Anyone Ever Tried JUMBO Pekins ?

[RAREROO]

Hi

Have any of you had any experience with Jumbo Pekins like Metzer and McMurray sell ? Id love to see some pics and to hear about how fast they grow and how much feed it took to get them to eatting since and anything else about them thats notable to share .

Thanks

 

[Senna95]

I tried some...... I think that their feed conversion ratio isn't as good as some of the other pekin varieties bred for "fast meat production", but they do get bigger.

However, I don't think I'll ever get them again because the few I kept around ended up having foot problems. They're just to heavy for their legs to support.

If you're going to buy them just to raise for meat, and if you want a nice, big fatty ducks, then they're for you. If you want efficient meat production and the ability to keep a few adults around for next years babies, then probably not so good.

 

[RAREROO]

Thanks, I think I would probably like to use them as a male line like the way metzer describes, breding jumbo males with regular females and using those offspring as the meat birds and only use the male for one season and keep a jumbo female or two around just to hatch males to use for the next year. And Id keep the jumbos slimmer too. Its kinda reverse what I've don't before with chickens, using Cornish cross hens that were kept slimmer and breed them to a buff orp (or any large breed roo) and the offspring still make really good meat birds without all the other problems that regular CX get.

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I bought 10 got 9 (they sent extras from another breed). Out of those I had a few that started to have leg problems that I needed to baby. I had one that her hip dislocated and thus she was in duck hospital for winter. This summer she gave me eggs and was with the flock but while figuring out breeding stock she went to freezer camp.

I have not had regular Pekings and really like these ducks but did not like how much I had to pay attention to their legs. I raised them with WH and mallards so while I can tell you they ate more than the other ducklings I don't know how much more.