more salt. The eggs must stay in the water for 4-5 weeks depending on the temperature. The salt permeates the egg faster if the water is warm. Once I salted some eggs in a plastic bucket in an operating incubator. It took less than 2 weeks.

It is interesting how the salt changes the proteins in the egg. After salting, but before cooking, the yolk is hard, like a ball of modeling clay, whereas the albumen is very runny. The color of the yolk darkens as the salt permeates it. If the salting process is not complete, the middle of the yolk will be light yellow. It is complete once the entire yolk has darkened. If the yolk is completely salted, you can squeeze a drop or two of oil out of it. Note that the salt does not add any oil or fats, the chemical properties of the yolk has changed to allow the oils to be separated more easily from the proteins. The yolk also has a different texture after salting. It is slightly more “grainy”. The eggs are always boiled prior to eating.

This is an uncooked, salted duck egg yolk that has been cut in half. Note that there is very little light yellow in the center of the yolk.

The Filipino culture is to dye the egg a deep maroon color after boiling. Why? Maybe the red color is good luck and it helps them differentiate their salted eggs from balut (partially incubated eggs).

Salted eggs are consumed in a variety of ways. Filipinos typically cut them up and put them on tomatoes or salads. Another popular use of salted duck eggs is for the autumn Moon Cakes where a salted duck egg yolk is inserted in a special pastry.

This may be a way for you to sell some of your duck eggs. Inquire with some of the Asian restaurants or grocery stores in your area. Focus on Thai, Chinese, Indonesian, Filipino and Vietnamese stores/restaurants as these are the top per capita consumers of duck eggs in the world. The per capita consumption in Thailand is over 63 eggs per year!

Our main distributor puts three uncooked, salted eggs in a clear plastic container for retail sales. If you sell to Filipino food stores, you can probably sell to them in flats as they prefer to cook and dye the eggs prior to sale.

Any sized duck egg can be salted. Our best egg laying ducks, the Golden 300 Hybrid and White Layer, produce an average sized duck egg that would work very well for the salted egg market.

Have I eaten a salted duck egg? Yes - and they are rather tasty. Try one!

Do Ducks Prefer Showers or Baths? Research Results

2011-03-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Thu, Dec 09, 2010 @ 02:56 PM

Research was conducted in England on the best way to provide cleansing water for ducks being grown for meat production. There is no legal requirement for providing this water but the Council of Europe has recommended that ducks be able to dip their head in water and spread water over their feathers.

The research was done by Dr. Tracey Jones, Dr. Marian Dawkins and Dr. Corri Waitt of Oxford College. They had two objectives:

1) Did birds prefer one water source over another?
2) Did birds grown only on nipple waterers “miss” water bathing activities?

Methods
Birds were provided water by one of the following:
1)baths for swimming (37”x 26”x 10” deep)
2)troughs for head cleaning and splashing (37”x 5”x 3” deep)
3)showers (4 irrigation sprinklers per pen)
4)nipple waterers
5)nipple waterers for the first 35 days and then troughs
6)baths, troughs, showers and nipples all in the same pen

All the Pekin ducklings were initially grown together and then at 24 days were placed in the research pens. Each pen was about 10'x12' and contained four ducks. The baths and troughs were emptied and cleaned once a day. The sprinklers ran 24 hours per day, high pressure during the day and low pressure at night. The upper part of the pen was bedded with straw and fresh straw was added daily. The water was provided at the lower portion of the pen. Spilled and dumped water drained out of the pen.

Ducks were visually inspected at the end of each week and scored for the condition of their eyes, nostrils, feathers, posture and walking ability. Body weight was measured at 24, 36 and 53 days of age. Behavior was recorded once a week for 10-12 hours and broken down into different activities such as bathing, swimming, walking, dabbling, preening, etc.

Results
At six weeks of age, the only ducks that had crusty eyes or nostrils were the nipple ducks. These same nipple ducks also had the lowest feather scores with only 17% having clean, smooth feathers. Trough ducks were intermediate with 67%. The shower and bath ducks scored 95% and the ducks that started with nipples and finished with troughs scored 92%. All ducks, except the nipple ducks, were well oiled (seen as a yellow tint to the feathers and a waxy coating on the feathers). There was no effect of treatment on posture, walking ability, body weight or growth rate.

There were few signs of frustration in ducks reared without bathing water. Interestingly, when the nipple ducks were offered bath water, initially they did not spend much time in the bath water. But by the 7th week, they were spending more time in the bath than birds that were raised with the bath water. This suggests that ducks reared only with nipples were behaviorally deprived and were compensating with extra time in the bathing water during week seven.

Only about 5% of the time were the birds bathing, indicating that they may not need access to bathing water all the time. The results also showed that, when given a choice, ducks preferred nipples least as a source of water. If ducks were given all four sources of water, their first choice was showers as they spent more time resting and dabbling from them.
Comments
Very few commercial farms have any type of open water available for growing or breeding ducks. The main disadvantage of open waters is 1) larger bodies of water, such as ponds, can quickly become contaminated with Campylobacter and other organisms that can harm duck and human health and 2) it is difficult to dispose of this water as it cannot be allowed to run into other bodies or streams of water that run off the farm. Larger farms would have to make their own sewage plant to handle the runoff water from spillage and daily dumping of the baths or troughs. But for those growers that want to maximize the welfare of their birds, this research will benefit their planning.

We have the complete research article posted on our website if you would like more detailed information.

How Do Our Ducklings and Goslings Actually Get To You?

2011-03-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Dec 03, 2010 @ 12:06 PM

The logistics involved in getting our ducklings and goslings to you are fascinating. But first I want to give you a little history.

Until about twelve years ago the United States Postal Service (USPS) had its own planes and flew much of the mail throughout the United States. This was their Eagle Service system. But then the USPS decided they could do it cheaper by tendering all of the mail to commercial airlines (Delta, United, Northwest, Continental, etc.), so they got rid of all their planes. This worked fine for most mail but not for day-old birds. There are two problems with live, day-old birds: 1) the carriers are paid by weight and a box full of letters weighs more than a box full of chicks or ducklings and 2) they have to make sure the temperature and ventilation in the hold is sufficient for live birds. Though it was in their contract to do so, some airlines stopped carrying live birds because of these problems and shipping became a problem nationwide.

At this point the Bird Shippers of America was formed by mail order hatcheries and associated companies and customers. A lobbyist was hired and we made some headway. But the situation continued to deteriorate. It was so bad in the spring of 2005 that it changed from week to week on where we could mail our birds. We could take orders but we never knew if we could mail there on hatch day. Luckily in the fall of 2006 FedEx signed a contract with the USPS to haul day-old poultry on their planes. FedEx took this very seriously and I was soon visited by three national FedEx managers to better understand the hatchery business and ensure the system they set up would work. Since that time, shipping has been very consistent and relatively trouble free.

