alright, this is good news. Hubby really likes 'his' ducks. We have the 5 WH's right now. I would like a second coop for a second breeding group, but, of a different breed. I want a breed with similar characteristics as the WH, as I really like them !! A heavier breed (non flying) , some color, broody, sellable (in demand, or popular with the people ) not for eating.... so don't care about their flavor .... these are some on my list Silver Appleyards Khaki Campbells Cayuga ( I am leaning towards this one, neat colored eggs as well as fantastic color bird) Swedish Blue out of those, what would you choose?
I'm gonna vote for the cayugas. BTW no domestics can fly (except when young and just getting flight feathers but will soon be fat and won't be able to)
We just added Saxony to our flock today. We were at a show and they had two pair for sale in the sale section so we picked up a pair of them. This really isn't a second breed for us though as we are dropping our Blue Swedish, so more a replacement. Are you planning on showing? Our reason for dropping the Swedish is that our main aim is for show and they are a rather hard to breed to standard given the complexities of the blue gene and then trying to obtain a good bib. I am a fan of the Cayuga as well. Their color is just awesome!
I was really looking hard at the silver appleyards and the Khaki Campbells. I think next year though if I get the approval I am going for the golden 300. We have Mallards, Jumbo Pekins (and looks like a few are regular pekins) and WH~ I can't wait until we get the eggs as I really want to try the duck eggs. Not sure what is in demand but I am liking our ducks so far. (not liking the mess they like to make but... What are you going to do)
Quote:not planning to show, might enter them in a fair for my daughter, for fun, but, no serious showing. just looking for a neat looking bird, that lays well, might go broody. never heard of the golden 300 I am not sure what is in demand here on the Island, I do know alot of people have muscovies, so not interested in a breed that is so easily found. I don't plan on going full out with breeding them, maybe a batch or two per year, just to see what the demand is like.
http://www.metzerfarms.com/Golden300HybridLayerDucks.cfm?Breed=Golden%20300%20Hybrid%20Layer&BirdType=Duck&ID=GOLDE I had never heard it before I went to the Metzer page to order ducklings. I really debated between 4-5 breeds of ducks before coming to what I ordered. Good news is that DH seems pleased with the variety as they were his b-day present. (the description is...)Golden 300 Hybrid Layer Ducks- the Golden 300 Hybrid as they lay more and larger eggs than the Khaki Campbell duck and have a calmer temperament with a higher fertility. The Khaki Campbell may be a good egg producer in small flocks but we were never satisfied with their production in our larger commercial flocks. Because of this inconsistency, we developed the Golden 300 Hybrid by crossing and utilizing the attributes of different duck breeds. The Golden 300 Hybrid can be sexed at any age by its color as the males are shades of black and the females are shades of brown. Unfortunately, they do not retain this characteristic in future generations. Their progeny will hatch in blacks, yellows and browns with no relationship between sex and color.
I have a cayuga and can't wait to get more! She's beautiful, awesome personality, fun to watch and will eventually give me some really nice eggs.
just browsed the metzar farm website, looking on the WH page, I noticed the first picture is not a pair of WH's, am I correct? and in the group shot, there are other breeds mixed in with the WH. I want to say SIlver Appleyards? do cayugas go broody ??
Khakis don't normally go broody. Mine were ok , but a little stand offish. The hen was cool because she would actually chase squirrels The drake was mean to my runner though. I sold him.
