One of the other Swedish owners on here (tbitt) asked me to put up some pics of my Swedish ducks and critique them. So here they are
I'm going against the Australian Standard.
Below is a Splash or Silver drake (Magellan)
Positive features: Good size, not too small. Not too long in the body but not short looking either - well proportioned. Slight curve to neck (not exaggerated). Nice deep body, with an equally deep chest and rear end (not narrow at the front and deep at the back). Good straight back. Head nice and oval, with pretty straight bill that is not pointing down too much (i.e. not like a Runner). Good leg colour (should be quite orange in the drake). He has no white on his face at all, which is a major plus and very hard to get. He is three years old but is showing no brown feathers (often they have brown or can develop brown with age and this is a major fault). Tail consistently held at a good angle (not too tilted up). He has good lacing on his feathers though it's hard to see (the lacing should be as thin as the line drawn by a sharp pencil and should be in a darker shade of the base colour).
Negative features: He could stand a bit more upright - he stands with his front end a bit low to the ground. Should be about 20 degrees tilted up fro the ground. He does not have white flight feathers - the last two or three should be white. I hope he is carrying the gene for it (it;s a recessive gene). His bib is very blotchy. He has a little green tint to his bill - it ideally should be completely blue, even in a drake.
Black drake (Marco):
Positive features: He is a big boy - a lot of Swedish are too small but not this one. His bib is a good size and fairly neat. He has white flight feathers (but, too many - 5 on each wing....). He is a good solid black with no brown (he is also three years old). Leg colour not too bad (a bit too brown maybe but not a big deal). Although he has a bit of white under the chin it's not much, which is good - I am happy if it stays under the chin and doesn't go up the sides of the bill or down onto the neck.
Negative features: He is too long in the body. These guys should only be 50% longer in the back than they are wide. His back could be flatter - it's a little 'hunched'. His bill is a bit curved - I'd like to see it straighter on the top. His eye is a bit high in his head, could be a fraction lower. Overall, he could be more compact and neater looking. Too many white flights. Could stand a little more upright.
Black duck (LaPerouse):
Positive features:Good shape, not too long, not too short in the body. Not too small but I wouldn't want her any smaller... Mostly evenly deep body. Bib very neat and a very good size. She has the best bib of the group by far. Has white flight feathers (but too many). She is standing a bit more upright in this photo than normal - usually she is at a good angle. Good leg colour (brownish orange in the duck). Neat, oval/rounded head though she has fuzzed her head feathers up in this pic making it look a bit boofy.
Negative features: Bit of white on the face that extends up the sides of her bill.
This duck has 5 eggs in the incubator, due next week.
Black duck (Tasman):
This girl looks like a major scruffball (favourite of the drake, then she went broody and pulled half her feathers out).
Positive features: Bib not too large. Leg colour fine. Good solid black. And she is a wonderful layer!! Close to 100 eggs this season and counting. No brown on her (she is a bit sun-faded in this pic). She has an extremely straight top-line on her bill which is good (though she moved it in this pic so it's blurry). Has white flights (though like the others, too many).
Negative features: Bib has a few uneven patches on the left hand side and bottom. Bit of white on face that is hard to see in this pic but it goes up either side of her bill. Bill a little spotted with lighter colour round the rim (should be even blue all over). She is too small though she doesn't look it in this pic. Breast could be a little deeper - she's a bit skinny up the front end. Too many white flights (5 on each wing). Head could be more oval - it's a bit narrow for my liking. She also carries her tail too upright most of the time - that's not desirable as the tail should be only slightly tilted up.
This duck, on the face of it, is the worst of the bunch (apart from the laying) however she is from a very, very good line of birds. She lays a big egg, so I'm hoping she will throw decent, good sized offspring of a nice type even if she herself could be better. We'll see - she has 5 eggs in the incubator, due in 3 weeks.
Blue duck (Shackleton):
A bad photo because she wouldn't stand still....
Positive features: Neat bib. Good rich blue with not too much black. Solid looking bird of a good size and weight. Evenly deep body. Good leg colour. Touch of white under chin but not much at all.
Negative features: Bib a little to small - should extend a little lower on her chest. I'd like to see a thin dark edge to her feathers - they should be finely laced in a darker blue. Head a bit narrow - could be a bit more domed or less 'snakey'. I am kinda fussy about heads.... Her eye is placed a little high too. No white flight feathers - this is her major fault but I hope she's carrying the gene. She has 9 eggs in the incubator going well so I will find out soon - they are due next week. She is a good layer, plus all the eggs I set of hers are fertile and developing at a million miles an hour so I am hopeful they will produce a strong hatch.
Silver or Splash duck (Freycinet):
Positive features:Really good type (shape) - neat, deep body of a good length and width (yes, her butt is a bit saggy but she is three years old and you are allowed to have a saggy butt at 3
) Neck not too thin and slightly curved (usually...she's holding it a bit straight in this pic, being wary of the camera). She stands at a good angle to the ground. Well rounded/oval head with solid blue bill and eye well placed - top of eye in line with the bill. Her head is the best pf the lot, I think. Good leg colour.
Negative features: Only fault is that she is so white you can't tell what her bib or flight feathers are like!! This duck has not started to lay yet (we are only just starting Spring here) so I haven't been able to set any of her eggs. She is with the black drake, so will produce blue offspring if/when she does lay.