But back to my story. Where do the ducklings and goslings go when they leave our hatchery? We mail them in the local town of Chualar, population 600, Monday afternoons. My father started mailing ducklings there on the way to work 40 years ago and we have continued ever since. USPS trucks pick up the shipments there and take them to Salinas, a nearby distribution center and then on to San Jose. Some are flown from San Jose but most go to San Francisco or Oakland airports. They are transferred to FedEx late Monday evening.

FedEx has a Day Turn and a Night Turn. Day Turn are those birds going by Priority mail. They leave early in the morning and are sent to one of two FedEx sorting centers for live poultry: Oakland by truck or Memphis by plane. At this hub they are sorted and transferred to the plane going to your nearest, major airport and usually arrive by late afternoon Tuesday.
Night Turn are for Express Mail packages. They travel at night and arrive at the destination airport the next morning. The only way we can ensure Express Mail packages travel on Monday's Night Turn is by delivering them to the San Francisco airport Monday afternoon. But even by our doing this, there is no guarantee they will arrive the next day to your Post Office.

Once they arrive at the destination airport, FedEx transfers the birds back to the USPS. Sometimes the USPS distributes from the airport post office and other times they are transferred to a regional distribution center. That evening and early the next morning the USPS has trucks taking the mail to all the individual post offices in the area. Most arrive at your local post office between 4:00am and 8:00 Wednesday morning. Some larger post offices have a second delivery later in the day.

You can always drop by your local post office to learn their procedure but 99% of the time they will phone you early that morning to ask you to come get your birds. It is better for you to go pick them up so your birds get water and food as soon as possible – and don't travel with your mailperson all day before they deliver your mail. Make sure you give the hatchery the most appropriate phone number for you to be contacted in the morning.
FedEx carries most of our birds but some of the other major airlines, including Continental, Northwest (now Delta) and American, also carry day-old poultry for the USPS. It is an excellent system that works very well the vast majority of the time and is envied by hatcheries and their customers in Canada and most of the European countries.

Best Blog Ever!

2011-03-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Nov 24, 2010 @ 03:22 PM

One of the proudest moments of a father is when his beautiful daughter marries a wonderful young man. I was lucky to be that father this past summer. I know this is a waterfowl blog..... but nothing is more important than family! So you will just have to put up with some personal pictures and paternal bragging.

Mike and Janelle Seebeck

The new Metzer Family: Marc, Sharon, Mike, Janelle, Me, Erin

Our three children and new son-in-law.

We offer gift certificates to people that have their picture taken holding our catalog in famous locations. We call it our Traveling Catalog Offer. Earlier this week we were sent a picture taken on the Great Wall of China! But how often does a bride take a picture for her Dad - holding his catalog - on her wedding day? Janelle did and had some fun doing it! What a great group of girls.

Does this qualify the wedding as a business expense? Hmmmmm.

It was a wonderful day and a wonderful wedding - a day to remember always.
We all wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving.
John and Family.

Using Lights to Maximize Duck Egg Production - Part Two

2011-03-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Thu, Nov 18, 2010 @ 01:41 PM

In last week's blog, we talked about how long the day length should be to maximize duck egg production. Now I want to go over the types of lights to use, the use of time clocks and how geese are completely different than other poultry in terms of light stimulation.

The choice of bulb depends on how many birds you have to light. If you have a small flock, a single 100 watt incandescent bulb is sufficient. Fluorescent bulbs are more efficient than incandescent. The most efficient, which most commercial poultry operations use, are high pressure sodium lights. This is what we use. They are often used as street lights and give off an orange colored light.

A high pressure sodium light in our duck breeder building.

Birds are stimulated reproductively by the orange/red spectrum in light. Incandescent and sodium lights have plenty of these colors. If you have a choice with your fluorescent bulbs, try to get the more natural colored tubes and not the cool white tubes which have more of the blues and greens in them.

There are two basic time clocks. Industrial time clocks are wired into your electrical system and can control a complete circuit containing many lights. The home type of time clock is one that plugs into an outlet and is normally used in a home to turn a light on and off. One of the advantages of the industrial type is you can make as small an adjustment as you want when you want to change on and off times. You just loosen the screw, move it slightly and re-tighten it. They are also heavy duty for a long life and can handle quite a few lights.

Industrial type time clock.

The main advantage of the home type is they are easy to find and use. A disadvantage of the home type is that it has plug-in on/off switches with a minimum adjustment of 15 minutes. Another disadvantage of the home type time clock is that they normally do not have a grounding plug or slot.

Home style time clock

Green - on

Red - off

Notice there is not a grounding plug in the back and there is not a hole for a grounding plug on the time clock itself.

Most people cannot see their birds' lights in the evening and morning. So how do you know the time clock is really working? We plug a home style time clock into the circuit of lights that are coming on and off each night. Nothing is plugged into this time clock – we just use it as a monitoring device. The dial on this time clock is set at 12:00. Every morning we check to see how long the time clock has run the previous night and then turn it back to 12:00. If your lights are supposed to be on for two hours in the evening and two hours in the morning, then the time clock should read 4:00 in the morning when you pick up eggs. If it doesn't, then something is not working correctly. Of course this will not tell you if a bulb has burned out - but only if your time clock is working correctly.

Monitoring time clock to make sure the controlling time clock is working properly - must be reset to 12:00 each morning.

It is probably better to have two smaller lights instead of just one big light in case one bulb burns out. The birds will not be as adversely affected with some light versus no light.

If your birds have access to an outside pen during the night, you should light that pen, too. You want them exposed to the light, no matter where they bed down at night. By the way, the light enters the brain directly, it does not go through their eyes – so the light stimulates them whether they are awake or asleep.

Geese are unique in how light stimulates them reproductively. No one photo-stimulates geese in North America to maximize egg production - as is typically done with other poultry. The reason is that excessive light (meaning 13+ hour lighted day lengths) depresses egg production in geese. For other poultry you maximize egg production with 16-17 hour days. You can only achieve maximum egg production in geese by providing a maximum of 10-11 hour days! Looking at the light charts from last week's blog, you can see that most of the time our days are longer than 11 hours – and this is too long for maximum egg production for geese. So to maintain egg production as long as possible in geese, you need light tight houses – which means no natural light enters the building. The only light is provided by lights so you can provide them only 10 or 11 hours of light a day - no matter the time of year. More on this later.

Next week will be our Best Blog Ever. But, sorry, no clues on the subject. That is the surprise.

