Khaki Campbells: Good Backyard Ducks?

[eggsamillion]

I'm researching what breed we want to have as backyard pets and egg layers. From everything I am reading, Khaki Campbells sound wonderful. I'm wondering if those of you who have had KCs could answer a few questions for me. First, how loud do you find the females to be relative to say, chickens or other duck breeds? Second, how much water do you provide for your Khakis to swim or play in? Last, for backyard pets, do you recommend a drake and a female as a pair, or two female buddy ducks? Thank you!

 

[mariehanson]

Hi eggsamilluon, I currently have two white campbells and one khaki Campbell. I've only had the khaki for a month and she is too young to lay at the moment but I've had the two white ones almost a year. I've never had ducks before so cannot compare to any other breed.

However I find that the campbells are all good natured, very friendly, get along really well and are so incredibly funny!! I get two eggs a day from the older white ducks, decent sized eggs which taste beautiful! They have never skipped a day laying eggs even through winter, although I expect them to stop when they molt. I guess I will get approx 300 eggs a year from each of them!

In terms of noise, I find that when I let the ducks out of their pen to free range on a morning they are quite loud for about 30 seconds. When I come home from work on an evening and go to see them, again they make a bit of a racket but I think this is like a dog who will bark when it greets you. My neighbours have reported that they don't make any noise during the day. They only other time they quack loudly is when a pigeon comes into the garden. They will try and scare it off.

I have a small pond in the garden that i empty and refill once a month. I also have a large cement mixing tub in their pen that gets cleaned once a week. Drinking water is essential and their drinking bowls get changed daily.

I would recommend more than one duck. I would personally go for a couple of females to start with and you can add more later. It isn't recommended to have just one duck with a drake as she will get overmated and it could kill her.

Apart from the mass quantity of poop (which I scoop up with a trowel and throw on the flower and veg beds) I don't have any regrets getting ducks. They are so funny and have very different personalities. The eggs taste X10 better than chicken eggs and I find their maintenance very low and easy. As long as they have food and water available and a secure bedtime house, I don't have any worries leaving them to free range all day. (Although I do have CCTV cameras at my house which I can connect to from my work computer to check up on them but that's just for fun really and because they cheer me up while I'm at work!)

I'll be happy to answer any more questions

 

[eggsamillion]

@mariehanson Wow! Thanks for the great response. Truly appreciated. So one other question for you; I know about the difference in voice between makes and females, and I also know that drakes will eventually develop a drake feather. But with Khakis, where the adult males have a darker, greenish or bronzish head but the females do not, at what age does this feather color difference on the head become clear? Are there any other visual gender differences that mature Khakis have? Thank you!

 

[mariehanson]

Oh dear can't help you here, I only have ducks not drakes so I haven't a clue about their differences. Hopefully a KC drake owner can reply to answer your questions.

 

[toowoombapekins]

khaki campbells can fly too can't they ?
if so it might be something to consider

 

[mariehanson]

When my ducks are feeling feisty or energetic for some reason they will try to fly. You can see them preparing for this, they start by running around like crazy animals, maybe even chasing each other. Then comes the bum squat, a lot of wiggling and then they jump and flap. Sometimes they will try a run and flap but as of yet the world record in my garden has been about a metre off the ground for maybe three metres in length. Nothing really to worry from when the garden has a five foot fence around it. But attempting to fly always gets them a round of applause because they look like they are enjoying themselves and it's funny to watch. Silly little animals.

 

[toowoombapekins]

lol, sounds familiar
my pekins have only recently started doing a similar thing. They stand upright flapping their wings feverishly and then start running and jump into the air. After that they usually do a little victory run - ie run around in a circle with their bill wide open like they are laughing
They only manage to get about a foot off the ground. It's fun to watch

But when I was considering which breed to get, I was a bit undecided between khaki campbells and pekins. I saw a few videos with khaki campbells actually flying in the air (above a shed!). So I wasn't sure if all campbells could do it or not

 

[Carcajou]

Hi eggsamilluon, I currently have two white campbells and one khaki Campbell. I've only had the khaki for a month and she is too young to lay at the moment but I've had the two white ones almost a year. I've never had ducks before so cannot compare to any other breed.

However I find that the campbells are all good natured, very friendly, get along really well and are so incredibly funny!! I get two eggs a day from the older white ducks, decent sized eggs which taste beautiful! They have never skipped a day laying eggs even through winter, although I expect them to stop when they molt. I guess I will get approx 300 eggs a year from each of them!

In terms of noise, I find that when I let the ducks out of their pen to free range on a morning they are quite loud for about 30 seconds. When I come home from work on an evening and go to see them, again they make a bit of a racket but I think this is like a dog who will bark when it greets you. My neighbours have reported that they don't make any noise during the day. They only other time they quack loudly is when a pigeon comes into the garden. They will try and scare it off.

I have a small pond in the garden that i empty and refill once a month. I also have a large cement mixing tub in their pen that gets cleaned once a week. Drinking water is essential and their drinking bowls get changed daily.

I would recommend more than one duck. I would personally go for a couple of females to start with and you can add more later. It isn't recommended to have just one duck with a drake as she will get overmated and it could kill her.

Apart from the mass quantity of poop (which I scoop up with a trowel and throw on the flower and veg beds) I don't have any regrets getting ducks. They are so funny and have very different personalities. The eggs taste X10 better than chicken eggs and I find their maintenance very low and easy. As long as they have food and water available and a secure bedtime house, I don't have any worries leaving them to free range all day. (Although I do have CCTV cameras at my house which I can connect to from my work computer to check up on them but that's just for fun really and because they cheer me up while I'm at work!)

I'll be happy to answer any more questions

eggsamillion!

Good post mariehanson.
My Khaki girls take the winter off and usually molt just before winter so I think the combo of short days and molt creates this condition. I don't give artificial light as they do need some rest.
Mine try to fly but can only go a few feet and not more than three feet off the ground. My drake has gone as far as 50 feet and 4-5 feet off the ground but I think he is too big to do that now.