A general positive about all these ducks is that they have good eye colour - all their eyes are brown as they should be.
Please feel free to add your own critique
Below is a Splash or Silver drake (Magellan)
Positive features: Good size, not too small. Not too long in the body but not short looking either - well proportioned. Slight curve to neck (not exaggerated). Nice deep body, with an equally deep chest and rear end (not narrow at the front and deep at the back). Good straight back. Head nice and oval, with pretty straight bill that is not pointing down too much (i.e. not like a Runner). Good leg colour (should be quite orange in the drake). He has no white on his face at all, which is a major plus and very hard to get. He is three years old but is showing no brown feathers (often they have brown or can develop brown with age and this is a major fault). Tail consistently held at a good angle (not too tilted up). He has good lacing on his feathers though it's hard to see (the lacing should be as thin as the line drawn by a sharp pencil and should be in a darker shade of the base colour).
Negative features: He could stand a bit more upright - he stands with his front end a bit low to the ground. Should be about 20 degrees tilted up fro the ground. He does not have white flight feathers - the last two or three should be white. I hope he is carrying the gene for it (it;s a recessive gene). His bib is very blotchy. He has a little green tint to his bill - it ideally should be completely blue, even in a drake.
Black drake (Marco):
Positive features: He is a big boy - a lot of Swedish are too small but not this one. His bib is a good size and fairly neat. He has white flight feathers (but, too many - 5 on each wing....). He is a good solid black with no brown (he is also three years old). Leg colour not too bad (a bit too brown maybe but not a big deal). Although he has a bit of white under the chin it's not much, which is good - I am happy if it stays under the chin and doesn't go up the sides of the bill or down onto the neck.
Negative features: He is too long in the body. These guys should only be 50% longer in the back than they are wide. His back could be flatter - it's a little 'hunched'. His bill is a bit curved - I'd like to see it straighter on the top. His eye is a bit high in his head, could be a fraction lower. Overall, he could be more compact and neater looking. Too many white flights. Could stand a little more upright.
Black duck (LaPerouse):
Positive features:Good shape, not too long, not too short in the body. Not too small but I wouldn't want her any smaller... Mostly evenly deep body. Bib very neat and a very good size. She has the best bib of the group by far. Has white flight feathers (but too many). She is standing a bit more upright in this photo than normal - usually she is at a good angle. Good leg colour (brownish orange in the duck). Neat, oval/rounded head though she has fuzzed her head feathers up in this pic making it look a bit boofy.
Negative features: Bit of white on the face that extends up the sides of her bill.
This duck has 5 eggs in the incubator, due next week.
Black duck (Tasman):
This girl looks like a major scruffball (favourite of the drake, then she went broody and pulled half her feathers out).
Positive features: Bib not too large. Leg colour fine. Good solid black. And she is a wonderful layer!! Close to 100 eggs this season and counting. No brown on her (she is a bit sun-faded in this pic). She has an extremely straight top-line on her bill which is good (though she moved it in this pic so it's blurry). Has white flights (though like the others, too many).
Negative features: Bib has a few uneven patches on the left hand side and bottom. Bit of white on face that is hard to see in this pic but it goes up either side of her bill. Bill a little spotted with lighter colour round the rim (should be even blue all over). She is too small though she doesn't look it in this pic. Breast could be a little deeper - she's a bit skinny up the front end. Too many white flights (5 on each wing). Head could be more oval - it's a bit narrow for my liking. She also carries her tail too upright most of the time - that's not desirable as the tail should be only slightly tilted up.
This duck, on the face of it, is the worst of the bunch (apart from the laying) however she is from a very, very good line of birds. She lays a big egg, so I'm hoping she will throw decent, good sized offspring of a nice type even if she herself could be better. We'll see - she has 5 eggs in the incubator, due in 3 weeks.
Blue duck (Shackleton):
A bad photo because she wouldn't stand still....
Positive features: Neat bib. Good rich blue with not too much black. Solid looking bird of a good size and weight. Evenly deep body. Good leg colour. Touch of white under chin but not much at all.
Negative features: Bib a little to small - should extend a little lower on her chest. I'd like to see a thin dark edge to her feathers - they should be finely laced in a darker blue. Head a bit narrow - could be a bit more domed or less 'snakey'. I am kinda fussy about heads.... Her eye is placed a little high too. No white flight feathers - this is her major fault but I hope she's carrying the gene. She has 9 eggs in the incubator going well so I will find out soon - they are due next week. She is a good layer, plus all the eggs I set of hers are fertile and developing at a million miles an hour so I am hopeful they will produce a strong hatch.
Silver or Splash duck (Freycinet):
Positive features:Really good type (shape) - neat, deep body of a good length and width (yes, her butt is a bit saggy but she is three years old and you are allowed to have a saggy butt at 3
Negative features: Only fault is that she is so white you can't tell what her bib or flight feathers are like!! This duck has not started to lay yet (we are only just starting Spring here) so I haven't been able to set any of her eggs. She is with the black drake, so will produce blue offspring if/when she does lay.
A general positive about all these ducks is that they have good eye colour - all their eyes are brown as they should be.
Please feel free to add your own critique