For those of you that enjoy our blogs, please sign up on the upper, left side of this page. Just type in your email address and hit “Subscribe”. You will then be sent an email and link every time a new blog is posted. It is easy to unsubscribe if you ever lose interest in our blogs. I wouldn't know why! But I suppose anything is possible! :)

How to Use Lights to Increase Duck Egg Production

2011-03-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Thu, Nov 11, 2010 @ 01:11 PM

The use of artificial lights is very important in extending the egg production of ducks. An increasing day length (December 21 to June 21) stimulates birds to lay more eggs and shorter days (June 21 to December 21) stimulate them to lay fewer eggs and eventually stop egg production. Therefore, the control of day length is very important in starting, maintaining and stopping egg production in ducks.

To start egg production
When we stimulate our duck breeders to start egg production in December, we add ¾ of an hour in the morning and ¾ hour in the evening to the natural day length. Then every 3-4 days we add another half hour alternating between the morning and evening until we get to a total of 17 hours of light and 7 hours of dark.

To maintain egg production
It is important that you increase your day length to equal the longest day of the year in your latitude. Why? So that your ducks never notice the days getting shorter starting June 21. Let us assume your longest natural day length is 17 hours but you only added enough artificial light in the spring to go up to 16 hours. Well, your birds will be subjected to increasingly shorter days from June 21 until some time in July or August when the natural day length is down to 16 hours. And they will lay fewer eggs because of this shortening of their day. From that point on they will have 16 hours of light, but some of the damage will have already occurred.

To stop egg production
If you want your birds to go into a molt, turn off the artificial lights. This will help shock their system into a molt and rest period.

Intensity of Light
Birds do not need an intense light to stimulate them. It can be as little as .5 footcandle but it is probably better to get a level of 3-5 footcandles. In general this means sufficient light to read a newspaper. Oftentimes this light level is met about a half hour prior to sunrise and stops a half hour after sunset.

The following charts show the natural day length of three latitudes in the US. You can set your day length according to these charts. If you prefer, you can go the Gaisma website for a chart like this for your city. For exact sunrise and sunset times for every day of the year in your town, you can go to the US Navy Oceanography website. You want to use the civil sunrise and sunset times (the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon) as this is about the point the light is at about 3-5 footcandles.

These charts are marked in military time – 6 is 6am, 12 is noon, 18 is 6pm. Sample cities for each sample latitude are shown below each chart.

For this northern latitude, the lights should come on about 4:30am and go off at 9:45pm.

For this central latitude, the lights should come on about 5am and turn off about 9:15pm.

In this southern US latitude, the lights should come on about 5:45am and go off at 9:00pm.

Next week we will discuss timeclocks, types of lights to use, how to make sure your lights are working and how geese do not follow the same rules as ducks in terms of light stimulation and egg production.

Proposed Regulations for Muscovy Ducks

2011-03-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Nov 05, 2010 @ 02:03 PM

On March 1^st of this year the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a final ruling that included several onerous provisions concerning the keeping of Muscovy ducks. As wild Muscovy are now found in three southern counties of Texas, they are now included in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and have the same regulations as wild Mallards. Unfortunately the USFWS was unaware of the commercial meat production and hobby breeding of Muscovy ducks. Once they heard from the hobbyists and hatcheries, they realized they had to revisit their rules. On October 1^st they published a new set of rules.

It is interesting to me that because wild Muscovy have moved into three counties in Texas, they are now included in the List of Migratory Birds. And guess what? Muscovy do not migrate! I have nothing against Muscovy and I know they make excellent pets, meat birds and exhibition birds, but they are probably more of an invasive species than a migratory bird!

The part of the current rule that bothers me the most is that “You may not sell or distribute muscovy ducks as pets.” I don't understand how they can rule that you cannot have Muscovy as pets, but you can have Mallards as pets, or innumerable other animals as pets. I have been told by some muscovy owners that their Muscovy are the dearest pets they have ever had. Now this practice is “illegal”? There is no point in making a law that will be flagrantly disregarded.

A second provision that concerns me is “You must physically mark all offspring hatched in captivity before they are 6 weeks of age in accordance with section 21.13(b), unless you hold them at a public zoological park or a public, scientific or educational institution.” The USFWS's accepted methods of marking are 1) clip off the back toe on the right foot, 2) pinion one wing, 3) leg band with a seamless band or 4) tattoo the bird. We have the same requirements for domestically hatched Mallard ducks and at Metzer Farms we always clip a back right toe immediately after they are removed from the hatcher to fulfill this requirement.

Unfortunately, very few domestically hatched Muscovy will be caught and marked correctly as most are hatched under their mother and it is difficult to catch these day-old Muscovy ducklings right after after hatching. But the pinioning or toe removal needs to be done immediately after hatching to lessen blood loss of the baby ducklings. So my guess is very few people will accomplish this requirement.

I encourage you to read the entire ruling and submit your own comments concerning it. You have until December 30^th to submit your comments in the ruling. You must either submit a comment on their website or mail them a letter.

In the big picture, there are two things to consider with this process. The bad: they made an initial ruling without a clue on what was going on with Muscovy in the US. The good: they understood the resulting uproar, listened to the public, revised their rules and are doing a much better job of publicizing their new proposed rules. Now we just need to convince them to make a few more changes.

Metzer Farms does not hatch and ship Muscovy ducklings as they do not handle shipping well. Their adrenal system is not as developed as other ducks at hatching so must have water sooner after hatching than your typical Pekin, Khaki Campbell, etc. We experienced much higher mortality with Muscovy and so, for this reason, discontinued selling day-old Muscovy ducklings. We recommend people try to find their Muscovy locally.

Next week we will show you how to use artificial lights to maximize duck egg production during the fall and winter.

Announcement of USDA Webinar "What You Need to Know About Raising Healthy Backyard Poultry"

2011-03-13T06:45:00.001-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Thu, Nov 04, 2010 @ 07:17 PM

The USDA is producing a webinar on Backyard Poultry Health on Friday, November 5^th at 12:00 noon Eastern time.

A webinar is the equivalent of a meeting over the internet. You can watch on your screen and listen via phone or the speakers on your computer.

The speakers for this webinar are Andy Schneider, The Chicken Whisperer, and Dr. Martin Smeltzer, a USDA Poultry Veterinarian.

Most webinars have a question and answer session at the end, though I am not sure if this one does.

If you have an interest, we have a brochure about the webinar.

You need to register for the webinar in advance as you will be emailed the link to the webinar immediately after registration. All directions are included in this email and it is pretty simple.

How You Can Use Your State Veterinary Laboratory

2011-03-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Oct 22, 2010 @ 12:52 AM

Normally people would like to use a local veterinarian if their birds are sick. We do have a list on our website of Recommended Veterinarians that specialize in avian species and/or have been recommended by customers that have used them for their birds. However, most people do not have access to a private veterinarian with poultry experience, so I want to explain how to use a state lab the next time you have a health issue you cannot solve yourself. They are an excellent resource and I highly recommend them.

