Cayuga + Pekin = Rouen?

[StBob]

I have raised these 4 ducklings from eggs which are now 7 weeks old. Their parents are an all white Pekin momma and a black/green Cayuga papa with white chest flecks. There appear to be 2 colorings. There are 2 brown feathered ducks with yellow feet, one somewhat darker than the other. The other two are mostly black with white check flecks but already have dark green heads.

If I didn't know better I would say the kids are Rouens. It's unlikely the Pekin bred with a mallard or Rouen as I got them (from the same flock) when they were sexually immature well before she started laying eggs or the male went green. They were also quite "active" before brooding (which the Pekin did all by herself).

Anyone have a similar experience? I suppose the mallard genes could be recessive and came out in the ducklings. Also any guesses on sex? They stick together so hard to tell their quacks apart though the bigger paler brown one is probably a female on that basis. Here are some pics.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have raised these 4 ducklings from eggs which are now 7 weeks old. Their parents are an all white Pekin momma and a black/green Cayuga papa with white chest flecks. There appear to be 2 colorings. There are 2 brown feathered ducks with yellow feet, one somewhat darker than the other. The other two are mostly black with white check flecks but already have dark green heads.

If I didn't know better I would say the kids are Rouens. It's unlikely the Pekin bred with a mallard or Rouen as I got them (from the same flock) when they were sexually immature well before she started laying eggs or the male went green. They were also quite "active" before brooding (which the Pekin did all by herself).

Anyone have a similar experience? I suppose the mallard genes could be recessive and came out in the ducklings. Also any guesses on sex? They stick together so hard to tell their quacks apart though the bigger paler brown one is probably a female on that basis. Here are some pics.

Probably too young to tell sexes yet but they sure are pretty, a very nice mix.

 

[buff goose guy]

Well rouens come from mallads that were so domesticated that they became flightless and fat, lol

Thebirds you have look close to rouen but there are quite a few markers to its not one. , on the one that looks most rouen it has a dark tale almost black, that would not be on a rouen and the other one has not identified ring/ its head color just goes down without a large i dentifying ring which as 7 weeks would start to form

Hope i helped

 

[EggsnQuackers]

The black duck with the chest flecks is not a Cayuga. And, you cannot get a Rouen by crossing a Pekin and a Cayuga, or by crossing a Pekin and a Mallard, or any other way besides breeding a Rouen to a Rouen. You might end up with ducks having plumage similar to a Rouen, but they are not Rouens. They would be crosses. Breeds are created over several generations.

 

[buff goose guy]

Actually female cayugas can have white on their chests and still be pure cayuga.

 

[EggsnQuackers]

The white on female cayugas comes in random feathers on the breast and body, not bibs like in the photo. I would expect to see more white feathers in other places on the bird if it was, infact, a purebred cayuga. And I certainly wouldn't want to see that much white at only 7 weeks old.

 

[StBob]

thanks all for replying - I didn't actually think I had managed to breed pure Rouen's from Cayuga+Pekin but more likely some Rouen or Mallard genes might have come out from distant mallard ancestors. The 2 brown ones certainly don't look anything like a Cayuga or a Pekin. The lady who bought all 4 said that she thought they looked more like Appleyard ducks which is not a breed you see much in Australia. Anyway they have moved out of my backyard to a farm. Just in time as Wendi has at least 1 egg and maybe 3 hatched this morning which I can see through the door of the Quack House

 

[sourland]

The two black birds are drakes, and the two brown birds are hens - I'm 90% certain on that.

 

[buff goose guy]

What makes you say that ?

 

[sourland]

What makes you say that ?

Bill color - In my experience this sort of cross produces drakes with more greenish bills and ducks with brown/black bills.