This listing is for 1 pair (1 male, 1 female) of Smew
Please read over the Terms and Conditions section before ordering.
All about Smew
Smew are birds of the far north native to Scandinavia. The adult drake is a gloriously marked white bird with fine black lining.
Smew are excellent divers, and feed on mostly fish and invertebrates in their native habitat. In captivity they will need extra protein added to their feed, floating catfish food, or trout pellets are suitable additives.
Like the Hooded Merganser they will also need a good quality of water, a small wading pool may not be adequate for this species.
The drakes do not acquire their adult plumage until their second year, until then they closely resemble the female. Adult females and males in eclipse plumage can be differentiated form juveniles by the black patch around the eye, which will be lacking in the young birds of both sexes.
Smew are not an aggressive species, and can be housed with other waterfowl. Smew/Hooded Merganser crosses have been documented, so care should be taken to keep these two closely related species separate.Smew are cavity nesters, and will use a Wood Duck style box. Breeding season is in early spring. Clutches consist of 6-8 eggs and are incubated for about 28 days.
These Birds have often proved difficult to breed under captive conditions, and the ducklings can be difficult to raise. To get the ducklings off to a good start "wet brooding" is often used and live food such as meal worms may also be helpful.
Because of the special housing and diet needs of this species, along with the difficultly of the young to raise, and the fact that they do not breed until 2 years of year, this is not a species that we would reccomend for the beginner.
Buying from Mallard Lane Farms
When you buy from us you are buying directly from the breeder, which saves you money!
All birds we sell ship directly from our farm , we do not use other farms to drop ship orders for us.
All birds we ship come with our "Live Arrival Guarantee" which is one of the best shipping guarantees in the business.
Rest assured that you can contact the breeder should you have questions. We are knowledgeable breeders of every bird we sell and all birds come with email support for any questions or concerns you may have about your new birds for the entire lifetime of those birds.
Mallard Lane Farms is a NPIP approved farm and is certified AI clean.
Our NPIP # is 63-312.
We hold state and federal permits for the sale of wild waterfowl. Federal paperwork will be sent with all species that require it.
Smew pair
- Before completing your order please read over our shipping policies and the conditions of our "Live Arrival Guarantee" for the shipping option that is available to you according to the time of year you are placing your order.
Orders placed August 1st - April 30th
Orders placed May1st- July 31st
Please also read over all of information contained in this listing.
Initialing the box above constitutes, knowledge, acceptance and understanding of all policies and/or information contained in this listing and on the shipping info pages listed above. If you have any questions please email us with them @ mallardlanefarms@gmail.com before completing your order.