All states, except Massachusetts, have at least one approved laboratory - some states have several. We have the location and contact information for all these labs on our State Veterinary Laboratories web page. If you have a poultry health issue you cannot diagnose, the first step you must do is to phone them. Oftentimes the veterinarian can talk you through the problem. Normally they will need to see the bird(s) for a more complete diagnosis.

If you are close to the lab, the best thing is to take them some of the sick birds. They will put these birds down and immediately necropsy. The value of a sick bird is they can see the symptoms exhibited by the live bird and they can look at a very fresh carcass. Do not take them a sick bird that you are not willing to sacrifice as they will probably not be willing to allow you to take a sick bird home after a diagnosis as it may have been exposed to other diseases in the laboratory.

If you must send them dead birds, try to use as fresh of birds as you can find. If we send birds to our lab, our procedure is to collect the dead in the morning, put them in a plastic bag, place them in a freezer to chill and then ship them in the afternoon. You want to reduce the temperature of the carcass as rapidly as possible to prevent decomposition. The more decomposition, the more difficult it is for the vet to diagnose the problem. So you want them as cold as possible - as soon as possible – but do not freeze them.

Oftentimes the lab will have a form you can download or they will fax you to include with the birds. If not, make sure you include all your contact information and information on the birds: species, age, symptoms, percent of birds exhibiting the symptoms, percent mortality, length of time they have been ill, any medications given, etc.

We have found the best way to ship the birds is in a disposable, styrofoam cooler that you can buy at most grocery stores. You may want to buy some in the summer in case you need one in the winter! While you are there, buy some Ice Packs and drop them in your freezer. You normally can't buy these frozen the day you need them! Do not use ice as this will melt and make as mess! Place the bird(s) in the cooler with some frozen ice packs, tape it closed and then place the cooler inside a cardboard box.

You can send the birds by UPS, FedEx, Post Office or by bus. However you do it, you want the birds to arrive the next day. In addition, some labs have special contracts with one carrier. In this situation you can charge the freight to the lab and the lab will bill you for shipping later at a rate lower than what you would have paid at shipping.

There is a initial fee ($20-65) and this fee will cover from 3-10 birds depending on the policy of that lab. There may be additional charges for any extra tests you approve. Most labs will bill you after they have completed the case. Some labs require a deposit up front but most do not require this.

The results will come back to you over a period of time by phone, fax or email but all refer to a single case number. The results are typically broken into several areas.

Gross Observations: notes on all organs from the initial necropsy

Bacteriology: identification of bacterial growth from swabs taken at necropsy

Histology: microscopic examination of organs

Toxicology: results of any requested toxicology tests

Virology: results of tests for viruses

Some states do tests for Avian Influenza and/or Newcastle on all birds submitted. Others do not. Oftentimes they will do work from other states but usually charge more for these cases.

I phoned several labs throughout the US and found them all to be extremely helpful and willing to accept birds from hobbyists and small farmers. I highly encourage you to use these labs. If anyone can diagnose the health problems of your birds, it is these professional veterinarians.

Thank you to Dr. Mark Bland for the pigeon and mold pictures.

No Ducks Allowed in Hawaii???

2011-03-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 01:27 PM

Hawaii has only one native wild duck, the Koloa and it looks much like the North American Mallard duck. In an effort to preserve the purity of the Koloa (it is listed as endangered), the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service does not allow any ducks (domestic or wild - eggs, ducklings or adults) to be imported into Hawaii. No Pekins, no Runners, no Swedish, no White Crested. No ducks. In my opinion there is no risk of these breeds crossing with the Koloa, but as they all originate from the wild Mallard, they are banned.

The interesting problem this creates is that domestic ducks are used in Hawaii to control the Golden Apple snail in their native Taro fields. Taro is the most culturally significant agricultural crop in Hawaii. It is a root crop that is grown in flooded fields – a perfect environment for snails. If the snails are not controlled, the crop is severely damaged. But we all know how much ducks love snails – and they are very effective in the taro fields. However, due to their inability to import ducks, the farmers are losing their battle with the snail and production has dropped drastically. The Golden Apple snail is not even native to Hawaii, it was introduced in the 1960's as an algae cleaner in home aquariums and then escaped into the fresh waters of Hawaii.

In 2005 I was invited to speak at a round table conference in Honolulu on the best management practices for the use of ducks as Golden Apple snail control. Taro farmers and members of wildlife government agencies sat down to discuss the problem. Unfortunately nothing substantive came of the meeting and the state and national wildlife officials have refused support of ducks for control of the Golden Apple snail. At the same time they refuse to deal with the snails as an invasive species. Other methods of snail control (copper sulfate, papaya extracts, neem extracts, ferric phosphate, hand removal) have been attempted in Hawaii but with little success. Currently the farmers are trying an organic soap to use in conjunction with ducks to control the snails.

A Snail Control Plan has been written and their recommendations might be of benefit to anyone using ducks to control snails in gardens or orchards:

Pekins are the preferred breed in Hawaii due to its larger size (less chance of breeding with the Koloa), easy visibility (all white), inability to fly, large appetite for snails and easy nature.
Females are less aggressive, and more focused, steady snail eaters than males.
Muscovy and Runners seem more destructive of the banks of the taro field and the taro plant itself.
Juvenile ducks will eat more snails than mature ducks.
Monitor the amount of time they spend hunting for snails. It may only take a couple hours a day to control the snails. Have a pen in which they can be put when not hunting for snails to protect the vegetation and to protect the ducks from dogs and predators.
If you do have predator problems, release the ducks when you are in the area – even if it is only for half an hour twice a day.

It is not illegal to use ducks for snail control. It is just illegal to import ducks into Hawaii. If someone in Hawaii started their own little duck hatchery, using the ducks already there as breeders, it could probably supply Taro farmers throughout Hawaii. Unfortunately that has not yet happened.

For more information on what poultry are allowed in Hawaii, you can go to the Shipping to Hawaii page on our website. On that page we have a link to Hawaii's complete Apple Snail Control Plan which includes specific directions for the use of ducks for snail control. Please note that we can ship geese, turkeys, keets and pheasant chicks to Hawaii but a special import permit is required - which we can obtain for you. This is also explained on the Shipping to Hawaii page.

If you are interested in our ducks for your own snail control needs, start with our Duck Breed Comparison page.

