In response to the thread: The Truth Behind Crested Ducks

[duckyfromoz]

I will add my 2 cents worth... Dogs... horses... cats... budgies.. Doesnt matter what you keep there is going to be something that CAN effect your breed of choice in some way. Some dogs breeds are more prone to hip problems... people dont stop breeding them. But knowing about the issues is the most important thing.


Anywho...... For those of you that love them...are responsible with the breeding.... and love your duckieshere is one of the fellows i hatched this year. I need to update this fellows photos- he is gorgeous now he has finished his molt.

 

[gritsar]

I will add my 2 cents worth... Dogs... horses... cats... budgies.. Doesnt matter what you keep there is going to be something that CAN effect your breed of choice in some way. Some dogs breeds are more prone to hip problems... people dont stop breeding them. But knowing about the issues is the most important thing.


Anywho...... For those of you that love them...are responsible with the breeding.... and love your duckieshere is one of the fellows i hatched this year. I need to update this fellows photos- he is gorgeous now he has finished his molt.

Adorable

 

[missnu01]

Aren't crested ducks fine as long as only one parent carries the gene for being crested? So a crested to non crested breeding would result in chicks that were alright, with about 1/3 being crested themselves, yes?

 

[bibkel]

I found this thread because I was wondering what kind of duckling I just bought. The feed store had no CLUE what breed it is, and some were crested and some were not. This one, we are calling it a he, looks like a rouen but has a yellow crest on the back part of his head. Personally, I am hoping this will be my new house duck, as my other duck was killed by my dog. Not the dog's fault, he was in his crate while the duck was in the yard...being only 13 months old I KNEW I could not trust him. (my pit mix is fine with them) A friend got the bright idea to let him OUT of his crate and into the yard, "cuz he seemed like he wanted to go outside". Well, duh!
My daughter caught the dog in the act, and he understood he was on our poopy list. Oh well.

This little guy does not have a soft head under the tuft, but I don't know if that may develop over time. I had no CLUE that is was a deadly mutation, so this guy really needs to be a house duck. We have other breeds in the yard, including our first runner...so cute!

All in all, I am glad we picked him up. He is darling and he is already (45 minutes home) peeping rather than panicking. He is about 3 days old, I think, based on size and development. Most of ours are babies from our own. This guy SCREAMED out that he wanted a new home.

No clue what to name him....ideas?


Thanks for the info!

 

[RugenerGooser]

I couldn't have said it better! Keep the little cuties, but for pities sake, don't even consider breeding a crested to a crested. Ever ever ever. Thats nothing but a death sentance for 75% of the offspring.

Gotta love the duck fro though. LOL

EXACTLY! As someone who owns Crested ducks. I agree. I focus my breeding programs on my other duck breeds. One should never breed Crested ducks together. It is just wrong...period! Look at how breeders are getting, though. Let's miniaturize everything. I cannot tell you how many genetic problems we have seen in animals as a result of that.

January

 

[RugenerGooser]

I found this thread because I was wondering what kind of duckling I just bought. The feed store had no CLUE what breed it is, and some were crested and some were not. This one, we are calling it a he, looks like a rouen but has a yellow crest on the back part of his head. Personally, I am hoping this will be my new house duck, as my other duck was killed by my dog. Not the dog's fault, he was in his crate while the duck was in the yard...being only 13 months old I KNEW I could not trust him. (my pit mix is fine with them) A friend got the bright idea to let him OUT of his crate and into the yard, "cuz he seemed like he wanted to go outside". Well, duh!
My daughter caught the dog in the act, and he understood he was on our poopy list. Oh well.

This little guy does not have a soft head under the tuft, but I don't know if that may develop over time. I had no CLUE that is was a deadly mutation, so this guy really needs to be a house duck. We have other breeds in the yard, including our first runner...so cute!

All in all, I am glad we picked him up. He is darling and he is already (45 minutes home) peeping rather than panicking. He is about 3 days old, I think, based on size and development. Most of ours are babies from our own. This guy SCREAMED out that he wanted a new home.

No clue what to name him....ideas?


Thanks for the info!

Sounds like a Crested Rouen. You cannot always feel the opening in the skullcap. It is, however, there.

 

[RugenerGooser]

I really do wish people would stop putting words in my mouth. To clarify I have never said that crested duck owners were bad people or that they should be ashamed of having crested ducks. If people would take the time to read my other posts regarding the subject they would know that I have also owned a crested duck in the past. While I don't personally agree with the breeding of crested ducks the purpose of the thread was never to down the owners or breeders of crested ducks. The last line of my post was:


That was the exact point of my thread. To let potential owners know the things that could happen when dealing with a crested duck. When I had a crested duck I had no idea what the crest was or what it's effects were. I had to watch several ducklings slowly die from neurological issues caused from being crested. I would not wish that on anyone. If people want to own crested ducks then that is their right.Just like it is my right to not want to own them. I only want to inform future duck owners of some of the potential issues they could run into once they own them. Many people keep crested ducks and have absolutely no problems associated with them. I'm glad that they do not have any to deal with any of there issues but that does not mean that will apply to everyone else's experience,


In reality it's all just about choices. You can choose to keep or breed them or not. As long as everyone has information from both sides of the issue then people can make a reasonable decision on their own.

Ken...I totally understand where you are coming from.

January

 

[ChaoticCritters]

Oh dear. I bought 2 ducklings at the feed store who told me they were Pekin ducks. The one duck almost immediately grew a poof on his head which I assumed were his feathers starting to grow in until I realized that his white feathers were all coming in and the poof wasn't going away. Inquired at the feed store who told me I had a crested duck (feed store guy actually told me some irresponsible person must have sold me it.... uh yeah, YOU).

So far my duck seems perfectly normal compared to the other Pekin, just has a poofy head. Any idea what his chances for living a normal ducky life are? He's our favorite duck, such a crazy, goofy lil dude that LOVED to swim in the kitchen sink and be blow dried after until he just plain didn't fit in our sink any more! If it's chilly out, he still comes up to the back door for a good blow dry after swimming!

 

[duckyfromoz]

Crested ducks normally hatch with the crest already evident ChaotisCritters. Strange that you say yours didnt have the crest appear until after it was purchased. Your crested has every chance of a completely normal life. Love him and treat him the same as your other duck-

 

[ChaoticCritters]

It's possible he had evidence of the crest... he was completely covered in poop when I bought him. I couldn't tell anything about him really, just a big sticky, matted mess. Kids were begging and I just couldn't leave them there like that. They were the only 2 ducks left and were jammed in a tiny tub with a bunch of big 'ol roosters that people had returned. My friend has a giant pond and other ducks so my original plan was to give them a good bath, keep them at my house for a few weeks to ensure they were healthy and then bring them to her place. Only they were so adorable and sweet, especially the crested one that just adores being blow dried and cuddled, that we built them a house, dug them a pond and they are permanent residents here.

Yeah, I'm a sucker... but every farm NEEDS a few ducks right?