Any idea what this breed is?

[ajohn151]

Also.. is something up with its bill? Will the duck have long term issues if it didn’t have proper food?

Here are a couple pictures of mine. I think the bill looks fine. The niacin requirement is very important. If they don’t get adequate amounts they will have growth deformities and could die I think. Yours looks good so far! There is a sticky thread at the top of the duck forum with all the info you need I highly recommend you read that. Good luck!!

 

[ajohn151]

 

[ajohn151]

Here is the Niacin discussion: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

 

[Trisseh]

They are a heavyweight breed and can tend to have leg issues more than the lighter breeds, but in my opinion are well worth the little bit of extra care. I’ve had runners, blue Swedish, Pekins... nothing compares to the appleyards in terms of personality. ensure it gets enough niacin; even though feeds meant for ducks often have higher niacin than chick feeds, they often need additional on top of the feed. Follow the guidelines for pekins and you should be fine

as for plumage and figuring out the sex, the voice will change before the plumage. Both sexes will have juvenile, feminine feathers to start with. My boys started getting the claret breast and green coming in on their heads around 3 months of age. The voice usually changes between 6-8 weeks. below is a picture of my 2 favourites from last year. You can clearly see the differences. They’re around 3 months in this pic.