australian spotted ducks....

[fowlsessed]

Who has em? what can you tell me about them?(good and bad). And is it true that they, along with the appleyard, lay the most eggs and are the earliest ducks to mature, some at around three months old? And why aren't they more popular for such an amazing sounding duck?

 

[ambrose]

someone in the "Where are You/Where am I" Oregon subforum has them I recall. Look there.

And I have no idea and ask myself the same. Perhaps they need a better publicist? Or maybe it's just that there aren't a lot of them out there to begin with?

 

[ambrose]

and did you mean lay the most ** for a bantam sized duck**?

 

[fowlsessed]

and did you mean lay the most ** for a bantam sized duck**?

Yes, for a bantam sized duck.

 

[Auntieranna]

I have a nice flock of these great ducks with more pipping as we speak. They are friendly, quiet, wonderful mothers and great egg layers. They do reach full size by about 3 months but won't actively breed or lay until around 6 months. The only thing I dislike is that they are escape artists. I allow mine to free range on my property yet they still find every nook or cranny in my fence to escape, hence I have lost a few to predators, whereas my chickens are content to stick around my property and I've only lost one or two to predators. If you are interested in getting them I totally recommend it!

 

[bellah1]

i live in washington and just got a australian spotted duck two weeks ago. we have three other ducks besides her but now we have decided to at least get one more aussie boy for her (trying to find one unrelated). if you are willing to part with one of your lil guys or even a couple hatching eggs then let me know. thanks, noelle

 

[70%cocoa]

Interestingly, we don't have this breed in Australia. It's an all-American breed.

 

[fowlsessed]

yea, one of the breeds used to create them was from Australia, so thus they got that name. But they were bred here, with an additional couple breeds of which I can't remember.

 

[countrybuffs]

I have a nice flock of these great ducks with more pipping as we speak. They are friendly, quiet, wonderful mothers and great egg layers. They do reach full size by about 3 months but won't actively breed or lay until around 6 months. The only thing I dislike is that they are escape artists. I allow mine to free range on my property yet they still find every nook or cranny in my fence to escape, hence I have lost a few to predators, whereas my chickens are content to stick around my property and I've only lost one or two to predators. If you are interested in getting them I totally recommend it!

I got my 2 little ducks from you! Didn't know you were on BYC! They are doing great, I love these ducks.

 

[Narragansett]

Most serious students of breed histories doubt the story of the creation of this little duck as nothing more than BS dreamed up by those who were trying to come up with a good story to help sell them. The claim is that Mallards, Pintails, Calls and an Australian species which is never named were combined to create the breed. The fact is that most hybrids between mallards or mallard derived breeds and other species are sterile mules. The chances that two different species could contribute to the makeup of an extremely fertile hybrid when crossed with Mallards are almost nil. Stanley Mason and especially John Kriner, the supposed originators, were serious, knowledgeable breeders who were unlikely to ignore, forget or not be familiar with exactly which mysterious Australian species was used in the makeup of this breed. The mystique of just not naming it (if it even existed and contributed) created more hype, which only helped to sell them, to the gullible.