Grimaud Hybrid Pekin Duck Hatching Eggs

About Us:

Our family started with chicken over 4 years ago for personal use and have expanded our flocks over the years to include turkeys, geese and ducks. We registered our company Horsethief Homestead LLC. and became a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) NPIP/AI clean certified breeder/hatchery early 2023.

NPIP - Why its so Important

The National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) was established in the early 1930's to provide a cooperative industry, state, and federal program through which new diagnostic technology can be effectively applied to the improvement of poultry and poultry products throughout the country. The development of the NPIP was initiated to eliminate Pullorum Disease caused by Salmonella Pullorum which was rampant in poultry and could cause upwards of 80% mortality in baby poultry. The program was later extended and refined to include testing and monitoring for Salmonella typhoid, Salmonella Enteritidis, Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, Mycoplasma Synoviae, Mycoplasma Meleagridis, and Avian Influenza. In addition, the NPIP currently includes commercial poultry, turkeys, waterfowl, exhibition poultry, backyard poultry, and game birds. The technical and management provisions of the NPIP have been developed jointly by Industry members and State and Federal officials. These criteria have established standards for the evaluation of poultry with respect to freedom from NPIP diseases.

In short NPIP/AI clean ensures your are getting healthy stock and shouldn't be hatching chicken with Avian Influenza or Poullorum Disease.

The majority of States requires exports (sellers) to be NPIP certified to sell poultry and poultry products (hatching eggs) across state lines. Non-NPIP sellers shipping eggs from online sales are breaking the law and you the importer can also be held liable if importing poulty or poultry products from an out of state non-NPIP seller.

* If purchasing eggs on ebay or from another site, always ask the seller to provide active NPIP certification information. NPIP certified breeders are proud of thier participation and will willingly provide this information.  If they can't provide it, don't order from them.

Find out more: https://www.poultryimprovement.org/
Map and list of participating breeders: https://www.poultryimprovement.org/statesContent.cfm

Description

This is a fast growing, feed efficient duck. It is of 100% Pekin blood. It is called a hybrid as the males from their Line 50 were crossed with the females from their Line 30 to produce the commercial duckling we sell. The Line 30 ducks are a good sized bird and lay a high number of fertile eggs. The Line 50 ducks are a very large duck with outstanding meat characteristics. 

Quick Stats

Following is the standard production performance of the Grimaud Hybrid:

Age at slaughter, days 49

Live weight, lbs. 8.1

Eviscerated weight, lbs. 5.26

Feed conversion 2.29

Mortality, % 2.5

Breast filet, % 25.5

Note regarding waterfowl eggs

Waterfowl (Ducks & Geese) eggs are inherently dirty.  They aren’t like chickens who usually lay their eggs in clean nest boxes.  Waterfowl lay their eggs all over.  Then usually splash in the pond, walk through the mud, and walk on top of their eggs.  Please don’t expect our waterfowl eggs to be clean.  Dirt shouldn’t affect the hatching as long as it isn’t caked on the egg as to where the egg can’t breathe.  We do our best to scratch off any caked mud/dirt before shipping.  Please do not wash the eggs as this will destroy the bloom allowing bacteria to enter the egg.

Shipping

All eggs are collected daily and shipped fresh. We don’t store eggs to fulfill orders. That means the chances of successful hatching are better as eggs lose their viability the longer, they sit. We ship USPS Priority Mail, flat rate boxes. All eggs are bubble wrapped, placed in a box and padded with shredded paper. This box is then placed in a larger box and padded with shredded paper. Boxes are clearly marked with Hatching Eggs, Fragile, etc. However, we cannot guarantee the viability of the eggs or the success of your hatches. We’ve ordered eggs over the internet USPS priority mail and had them arrive in 3 days another order shipped same method has taken 2 weeks to arrive. Also, shaking or bouncing of the eggs can impact viability, and we have no control of how the package is handled in route. We usually ship within 1-2 days of receiving an order and shipping takes on average 1-3 business days to arrive. We recommend having your eggs held at the Post Office of pick up. This negates your egg bouncing around in the delivery truck and or sitting in the sun/snow on your front porch. We can mark you eggs to “Hold for Pickup with your phone number” if desired. Just make these notes on your order or payment.

Note: We cannot guarantee a hatch rate, due to the nature of shipping, incubation, etc., but are willing to work with you regarding any problems you may have.

Your feedback is appreciated, but please don't leave negative feedback based on poor hatch rates if you experience them, as there are so many factors that can influence your success rate. Leave feedback based on packing, shipping, condition of eggs and buyer/seller communications. We also love to hear about great successes and wish you happy hatching!