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The African goose originated from the wild Asian Swan Goose of China. It was introduced into Europe in the late 1700s and into the USA in the mid 1800s. The original Lion Head breed of goose in China is the same shape and coloration as our African geese. How these geese from China got the name African has always been puzzling. Apparently, it was usual to apply the term "Guinea" to anything foreign and of uncertain origin. As Guinea is off the coast of Africa, it appears the African goose got its name in a similar way.

Daffy Duck, of Warner Brothers fame, is probably a Black Swedish - the only difference is that Daffy has white on his neck and a Black Swedish has white on its chest.

The Cayuga breed is thought to have been developed from the wild Black Duck breed in the region of Lake Cayuga in New York. This makes it one of the few duck breeds originating in the United States. Prior to the arrival of the Pekin breed, they were the bird of choice for meat production in the Northeast. Once the Pekin arrived with its white feathers and cleaner appearing carcass, the Cayuga quickly lost its appeal. They remain a very hardy duck and many of their eggs have varying degrees of gray in the shell color. On rare occasions they will lay a pure black egg.

Because of their fast growth rate, large size and white feathers, Embden are the most common goose used for commercial meat production. Their feet and beak are orange but their eyes are a distinct blue. Due to their large size and breeding, they are a strong breed. At hatching time you can be quite accurate in sexing the day olds from their coloration as the gray down in the males is lighter than in the females. As adults, however, both sexes are pure white and the only way you can determine the sex is the males are normally larger, more pompous and proud in their carriage and shriller in their voices (as with other goose breeds). Commercial Meat and Egg Production Brochure If you are looking for locally raised duck, goose, or chicken, visit our Local Meat Producers page. If you raise meat birds from Metzer Farms for sale in your area, we will add your farm to this list. Instructions for requesting your listing are also on the Local Meat Producers page.

All Runners were originally bred in Southeast Asia for high egg production and excellent mobility. There is evidence of their ancient ancestry from stone carvings in Java that are over 2000 years old. These ducks are still being used as they were then. Flocks of ducks are herded daily from field to field eating waste rice, weed seeds, insects, slugs and other bugs. They are then put in a bamboo pen at night where they lay their eggs and are released the following morning to clean other fields. During the course of their lives the ducks may cover hundreds of miles in their travels. Therefore, a hardy mobile duck is absolutely necessary - you will not find a better foraging duck than the Runner.

The Khaki Campbell is one of the more famous and popular duck breeds due to its excellent egg production. It was introduced in 1901 by Mrs. Adele Campbell of Gloucestershire, England. She experimented with Runners crossed with Rouen and Mallards but never revealed the exact genetic makeup of her Campbells. The advantage over the pure Runner was a more useful carcass for meat and improved egg production. Though they have been turned into an exhibition type breed, she was adamant that her birds were designed for production, not the exhibition hall. Commercial Meat and Egg Production Brochure

Mixed gosling orders contain our choice of breeds. Whatever is left over at the end of the day is used for the mixed gosling orders. They can include anything from the common Embden to the rare Sebastopol. We try to include several breeds but it might be only one breed if that is all we have. You can ask that they be sexed but you cannot select breeds.

One of our most popular duck egg products is our balut (Filipino) or hot vit lon (Vietnamese). This is a duck egg that has been incubated for 17 days and removed from the incubator for boiling and consumption. It is considered a delicacy and highly nutritious. We remove the eggs from the incubator, candle them to ensure quality, and ship or mail them the same day. If you have a party for which you need the eggs by Friday or Saturday, contact us as we should ship by Express Mail to ensure they arrive on time. We do not cook the balut. Please Note: We cannot accept orders on the site for duck eggs shipping to Hawaii . If you live in Hawaii, please phone us to order salted eggs or balut.

We are now selling our duck eggs under a new brand, Olinday Farms. These are the same great duck eggs you are used to eating but with a new name. We feel it is important to keep our Metzer Farms' brand focused on day-old ducklings while developing a stand-alone brand for fresh duck eggs. Olin Metzer bought the first flock of ducks in our family over 60 years ago and we wanted to celebrate him and the "all day egg" with Olinday Farms duck eggs.

Rouens are probably the second most popular breed in North America. They are very beautiful and closely resemble wild Mallards in coloration. The original breed was developed in the Normandy area of France and was given the name Rouen after the city of Rouen. They are second to only Pekins and Muscovy in size and are said to have the most flavorful meat. We have sold our Rouens in the past to growers that have a very specialized meat market. The Rouen is very calm and has a fairly lean carcass.

The Silver Appleyard breed was developed by Reginald Appleyard of England in the 1930's. Among the heavy weight ducks, Silver Appleyards and the Saxony Ducks are considered the most active foragers.

