Saxony Breeders! Advice Needed!

Hey folks, I'm really new to ducks and recently hatched out a small group of Saxony ducks. I have 3 drakes with current weights of 7.6 lbs, 7.2 lbs, & 6. 6 lbs, and 4 ducks I managed to weigh one and she was 5.9 lbs. They are now almost 4 months, and from what I understand they should be nearly done growing in their adult plumage.

I now have the difficult decision of narrowing them down to a small breeding pair or trio and I'm looking for advice on which birds I should choose to keep. I would like to show them, but don't really have a clue of their quality, so if any Saxony breeder could tell me what they see in my ducks and what to look for in general for the Saxony breed.

Thank you in advance from a waterfowl newbie.


^ Drake #1 The "medium" drake, very slow to feather out

^ Drake #2 The "big" drake, first to hatch, first to feather out, always has been the biggest


^ Drake #3 The "medium" drake

^ Duck #1, very light coloration, completely cream/white chest, and very distinct eye stripes


^ Duck #2, tan throat patch, and white half "neck stripe"

^ Duck #3, least distinct facial stripes, and white spotting/bib on her chest



^ Duck #4 cream throat patch



^ This pic shows the ducks colors better than others. Duck #1 in top left corner, Duck #3 in the lower mid left, and Duck #2 in the top middle.

^ Drake #3 again

^ Drake #1 again

^ Drake #2 again

Hi I know nothing about Saxony other than they are gorgeous ducks, and looks like not many on here have them, but if I was you I'd look up the SOP on this breed that way you can judge your ducks by that as far as weight and coloring then make a decision for your trio. especially if your wanting to show them because SOP will matter for sure then. All the best and maybe with me even posting here will draw some ones attention if they have this breed.

The big Drake #1 and Duck #1 and #4. I'm going by size/color, since you can only tell so much by photo. For better evaluation, you'd have to set up a photo box/cage and do each duck alone. Drake #2 has a nice balanced shape, he may weigh more with additional feeding... depends on if the big one is controlling the feed pan or not. If I remember correctly, the rust coloring on the drake's chest shouldn't extend too far back, more like #2 than #1.

The only way to know for sure is to read through the SOP in the book. It's strictly copyrighted, so no one can post it in full nor is it published online. The breed has been around for a awhile, so it would be fine to get an older edition. If you're really serious about it, that's the way to go.

Don't forget to watch for the temperament as they mature. Excessive mean streaks should be culled out, unless the bird is so close to physical perfection that you can sacrifice that and breed only to nice females, hoping for a replacement son with the looks and a better attitude.

If you have the time and the ability to separate them for extended periods, you can mix and match pairs, document the breeding, and see which arrangement produces the best ducklings. It's tedious, but educational. Create a photo journal for future comparisons.

Or one drake over all the females for the most eggs, then sort the babies out at the same age and continue on from there. If you get into showing you'll meet other people within the breed, and a better drake can be had later for a reasonable price.

You want the size in the drakes, without losing color. Look for the most uniformity in the grey head, a complete white ring, the chest should be solid rust, lot's of details. Let them mature a bit more for a more accurate color assessment. The females are pretty well done, with the exception of a little more weight.

I can't remember what age they really have adult feathers. They grow in sub-adult plumage, then molt and do it again. The feathers they started growing at 8 weeks will not be the adult feathers.

The bigger the show, the more valuable the knowledge. The more ducks there within the same breed, the better you can see what sort of quality you have. It's hard with the rare breeds since there isn't a whole lot of comparison available. That's why getting the SOP book is such a good investment.

Hey, thank you so much for your input! I was definitely leaning towards the ones you recommended keeping, but I wanted someone elses opinion for confirmation. These are newer pics that I took this week, they are almost 4 months old. I've watched them pretty closely and I'm surprised to see that I DON'T see any bullying, so I'm thinking that everybody is eating and gaining at their maximum potential. Unfortunately I have very limited room, so I should narrow it down to one trio. I do have the SOP and I have studied it a lot, but unfortunately there is no illustration in the 2010 version for some odd reason. I also just wanted a breeders opinion because often they have first hand experience and can give you tips that the SOP doesn't tell you. Thanks Again!
Duck #4
Duck #4
Duck #1
Duck #1
Drake #2- Largest Drake. Very small break in the back of his neck ring.
Drake #2
Drake # 1- "Middle" Sized Drake. Is taking forever to feather out, so I still can't tell what he's going to look like color wise.
Drake #1
Drake #3- Smallest Drake. Small break in the back of his neck ring.

Beautiful ducks! I have a trio myself. my drake is slow to feather out in my opinion. I also noticed a lack of uniform color in his grey head, although i suppose that could change? Seems like the white eye stripes have faded but not disappeared. Guess I'll wait and see. I'm not planning to use then for show so i guess it doesn't matter.