Six Fall Projects at Metzer Farms

2011-03-13T05:45:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Oct 01, 2010 @ 10:26 AM

Spring and early summer are extremely busy times for all hatcheries. We work overtime to get everything hatched and shipped during those frantic months of March through June. We hatch year round but two thirds of our business is in this one third of the year. It is during this time that I dream of having time to visit customers and relax during the fall. Well, guess what! It never happens! There is too much to do during the off season! We have several projects going on now to prepare for next year.

1)Our biggest project right now is to build two bunkers for wood shavings (we get 160 cubic yards at each delivery) and a bunker for hay and straw. Each of these is 16' x 35'. No more pulling tarps off and on every other day and buying new tarps every year! We are going with a concrete floor, 6' concrete block walls and hooped metal ribs going over the top with a custom designed tarp as a cover. More pictures as we go.
2)We also ship our birds to feed stores and for other hatcheries. However, our website is not set up for easy ordering for them. Our objective before next spring is to make it easy for them to download orders and to get numbers from us on what is still available to sell. This will be completely automated so this exchange of information might be as often as every 20 minutes throughout the year! No more accidental overselling (we hope)!

3)The problem with ducks is they oftentimes make a mess in their nests as they rest in the nests during the day. The only time they need the nests, however, is from 3am to about 8am when they lay their eggs. So we are going to fence off a section of the laying barn with automatic gates. The gates will automatically open at 3am to allow the ducks in to the nest in area and then we will close them after collecting eggs and shooing the ducks out of the pen in the morning. In this way the nests will be off limits for 19 hours of each day. This picture is of a prototype gate hooked up to a winch and timer. Will it work as it is supposed to? More pictures when we are done.

4)Of course we are raising the duck breeders that will be coming into production next spring. We hatch them in July so they start laying in December and will be in full swing for the spring. These replacement ducks are split into four groups: Pekins, Runners, Mallards and all others. In this way the Pekins can be kept on their diet and the smaller breeds don't get run over by the larger breeds. We are also raising a large flock of Embden breeders as we could not keep up with this breed's demand last spring.

5)In our diligent efforts to keep wild birds out of the duck buildings, we realized we had to replace all the major doors. So that made six doors (one at each end of the building) for our three duck breeder buildings. New doors (screening to allow ventilation), a raised concrete threshold, bollards to protect the door frame and a nice paint job (this one needs a third coat!) makes them nice again.

6)Due to the SE outbreak that you have all read of and our desire to protect our customers, we are starting a Salmonella monitoring campaign. This involves regular environmental testing of the duck buildings, equipment swabs of the hatchery equipment and submission of hatch fluff (residual down after each hatch) to our state laboratory. We don't expect a problem but we want to be on top of it if anything suspicious shows up. In this picture Leo is walking the length of the building with cotton swabs soaked in condensed milk to collect environmental samples.
We have other activities but these are the main ones for now! We will keep you posted.
Next week we will discuss Hawaii and why their Fish and Game department does not allow any breed of domestic duck (eggs, ducklings or adults) into their state. How does this impact the native taro root production?

How Do You Make Duck Egg Yolks More Orange?

2011-03-13T05:36:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Sep 22, 2010 @ 05:00 PM

The color of a duck's egg yolk is strictly dependent on their diet. Xanthophylls (pronounced zanthofils) are natural plant pigments and the more xanthophyll in the diet, the more orange will be the yolk.

The four most common poultry feed ingredients with high levels of xanthophylls are alfalfa meal, corn, algae and marigold petals. The only reason dried marigold petals are added to poultry feed is to make the yolks more orange in color. Green grasses have good levels of xanthophylls, too.

High levels of xanthophylls also make the skin more orange. In some parts of the United States, the demand is for a more yellowed skin broiler. In other parts, a more whitish colored skin is desirable. If you want a yellow skinned bird, feed predominantly corn. If you want a white skinned bird, feed predominantly wheat or barley.

The color of the yolk or skin has nothing to do with the freshness of the egg, nutrient content of the egg or meat, health of the bird or any type of cooking characteristic. It only indicates the feed eaten by the bird had higher levels of xanthophyll.

It is interesting that an orange billed duck, like a Pekin, that is in high egg production, will lose color in its bill and feet as the xanthophyll is transferred from its bill and feet into the yolk of the egg. Once they slow down in production and their consumption of xanthophyll is more than what is used in their eggs, their bill and feet become more orange again. Oftentimes you can use this as a way to determine which of your ducks are laying eggs. See our blog on this subject.

So what can you feed your ducks to get darker yolks? The easiest would be to allow your ducks access to green grass. This can be brought to them as lawn clippings or you can allow them on a pasture or lawn to graze. If you are in a colder climate with no fresh grass during the winter, you can give them alfalfa hay as a daily treat. If you have a choice of feeds at your local feed store, you can choose more yellow feeds (meaning a high level of corn) – making sure the feed is still completely balanced in its nutrients.

If you want to grow vegetables that are especially high in xanthophylls, try spinach, kale, cilantro, romaine lettuce, parsley, orange peppers or scallions. These will be good for you and your ducks!

In next week's blog, I will show you some of the projects we are doing here at Metzer Farms to prepare for another busy spring in 2011!

Exporting Ducklings and Goslings Around the World

2011-03-13T05:31:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Sep 15, 2010 @ 05:25 PM

We export ducklings and goslings around the world. Within the past twelve months we have shipped to:

North America: Mexico, Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec,New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island)
Central America and Caribbean: Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Bermuda
Southeast Asia: Thailand, Malaysia
Middle East: United Arab Emirates
South Pacific: Tahiti

All these birds are shipped from San Francisco International Airport and we utilize Delta Airlines the vast majority of time. Delta has excellent customer service, travels to many destinations and has reasonable rates. For Canada shipments we typically use Air Canada which is also an excellent airline.

We have had inquiries from Africa and countries in the Indian Ocean but the difficulty there is getting the birds to their destination soon enough. We normally deliver them to the airport at noon on Monday and they must arrive at their destination by Wednesday morning our time as they must still go through customs and travel time to the farm normally takes several hours. In addition, we must use one airline for the entire trip. Airlines will not accept live animals from a different airline along the way.

Luckily, most countries accept our health certificate as it is but some countries require additional tests. For example, Mexico requires an Avian Influenza test within 30 days of departure. And Canada and Mexico require a NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) document. But Ashley does a great job preparing the necessary paperwork, booking flights, etc. If you have any questions about potential destinations, ask for Ashley when you call.
We ship all types of birds, from meat birds to layers to some of the more special goose breeds. If you have an interest in importing our birds or learning how to export from the USA, visit the Exporting Page on our website.

