Baby ducks are cute! And Metzer Farms hatches hundreds of thousands every year
Mark Metzer checks on eggs Saturday, April 4 at Metzer Farms hatchery in Cordova. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
In the ultimate in irony, Marc and Katy Metzer spend most every day surrounded by adorable baby ducks, yet they can’t ever take one home with them to be a new member of the family.
Same goes for their 15 or so employees at Metzer Farms, a family-owned waterfowl and poultry hatchery in Cordova.
That’s because Metzer Farms hatches and ships an estimated million or so ducks, geese, chickens, guineas and even turkeys around the country every year. The Metzers just can’t take the chance that someone with a backyard duck would come to work carrying a disease — bird flu and salmonella top the list — that could then be passed on to those thousands of ducklings that hatch in Cordova every year.
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Jody Callahan
Jody Callahan graduated with degrees in journalism and economics from what is now known as the University of Memphis. He has covered news in Memphis for more than 25 years.
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