Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

I just picked up a decent breeding pair of BEIs and three yearling ducks. I'm new to this breed (but not ducks) and may like to show them down the road. I have some questions if anyone can help out.

I know they are not great layers but how many eggs per season do they lay? When do they come into lay for southern Ontario? I read May-June. Will they become broody, or do I have to incubate?

As far as pens go; I am going to convert my 4x8' meat chicken tractor into their pen. I'm planning on a wire floor on the outdoor part. What wire spacing should I use? Is 1/2 x 1/2" too small to allow manure to go through? should I used 1" x 1/2" for the floor? Does anyone have pictures of their pens they use for bantam ducks? Breeding pens or grow out pens. I'd love to see them.

What should I be looking/breeding for? Maximum green sheen, black legs, black eyes, small size. Any tips you can share would be appreciated.

Does anyone else here raise BEIs?

Thanks, Chris.

well, i'm going to be absolutely no help whatsoever, but wanted to say congrats on the birds

Not much help here either, but I would think the 1/2 wire would be fine. Duck splot is runny, so most should go through.

Contact Grant Calberry on PTO, he is located very close to you and has some excellent Black East Indies. Grant is a super person and also a very good exhibitor and keeper. I know for a fact that Grant would be more than happy to help you out. Good luck. Pete.

Funny you dropped Grant's name, kortispoultry. That's who I bought them from. He is getting out of them apparently. He has a lot of birds...! Nice set up. Great guy. We had a good chat while I was there but questions came up after I got home. I've found some answers to my questions now doing some online research. I still can't find when they typically come into lay however.

I feel more confident about my purchases now from Grant. Some of them do look like great ducks. Can't wait to start hatching some little ones from the best pair! :smiley-char026:

I'll try and get some pictures of them on here next week.

Chris.

Your birds will get white on them as they mature.
Do not try to breed it out, it is required to get good green sheen on the feathers if you breed it out then you will have black birds with no green sheen.

Canard wrote:QR_BBPOST Funny you dropped Grant's name, kortispoultry. That's who I bought them from. He is getting out of them apparently. He has a lot of birds...! Nice set up. Great guy. We had a good chat while I was there but questions came up after I got home. I've found some answers to my questions now doing some online research. I still can't find when they typically come into lay however.

I feel more confident about my purchases now from Grant. Some of them do look like great ducks. Can't wait to start hatching some little ones from the best pair! :smiley-char026:

I'll try and get some pictures of them on here next week.

Chris.

That's just great Chris and I wish you the best with all the young ones you raise! Pete.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, advice and kind words. It will be a learning experience for sure. I'll try and get some pictures this weekend and get them up here next week. I hope they fair well in this -25 degree cold front coming in on the weekend. Brrrr...

So an update on my BEI project. I had a run of bad luck with them this summer. I got a decent amount of eggs from them. I tried incubating 3 batches but did not have a lot of success. I had a few females hatch. I tried letting the ducks sit themselves but they would interrupt each other and abandon the nests for long periods of time so they failed as well. Then I had a fox come through and grab a few including my only male. They were stubborn over a few nights and would not come off the pond with the rest of the big ducks. roosting on the shoreline and not on the water did them in I guess. I do like these little ducks and wish to have a productive flock next spring. So, does anyone on here know of anyone that may have an extra decent drake they may be willing to part with?

Thanks, Chris.

AHHHH SHOOT! What a bummer! sorry to hear about your loss!