Seven Steps To Reduce Salmonellae in Your Ducks and Geese

2011-03-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Sep 10, 2010 @ 03:36 PM

Many of you produce your own eggs and may be wondering how the current chicken egg recall might affect you. Demand for your eggs may go up as more and more people are turning to locally produced eggs. But locally produced does not necessarily mean salmonella-free.
There are over 2500 strains of salmonella and the vast majority of these cause no problems to humans or poultry. Salmonella Enteriditis is the strain that is of greatest concern to the egg industry as this strain can actually infect the bird's ovaries (as opposed to most strains that cannot leave the gastrointestinal tract), allowing the bacteria to travel into the yolk of eggs forming in the oviduct. When these eggs are not completely cooked, humans can be infected.
There are things, however, that you can do to reduce salmonella levels on your farm:
1) Purchase ducklings from a reputable hatchery. At a recent NPIP conference that I attended in San Diego, a Mail Order Hatchery Salmonella Monitored category was established with guidelines for testing and sanitation. These changes normally take several years to take effect, however, so don't expect to see this official designation soon. But if a hatchery is testing for salmonella, you should be safer with their birds.

2) Do as much as you can to control rodents, wild birds, flies and cockroaches. Rodents are a proven vector of Salmonella Enteriditis. They will bring it to your farm and then carry it from pen to pen and from house to house. Controlling rodents is the single most important thing you can do to control salmonella. The T tubes shown in the picture above are an excellent method of poisoning rats and mice. All it takes is some PVC pipe, bait blocks and a wire. Hang the blocks so the bottom one is about 1.5" off the floor of the bottom tube. Periodically you put more blocks on the wire. It is important that the rodents always have access to blocks - especially for the rodents visiting your farm the first time. Normally several meals are required to kill the rat or mouse.
3) To reduce rodents it is also important you remove all vegetation and junk from at least 10' from your pens and buildings. Rodents don't like crossing empty ground on which they are exposed to predators.

4) Purchase feed from mills that follow the principles in the "Recommended Salmonella Control for Processors of Livestock and Poultry Feeds" published by the American Feed Industry Association. By using pelleted or crumbled (which is pelleted and then broken) feed, all salmonella has been killed due the heat and steam required by the pelleting process. You may also want to use feed that has no animal products in it (fat, meat and bone meal, etc.) as these can be carriers of salmonella.
5) Store your feed so that rodents cannot access it. Wasted feed and sacked feeds on the ground are an open invitation to rodents. If possible, store it in plastic containers or metal feed tanks.

6) Make all efforts to produce eggs that are clean when they come out of the nests. Provide nest boxes before they start laying so they use them and add bedding as necessary to keep the floor and nests clean. If the eggs are dirty, wash them as soon as possible after laying. As most salmonella resides in the bird's gut, it will be present in the droppings. Keep the droppings off the eggs.
7) Chill the cleaned eggs as soon as possible. Chilling will not eliminate salmonella but will prevent its growth - making it more difficult to infect someone if by chance you do have any salmonella.
The recommendations of the California Egg Quality Assurance Plan and the recently enacted USDA Salmonella Control Program are very similar to those described above if you have an interest in a more detailed program designed for large producers.

By following these recommendations, your ducks and geese will be better protected from salmonella.
I need your help for a future blog. Please send us the name of the feed company (not the feed store) that makes the sacked feed you buy at your local feed store. Very few companies make a waterfowl feed and our readers are often confused on which feed to use. We will contact all the feed companies sent to us (such as Purina, Ranch-Way, Modesto Milling, etc.), study their feeds and then recommend which to use for waterfowl in a future blog. So please send us the name of the feed company, and their phone number, website or city and state via the comment section below. Thank you very much!

The Growing Demand for Fresh Duck Eggs

2011-03-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Sep 01, 2010 @ 03:11 PM

What more can you ask for than endorsements from articles in Time and Sunset magazines? Metzer Farms did not get the endorsement, but ducks and duck eggs sure did.
Time had an article titled "Urban Animal Husbandry" discussing how more and more city dwellers are raising livestock and poultry as a hobby for meat, eggs, manure and the simple pleasure of caring for them. The garden educator of Seattle Tilth thinks that "ducks are better for gardens than chickens and that they provide tastier eggs. 'I think the duck is the future,' she says. Game on, chicken lovers."
In a recent issue of Sunset magazine, there was a picture of a duck egg along with a short article. "Ducks are the new chickens. They lay bigger eggs that are richer in flavor than chicken eggs. Also, ducks may make for nicer backyard occupants. Owners are finding they'll eat slugs and weeds and have a less aggressive pecking order than chickens..."

Duck eggs are appreciated for a variety of reasons: richer flavor, better for baking, longer storage life and some people that are allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs! In many ways, duck eggs are more nutritious than chicken eggs. Duck eggs have higher levels of vitamins and minerals than chicken eggs for 12 of the 13 nutrients we have listed in the comparison chart on our website.

With the number of duck eggs we produce, we also have quite a few cracked eggs. Most are given to a local soup kitchen for the homeless but in our home we use cracked duck eggs for everything. Oh yes, this is another advantage of duck eggs. As the shell membrane is so strong, the shell can be broken and no egg leaks out! There is one thing to remember with duck eggs, however. Make sure the whites are at room temperature and then add a little lemon juice or baking soda if you are whipping them up.
In England, the demand for duck eggs is growing rapidly. Watercress Lane is a duck farm that sells over 2.5 million duck eggs per year to wholesalers, retailers and caterers - and demand has grown 45% in the past year alone! A recent survey indicates that 1 in 13 supermarkets in England offer duck eggs. "We hope that the campaign and other activities of a PR agency we have recently employed will increase the public appetite for duck eggs further," says co-owner Melandy Daniels.

Knowing the demand for duck eggs is growing and our desire to support our duckling customers, we have started a new page on our website, Our Customers That Sell Fresh Duck Eggs. Drop by and see if someone near you is listed. Or have us list you if you sell duck eggs locally!
We sell our duck and goose eggs to fifteen Whole Food Markets in the San Francisco Bay Area. Whole Foods is the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods that prides themselves in obtaining as much local food items as possible. We also sell our eggs by mail order to those that do not have a local supply of duck eggs. Why don't you start supplying duck eggs to your local high end bakeries and food shops, Asian stores or farmers markets? People want to try new foods - especially if they are produced locally!
Next week I will go over the steps you can take to prevent salmonellae from affecting your poultry and their eggs.

Our Purchase of the Holderread Buff and Pilgrim Goose Flocks

2011-03-13T05:12:00.000-07:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 @ 01:11 PM

Dave and Millie Holderread own a waterfowl hatchery and preservation center and have over 60 breeds of ducks and geese. Many are rare and all of are excellent quality. I talk with Dave and Millie Holderread quite a few times during the year. I may have breeding or feather coloring questions for them and they might have shipping or incubation questions for me. One day Dave phoned and said he was selling his Buff and Pilgrim goose breeder flocks and he wanted them to stay together as a core breeder flock. Was I interested? Of course I was and within a week I was headed to Corvallis, Oregon (the city of my birth!) in a pickup with a bed full of alfalfa hay.