The Welsh Harlequin is a fairly new breed, developed by Leslie Bonnett in Wales from two off-colored Khaki Campbell ducklings in 1949. They came to the United States in 1968 and were accepted into the American Poultry Association in 2001 in the Light Duck class. They are becoming a very popular breed due to their multipurpose characteristics. They are calm, inquisitive and excellent foragers. They seem to be the calmest bird on our farm.

As with the African goose, the Chinese goose originates in China from the wild Asiatic Swan goose. The most distinguishing feature of the Chinese and African geese is their raised knob. Interestingly, the wild Swan goose does not have this feature. It must have been developed after domestication. As the knob is soft skin and not scaly, it is warm to the touch. White Chinese are the most prolific egg laying geese and it is not unusual to have them lay in the fall or winter. Earlier records have egg production of 50-60 eggs per year, with exceptional birds laying 100 eggs. This is now extremely rare, with most Chinese geese laying from 30-45 eggs.

The White Layer was developed several years after the Golden 300 Hybrid Layer Ducks as some of our customers wanted a white egg laying bird. The advantage of the white color to these customers is the embryo is a lighter, yellow color which is preferable to the variety of colors in the Golden 300 embryo for balut production. Balut are duck eggs incubated to 17 days, removed from the incubator and cooked. This is a delicacy among some Filipinos, Vietnamese and other southeast Asia populations. Commercial Meat and Egg Production Brochure

NEW!! Fresh Duck Eggs from Olinday Farms! Our same delicious fresh duck eggs, with a new name and free shipping! ORDER FRESH DUCK EGGS FROM OLINDAY FARMS We are now selling our duck eggs under a new brand, Olinday Farms. These are the same great duck eggs you a...

Not a happy topic, but let’s talk about Avian Influenza (AI). In February 2022, it was found that a of strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) had entered the United States and was detected first in Indiana. Since then, HPAI has been found in over 40+ states...

Albumen - The egg white. Blood Feather - The stage of growth in a feather where the vein in a live quill carries nutrients to the growing feather. Blood Ring - Circular blood remnant visible when an egg is candled, signifying that the embryo has died at a young ag...

DRAFT BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR USE OF DUCKS AS APPLE SNAIL CONTROL IN LO`I KALO. On January 25, 2005 a meeting was held with taro farmers, duck breeders, snail specialists, avian biologists, Division of Forestry and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representatives i...

October 3, 2022 Dear Customers and Friends of Metzer Farms, This past weekend was a tough one. Despite our best efforts and strict biosecurity protocols, we received the unfortunate news that a flock at our farm in Gonzales, California tested positive for highly...

Chicken and Ducks - Together? A spotlight article written by John Metzer for Chicken Whisperer Magazine. October 2022 What Duck is Right for You? Another article by John Metzer for Chicken Whisperer Magazine. October 2022 Duck Farm Dynasty An article about Metzer F...

Information We Collect We may collect information (including name, address, telephone number, email address and, when necessary, credit card information) when you: - Place an order from our catalog or on our website - Return an item or make an exchange - Inquire about o...

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{"contents": [ { "type": "image", "value": "blog/HPAI2.png" }, { "type": "copy", "value": "Written on October 3, 2022Dear Customers and Friends of Metzer Farms,This past weekend was a tough one. Despite our best efforts and strict biosecurity protocols, we...

{"contents": [{ "type": "copy", "value": "\u201cWhat are guard geese, and do you carry them?\u201d We get this question quite a lot from customers and we thought it would be nice to explore this topic a little bit more in depth.Guard geese are domesticated geese used as guard animals for far...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "We grow more than ducklings at Metzer Farms. We grow families." }, { "type": "copy", "value": "Many companies boast that they have a family-friendly atmosphere, but few can back it up with proof of their commitmen...

{"contents": [ { "type": "image", "value": "blog/Art72Pic1.jpg" }, { "type": "copy", "value": "The Rouen has gone by a few contested names. Initially it was named after \u201cRhone\u201d, an area in France known for its food and wine (though what part of F...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": " Hatching your own eggs is a wonderful experience. Caring for the eggs, making sure the temperature is just right, ensuring there is enough humidity, and then going through the nerve wracking experience of watching the chicks\u2019 strug...

