Best duck for eggs

[Oregon Blues]

Even if you (generalized you, not anyone specific) do not show, if you want to get efficient egg and meat production, you will have to breed carefully in order to keep egg production up and to get good feed conversion.

If what you are breeding is Silver Appleyards and you only breed for meat, you might lose color, but you will still be getting some pretty good Appleyards, because they are built to be meat and they are bred to have good feed conversion. If you want meat, you will be breeding for the exact same body shape that the SOP is asking for.

As for egg laying, any time anyone uses egg laying as their only criteria, they will eventually end up with small birds and not necessarily good feed conversion. You might lose temperament, too. The heavy production egg layers all seem to be "sensitive", where Appleyards are famous for being very calm-natured.

But if you are starting with Appleyards and breedjng for both good egg laying and good feed conversion with heavy muscling, you should still be breeding some pretty good Appleyards. If you have 2 to choose from and they are both pretty much equal, at that point, you keep the one with better color. You won't get show winners that way, but you will have some good efficient farm ducks.

 

[LightningTFarm]

I started out with Welsh Harlequins from Holderread's because I wanted the eggs and I wanted to have good quality ducks. Not show quality, but good quality. I will be butchering the excess drakes but keeping all of the ducks (only four survived). I am looking to get a show quality drake this winter or spring, which according to Celtic Farms is the best way to assure good results with breeding. I would also like to get some Silver Appleyards for meat, as from what I have read one of those is enough to feed four people, while it would take two WH's. If I cannot get an adult TSQ WH from Holderread's and I have to go the duckling route, I will probably get enough so that I will have some ducks and some drakes, to see if any of the ducks I have now can be replaced with a better quality specimen. At this point this is just a hobby, not a business, but I still want to breed the best ducks possible without going overboard and worrying about every duckling coming out TSQ. I think there is a middle ground here, and that's what I'm aiming for now. Good quality animals without losing my mind over it! I am considering starting to farm mealworms for them, so according to my family I have already lost it!!!

 

[dalepres]

Well, I bought the ducks from Holderread's, so I don't think they're mutts even though I didn't buy top show quality. I will only keep the best drake out of the one's I have, and next spring I plan to buy a TSQ drake from Holderread's. So, I don't plan on breeding ducks that aren't true to breed. I'm just not trying to breed ducks that are necessarily show quality. We want them for eggs and meat, mostly. I don't plan on "just hatching anything", and I never said that.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be argumentative; I was just trying to understand the options and effects. I'm duckless so you can know to pretty much ignore anything I say other than asking how to.

 

[LightningTFarm]

Okay, no problem. I am new to the whole duck thing myself, so I am asking lots of questions. This website is great for getting good information from people who really know what they are talking about. I have waited until my ducks got through with their molt, which they just did, so that I could choose the best looking drake to keep. I am unhappy about the fact that my favorite drake will be a cull, but the white band around his neck is WAY too wide and irregular. Otherwise, he's beautiful and the obvious leader of his little troop. But, breeding the best possible offspring requires hard decisions.

 

[Carebearsmiles]

Interesting info! I'm new to the duck world and this something I was wondering also.

 

[LightningTFarm]

Interesting info! I'm new to the duck world and this something I was wondering also.

Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner, but what exactly is it that you are wondering? About which to keep and breed and which have to be culled?

 

[Blackberry113]

I have WH's and Golden 300 Hybrid Layers. WH's are beautiful, entertaining, and great layers. Although, 300's are better. the '300' in their name comes from their laying ability, they lay about 300 eggs a year and sometimes two a day! Factually, these ducks are one of the TOP LAYING DUCK BREEDS!! They surpass, Khakis, Harlequins, even Runners. (I should know, I used to have Black Runners and Khaki Campbells myself) Cayugas are also another mild tempered excellent layer, and they're a rare breed! (I get all my ducks at Metzer!) I've had Cayugas, Buffs, Runners, Campbells, Harlequins, and 300's.

 

[PtJudeRI]

I have 10 WH's from Metzers, 5 and 5. I got them in April and they began laying by October or so?? They are quite hearty, and great producers. This spring ill incubate and hopefully get another 5 gals or so. Everyone loves the eggs, and I think I'll hit the farmers market next year with the eggs. Very impressed with the birds. Hearty, productive breed.

 

[aberle77]

runners...i like the fawns...they do the best for me

 

[buggymuffin]

We bought our first ducks last spring: 3 Khaki's and 3 Cayuga. The Khakis were picked for their laying ability and the Cayuga for their size (we plan on breeding and eating at some point in the future) and appearance. The first Khaki egg arrived right before Christmas and she has been laying almost daily since. The other khakis joined her over the next month and we were getting 2-3 eggs a day (except for the times they hid them before we could gather them). We had our first Cayuga egg a few days ago and have been getting one a day since.