Dave and Millie are very gracious hosts and showed me around their breeding farm and hatchery. The number of different breeds they have is inspiring. It is also the reason they decided they wanted to sell these two breeds. They had other duck and goose breeds on which they wanted to work and simply did not have enough time during the busy spring hatching season for everything. They run the farm themselves with some family help.

Dave Holderread with his nephew, and niece, (above)

Worming the geese with before loading them. We normally do not worm due to our dry climate. (below)

I came home with 12 Buff, 8 Pilgrim geese breeders, along with five Super African ganders. These Buff and Pilgrim birds will be kept separate and I will only be producing breeders from these. I may sell stock from them in 2012 but in 2011 I will be keeping all the goslings I hatch from Dave and Millie's geese to expand our pure Holderread flock and to use some of the ganders in our current breeder flocks.

We have some of the largest duck and goose breeder flocks of many different breeds. It is often difficult to find unrelated strains from large enough flocks to cross with ours to prevent inbreeding. Luckily for us, we can use some of Dave and Millie's stock to cross with ours to prevent inbreeding. Following are pictures of some of the geese back home in Gonzales.

Pilgrim Geese (above)

Buff Geese (below)

Dave has also written two excellent books, Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks and The Book of Geese, which are the standards of waterfowl books. They have been illustrated by Millie and also have excellent photographs. If you have an interest in these books, please go to our book page on our website.
Next week I will be discussing the increasing popularity of eating duck eggs here in the United States and Europe.

Mixing Your Own Duck Feed and Goose Feed

2011-03-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

Posted by John Metzer on Wed, Aug 18, 2010 @ 11:12 AM

Finding the appropriate feed is one of the biggest problems for a hobbyist or small flock owner. As we purchase 24 tons of feed every 8-10 days, our mill will make the feed any way we want it! But you probably don't have that luxury. You have to purchase it in bags and oftentimes there are few choices for you. I will show you how to mix what is available to achieve the ideal feed for you.
As ducks only need a starter feed for about three weeks when they are babies, and they don't consume a lot, it is better to purchase a higher quality feed than a lower quality feed if your local feed store does not have exactly what you want. We recommend a starter feed contain at least 21% protein. If your choices are a general poultry feed of 18% and a game bird starter feed of 28%, I would recommend you buy the game bird starter feed. It is more protein than they need but it will do no harm at that age.
Our recommendation is 17.5% protein from four to nine weeks of age. At this point the 18% protein feed is fine. But what do you do after that when we recommend 14.5% and you can only buy the 18% feed or scratch feed at 10%? Neither meets your needs.

At this point I would go to our website and choose Care and Management on the home page menu. Then choose Mix Your Own Feeds. This program will tell you how much of two feeds to mix to achieve the protein level you want.
Let us assume you can only buy a general purpose poultry feed (Feed A) containing 18% protein and scratch grain (Feed B) that is only 10% protein. Let us also assume Feed A comes in 60 pound bags and you want to produce a feed with 14.5% protein.
Put "18" in the first field.
Put "60" in the second field.
Put "10" in the third field.
Put "14.5" in the fourth field, click on "Calculate", wait for a new page to pop up and then scroll down the page for the answer.
You will see that by mixing 47 pounds of scratch with 60 pounds of the general purpose poultry feed you will have a feed that averages 14.5% protein.

You will also see the page shows you the protein level of some common grains. You can use these numbers if you have a local source of these grains - maybe damaged grain from a local mill or you produce these grains yourself.
If you are only balancing for protein, there is no guarantee the final mixed level of calcium or niacin or energy or other nutrient levels is correct. But as protein level is the best indicator of overall feed quality, you can generally assume that the higher the protein level, the higher the level of other vital nutrients are in the feed.
Next week our blog will be on the goose breeding stock we purchased from Dave and Millie Holderread and how we plan to use them. See you then!
Enjoy your ducks and geese!

Results of Duck Breeder Flock Culling

2011-03-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Wed, Aug 11, 2010 @ 12:37 PM

Last week we went through our Rouen, Cayuga, White Crested and Fawn and White Runner breeder flocks. Each female was picked up and the distance between her pelvic bones was estimated. This technique was shown in our last blog: Determining Which of Your Ducks Is Laying. I want to share the results with you.
The Fawn and White Runner flock had 405 females in it that were at 33% egg production (this means we were getting an average 33 eggs a day for every 100 females). We put a fence down the middle of the pen, one side for the "keepers" and one side for the cull birds. After checking each female, we had 175 females in the "keep" flock and 230 females in the cull flock. The next day the females in the "keep" flock layed 112 eggs which is a rate of 64%. The females in the group that we will not keep laid 6 eggs which is a rate of 3%!

So by checking each female, we removed 57% of our feed bill and only lost 5% of our eggs! As there are now fewer females in the pen, we will also use less shavings. Of course we were able to remove some of the males, too. As far as we know, there is no way to visually determine the fertility of a male but you can cull out any males that are less thrifty than the others, have bad legs or appear to have been picked on by other birds.
The results for the other flocks was just as impressive:

Cayuga start 49%, after culling: keep flock 66%, cull flock 7%

White Crested start 35%, after culling: keep flock 69%, cull flock 1%

Rouen start 43%, after culling: keep flock 66%, cull flock 7%

Mallard start 30%. after culling: keep flock 63%, cull flock 0%

Of all the breeds, the Mallards were the easiest to differentiate layers from nonlayers. As you can see, over half the females were removed and there were no eggs in the cull flock pen the next morning.

The picture shows the keep and cull flocks of Fawn and White Runners. As you can see, there is very little difference in appearance in the two flocks. You have to pick up each bird and check it. It is basically a comparison with other birds of the same breed so if you have never done it before, check 10-15 birds and note the difference among them. Then start over and remove those birds in which their pelvic bones are stiffer and closer together than the others.

In our next blog we will be addressing how to use the feed formulation program on our website. http://www.metzerfarms.com/FeedConversion.cfm. Many times you cannot find feed with the correct level of protein. This program will show you how much to mix of two different feeds to achieve the protein (or other nutrient) level you want to achieve.
Thank you! Enjoy your ducks and geese!

How Do I Know Which of My Ducks Are Laying Eggs?

2011-03-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Thu, Aug 05, 2010 @ 12:16 PM

There are several ways to determine which of your ducks are laying eggs. No one indication is proof positive but collectively they can give you a good indication of which birds are laying eggs. During the middle of every summer, we use these criteria in our duck breeder flocks to remove nonlaying birds. If, for example, we can go through a breeder flock of 500 Rouen ducks, remove half the birds but only drop the egg production a little bit (due to the inadvertent culling of laying birds), we are much better off. We have just cut our feed, water and bedding bill in half with barely any loss in egg production!

