Mandarin Duck advice

[Duckchick2011]

Okay, I have been dying to get some mandarin ducks. They are sooo beautiful and sooo cute and just on the whole sooo awesome

. My whole family is in on the plan(or at least they agree that mandarin's are awesome

) I am considering purchasing some hatching eggs off ebay, I already have a neighboor willing to lend me a broody hen, and in the middle of plans for a good duck pond, but thought I would get some advice on their care, maintanance and overall character before hand.

I have been wanting to go through with this for two years and have done ALOT of reading but I still feel it is not enough...

Any advice is welcome, I want to get this right the first time...

 

[Jeserah]

I chased one down 2 neighborhood blocks a couple of years ago because it wasn't pinioned, hehe. Just remember to take action to make them flightless somehow (whether by pinioning or regular clipping) because they will fly away

Good luck!

 

[Duckchick2011]

LOL, I would have had a heart attack

.

I am on the fence between clipping and pinioning...pinioning sounds painful, destructive, and well iffy, but it will make sure the birds stand no chance of flying away and getting themselves killed...clipping I like better but it also means I am running a risk...

 

[Jeserah]

Yeah, if you're clipping then your mandarins should be well adjusted toward people or else you'll have a difficult time of it (sneaky lil buggars haha). If you pinion right as a baby it's not so bad. Remember that it's only temporary pain so that there can be long term benefits, i.e. no neighborhood chases, lol. Pinioning doesn't really affect how they look though, so I wouldn't worry about that.

 

[Duckchick2011]

I am doing the whole hatch imprint thing so they will be very human adjusted...but i think I will just go ahead and get the whole pinioning thing done with(by my dad or my vet), I just feel funny about it, will they still be able flap about,
like if a creature ever gets into my pen will they be able to flap away from them, not fly, but you know...escape by means other than flat out running...I don't want my birds flying away but I don't want them to be completely helpless otherwise, you know.

...Aside from the flying issue, any other advice? Like, do mandarins make good companions or are the strictly ornamental (in other words will I be able to handle and work with my ducks or (like with my quail) are they kinda hands off)

I mean, from first hand experience,
do mandarins form an attachment to you that reaches into their adult years...or do they become flighty and skittish. I have read that they tame well, I just thought I would ask someone who really knew( I read quail tame well and they won't let me touch them

)(I still love the little buggers though, very fun to listen to in the morning

)

 

[toejam]

I got my mandarins saturday, so im no expert, but ive read up a lot on them.

To me, eggs aren't the way to go. How much are the eggs? I would personally buy a started or breeding pair. Ornamental duck eggs don't ship very well.

It will be VERY VERY hard to make them imprinted to humans. They are wild. It's like sorta like trying to tame a ringneck pheasant. You may be able to get close to them, but won't be like a domestic duck that will let you pick em up and what not. In most cases they will be only oranmental .

Now, you can leave them full winged( not clip or pionioned) if you have netting on the pen. If do do decide to do something with their wings, pinion them because it is only 1 time you put them through stress, instead of catching them every so often and give them more stress. Plus pinioning is easier since it's easier to catch a duckling than an adult. Trust me. I ha to catch one flying inour garage

That's my 2 cents on that.

If you have any other questions just ask.

Hope this helped,
Justin

 

[Matapatos]

They will still be fairly wild, they'll probably never want you to pick them up, no matter how much time you spend with them. I have a pinioned hen and I feel bad every time I see her... She still tries to fly but just flips over. Best thing is net the whole thing, top to bottom, and leave them full winged, IMO. If you have to clip or pinion, I'd pinion. Less maintenance and a permanent solution. I just feel bad for mine... And like Justin said, its much better to start with a breeding pair or two. The eggs are tough to handle and don't handle stress very well.

Beautiful birds, but not domesticated like pekins, runners, etc. They will want more time preening and standing around, will want and need cleaner water, and less disturbances from noises and people. They like seclusion...

Travis

 

[toejam]

If you do build an aivary( which I highly recommend) make sure to make it bigger than you need, for more than mandies, but for teal and others!!

lol

 

[Jeserah]

yeah, when they try to get away while pinioned, they do a mid-air somersault. it's a little pathetic, to be sure.

Like others said, you will not be able to tame all of them. They are really flighty and nervous just by nature. If you want them to imprint on you, then you will have to raise them separate from each other, but then that's kind of sad. I would raise the flock but keep one as a pet and separate it for a time, diaper train it and when it's grown keep it with it's family, if you want. Otherwise, you'll have your own, awesome flock to watch but never be able to really get close to.

 

[destinduck]

Duckchick. Pinioning should be done right when born, is forever and yes are helpless only to run to get away. Its easy for you to do. Clipping works great ,easy for you to do and you only have to do it once a year. And if you change your mind about the flying part... after they molt the next year they are flying around the pen. I personally like all my birds fullwinged and have the pens fully enclosed. Thats part of the beauty of them. Flying up in their nest box and around the pen. They can be real friendly and get right under your feet but as far as you picking one up.Well lets just say that is rare for ANY duck domestic or wild type to like to be picked up like a dog.Also when they like to be picked up they were raised 99% of the time by their self only. Always bear in mind eggs are iffy at best because of alot of factors. One just being for mandies and other wild types is they dont do good from day 1 incubation in an incubator. They usually have to be started under a broody for at the very least 10 days.Even if you get adults the more time you spend with them the friendlier they become. They are a very easy duck to keep and mix good with most other ducks. I have adult pairs for sale for 60 (pick up only)till fall. To hot to ship. I dont sell eggs anymore just because of the too many factors involved in it. Good luck whatever you decide to do. HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!