{"contents": [ { "type": "image", "value": "blog/Art76Pic1.jpg" }, { "type": "copy", "value": "The Khaki Campbell was first bred in the late 1800s by Adele Campbell in Gloucestershire, England. She had crossed her Fawn and White Indian Runners with Rouens ...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "NPIP stands for the National Poultry Improvement Plan and is a cooperative agreement between the federal government and poultry producers. It was started in the 1930s to eliminate Pullorum disease by encouraging farms to test and elimina...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": " We all want good clean feed for our birds, but sometimes mold has a tendency of appearing. Knowing what is dangerous, how to identify it, and how to treat it is a priority should you come across a mold problem in your feed.\r\n\r\nThe m...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "Around mid Autumn we get a lot of questions on egg laying. Many duck owners do not know why their ducks have slowed down or stopped laying all together. The simple answer is that ducks are similar to chickens as laying is heaviest during...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "Less than one year ago, a company from the Netherlands, Hatchtech, introduced a new type of hatcher. What is so special about this hatcher? It has food and water in the hatcher so the birds can start eating and drinking immediately after...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "The following blog was written when the USPS was considering increasing the postage drastically for live animals in 2013. They did not act on this proposal. We have no idea if or when they will reconsider it.\r\n\r\nThe Post Office is ...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "We blood test annually for pullorum for our NPIP membership, 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 chicken...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "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 opposi...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "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." }, { "type": "image", "v...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "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 a $40 gi...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "I was given an opportunity the other day that I couldn't pass up.\r\nMost 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...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "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 ...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "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 ...

{"contents": [ { "type": "copy", "value": "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 nece...

I am incredibly happy with my little mail-order ducklings! They arrived super active and healthy. I was nervous about what to expect when I picked them up at post office- never ordered birds online before, and across the country, too. No need! They were perky and happy and ready to go!! They ...

Ducklings and Guinea arrived safe and alive despite going across country. Arrived within 2 days. The Black Swedish Ducklings are adorable and thriving and super fast runners. Absolutely gorgeous. The guineas are thriving and very cute Keets. Got one bonus keet to. They took extra work showing the...

I just wanted to post a testimonial on your website. I ordered 10 ducklings and they arrived happy and healthy. This is the first time I've ordered from a hatchery and I'm very pleased with my new baby ducklings.

We bought 10 Welsh Harlequin duck eggs from you a couple of years ago. Arrived in Alaska beautifully and 10 were fertile (you sent 12). Almost 3 years later, we have adored our ducks and this breed is the sweetest.

I want you to know I've spent hours on Metzer Farms website, learning all I can, to make my duck's lives better. Thank you for all your info you put out there to help those of us who need it! Metzer Farms is the greatest!

Most of your testimonials are from new owners, but we wanted you to know that years later, we still appreciate the help and advice on breed selection and if I could convince my partner to get a third goose, you will have our business again.

Thank you so much for all of your kindness and help. I'm taking measures now to test and fix the incubator. Thank you for everything.

I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know my geese arrived this morning healthy, happy and ready to go! They are doing wonderfully and have the greatest little personalities! Thank you for my beautiful babies!

I received 5 Silver Appleyard ducklings two days ago. I just wanted to let you know that they arrived safely and they are the sweetest little birds! They are all healthy, eating, drinking and of course pooping like crazy. Thanks for my feathery cuties!

I found Metzer online to ship us 3 new Pekins as the stores around us were out for the season. They shipped them in this perfectly figured out box. They were the 2nd cutest things I've seen (my kids are the 1st only by a hair). They were healthy, happy, and gloriously wonderful.

We bought 10 Welsh Harlequin duck eggs from you a couple of years ago. Arrived in Alaska beautifully and 10 were fertile (you sent 12). Almost 3 years later, we have adored our ducks and this breed is the sweetest.

I just wanted to post a testimonial on your website. I ordered 10 ducklings and they arrived happy and healthy. This is the first time I've ordered from a hatchery and I'm very pleased with my new baby ducklings.

You guys are my "go to" for poultry whenever I know of someone who's looking to add to their flock, for general information on poultry or QUALITY livestock. People always tell me how beautiful my ducks are. All the years I've had Metzer Farms ducks, I've never lost any to diseases or had any malform...

I just wanted to thank all of you at Metzer Farms. We had an unfortunate incident at my small farm and my beloved ducks were killed. I ordered 2 babies from you and could not be happier! While we will always miss Stella and Aflac, the 2 babies you sent us have brought back our joy of having ducks. T...

Thank you. They the sweetest addition to our family. They love music and enjoy the Florida heat.

I bought my 8 mallards when they were less then a week old from a local feed store. My thought was I would raise these ducks so I could give back to the earth what my husband (a avid duck hunter) has taken away. The store had only 8 left so I bought all 8 expecting some of them not to make it sin...

She's my little white duck and I love what I got. <br><br> I have a little duck named Sofy Sue<br> The sweetest little Pekin that never flew<br> She has orange webs flapping on the floor<br> When I think she's...

Oh, don't get me wrong, I love my little flock of 10 geese. But they are trying at times, particularly when they got into my garden patch and ate all my pumpkin, watermelon and sunflower starters to the ground. They even went for the pepper plants but stopped short after a few bites. I don't herd m...

I purchased "Pong" in the Spring of 1995, when I was in third grade. My father had found a stray and lonely Rouen duckling wandering in the roadway, and brought it home for me to raise. I decided "Ping" (Yes, like the Duck in the book) needed a companion. Ping and Pong became the best of frien...