If you have Pekins, look at their bill. If it is bright orange, they are probably not laying. Those birds that have been laying for quite awhile have a washed out, pale bill. Prior to production most Pekin ducks will accumulate xanthophylls in their bill and feet. Xanthophylls are a pigment in corn, alfalfa, and some other feed ingredients. But as the ducks start to lay, those xanthophylls are deposited in the yolk of the egg. With high egg production, more xanthophylls are deposited in the eggs than absorbed in the feed, causing their bills and feet to become lighter and lighter in color.

In this group of Pekins, the female on the right is probably not laying. Notice her bill and feet are darker orange and her feathers are bright and clean which means she has recently molted. The female in the front left is probably laying well. She has all her feathers but they are dirty, original feathers meaning she has not molted. The female in the left back is missing her flight feathers which means she is now going through a molt and probably not laying.

The best way to know if your birds are laying is to catch them and measure the distance between their pelvic bones. If the birds are laying, their pelvic bones are flexible and wide apart to allow passage of the egg. If they are not laying, they are close together and rather stiff and nonpliable. You do not have to turn the duck over to do this. Just pick them up and slide your hand under their abdomen down to their pelvis. Is the distance between the bones two fingers or three fingers or four fingers? The more fingers you can get between their pelvic bones, the better chance they are laying eggs now. Of course the larger breeds will naturally have more space between their pelvic bones so you need to compare among birds of the same breed or size.

The pelvic bones are only two fingers apart in this female Rouen - she is not laying.

The pelvic bones are four fingers apart in this female. She is definitely laying!

On our next blog we will give you the results of our first cull. How efficient were they in removing the nonlayers? What was our egg production before and after the cull?

How to Improve Your Duck Egg and Goose Egg Hatch Rate

2011-03-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Thu, Jun 10, 2010 @ 06:34 PM

Modern hatcheries are now adopting the ways of Mother Nature. Only one age of eggs are put in an incubator – just like a hen sitting on eggs in a nest is sitting on only one age of eggs. This is a radical change as the tradition for the past 100 years has been to have multiple ages of eggs in one incubator. If you set duck eggs once a week, for example, you will have some eggs less than one week, some less than two weeks, some less than three weeks and some less than four weeks. This was done so the heat generated by the older eggs was helping heat the younger eggs.

Temperature: But it has now been learned that by filling an incubator with only one age of eggs, you can provide a much better environment for their development. Instead of providing a steady temperature of 99.5 degrees for the entire incubation, you can start at a warmer temperature (100.3 for our duck eggs) and gradually drop down to a much lower temperature at hatching (97.0 for duck eggs).

Carbon Dioxide: To me, the most interesting change with Single Stage Incubation is that carbon dioxide levels are considered very important – and the higher the better at certain points! The air you are breathing right now is about 300-500 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide. For single state incubation, all vents are closed the first 14 days and levels of up to 8000 ppm are desirable!

Consequences: With our new Jamesway incubators installed the spring of 2009, we are experiencing improved hatches of 2-15% of fertile eggs! In addition, the birds are slightly heavier at hatch (less weight is lost during incubation) and they hatch within a smaller “hatch window”. This allows us to mail a slightly heavier bird that has hatched more recently.

What does this mean to you? This means you can probably do single stage incubation in your incubator with your duck and goose eggs! Start with a slightly warmer temperature and then gradually drop it during incubation. Close all vents the first 14 days then gradually open them. Toward the end of incubation (days 22-28) you will need the vents more open than if you have multiple ages in the incubator as all the eggs will be generating extra heat.

For more detailed information on Single Stage Incubation and how you might be able to use the concepts for your incubation, please visit our website at http://www.metzerfarms.com/Articles/SingleStageIncubation.pdf

Testimony to US Postal Commission on Mailing Day Old Poultry

2011-03-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

Originally posted by John Metzer on Sat, May 29, 2010 @ 09:24 AM

This week I spoke in front of the US Postal Regulatory Commission. As you may have heard, they are conducting hearings throughout the United States to discuss the consequences of a Saturday closure. One of their stops was in Sacramento, California.

I made several points with them:

1) The mail order hatchery industry is completely dependent on the US Postal Service to deliver our birds throughout the nation. No one else will deliver day old poultry.

2) I felt their service is excellent as very few orders do not arrive on time and death losses are extremely minimal.

3) Much of the credit goes to their contract with the FedEx, which carries the majority of the birds for the USPS from airport to airport throughout the nation.

4) The hatchery industry can handle nondelivery on Saturday but it is paramount that they not close midweek and keep Saturday open as it takes three continuous days to ship day old poultry successfully: the ship day, the travel day and the delivery day.

5) The mail order hatchery industry is growing – probably one of the few industries that is growing in postage purchases.

My assumption was that they were only considering a Saturday delivery but Commissioner Acton said they had considered closing Wednesday. However, their polls indicated that the vast majority of customers preferred a Saturday closure and that is the only day they are now seriously considering.

In my research for the presentation I did learn that the US Post Office shipped 1.8 million pounds of day old poultry from May 13, 2009 through May 12, 2010. If you add in the adult birds that are mailed, my guess is the total postage paid by the mail order hatcheries is easily over $10,000,000 a year.

For more details on how we mail your birds through the USPS, please visit our website at http://www.metzerfarms.com/ShippingOptions

For more information on the consequences of Saturday closures for you, go to

http://www.usps.com/communications/five-daydelivery/

How to Differentiate African and Toulouse Goslings

2011-03-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

Originally Posted by John Metzer on Thu, Jun 10, 2010 @ 06:34 PM

Oftentimes we are asked how to differentiate Toulouse and African goslings because their appearance is so similar.

The lighter down color in African goslings is grayer and in Toulouse it is more yellow. In the attached picture, the African is standing behind the Toulouse gosling.

The easiest way, however, is by looking at the line where the down meets their beak in front of their eyes. You can see in the attached picture that the line points up toward the top of their head in the African (the gosling on the left) but it is rounded down in the Toulouse.

This concave shape is probably due to the eventual development of the knob at the top of the beak in the African geese.

This same shape is also evident in White Chinese geese, as you can see in the photo showing a White Chinese (on the left) and a Roman Tufted gosling.

Any geese that originate in China and eventually develop a knob (White Chinese, Brown Chinese, African, Super African) will have the concave shape. Any geese developed from the Gray Lag goose of Europe have the convex, rounded down line.

For more information on our geese, please visit our website at http://www.metzerfarms.com.