Aztec Ducks!

[Conan]

They are hatched! And they need to be babied like Calls, lesson learned. I lost a couple that I thought were fine. One was malpositioned and wasn't actually internally pipped, it just looked like it. One started to zip, couldn't reach the shell part of the way around, blocked off its air, and suffocated, darn it.

But I've got ten hatched babies

Congratulations! I can't wait for pics!

 

[Pyxis]

I just put them all in the brooder I'll see about maybe getting a bad cell phone picture. Tomorrow I might try to stage some nice pictures with my good camera.

 

[Knighstar679]

I just put them all in the brooder I'll see about maybe getting a bad cell phone picture. Tomorrow I might try to stage some nice pictures with my good camera.

Congratulations! Can’t wait to see the little ones.

 

[Pyxis]

Quick picture I snapped when most of them were out from under the heat plate. Also two of these are Calls, haha.

 

[Conan]

Quick picture I snapped when most of them were out from under the heat plate. Also two of these are Calls, haha.

View attachment 2090380

Such color variation!

 

[Pyxis]

Such color variation!

The brown one by the feeder and the black one next to it are both Calls, so not Aztecs But all the blue guys and lighter guys are Aztecs.

 

[Isaac 0]

They are beautiful!

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

I have assisted malpositioned before. Up to pealing them out. Usually with a foot over head. The pair I mostly hatch from tend to be this way but beautiful ducks. This last hatch,from different parents for genetic diversity, I had one completely upside down that internally pipped with its foot. I didn't know what to do as making a safety hole opposite from the air cell seemed it would bleed to death. So it drowned. Was there anything I could have done?

 

[DucksOhio]

Aztecs are a very rare breed of bantam duck created by Holderread in 1983. Holderread began to develop them when they realized that people wanted a small, pretty duck to keep that was hardy and easy to propagate. Call ducks weren't cutting it for some people, since well-bred Calls have a lot of trouble hatching and can be hard to breed. So Holderread set out to create a very pretty bantam duck that bred easily and was hardy and vigorous. Thus, the Aztec was created.

They were bred to be about halfway between the extremes of the wild mallard and the Call duck. Not so long and racy as a mallard, but not so short and round as a Call. As a result, they were small, hardy birds that weren't difficult to breed. They were good layers, as far as bantam ducks go, producing between 40 and 100 eggs a year. They were good mothers, and readily hatched and raised their own ducklings.

However, Holderread eventually decided they would no longer keep the breed. Since then, they have nearly become extinct. But some were preserved, and have been kept in small flocks, being outcrossed to Calls or mallards to try to introduce new blood.

A small group of just such these birds made their way to me today. I offered help and genetics advice to someone with a small flock of these beautiful little ducks, and they decided to entrust me with a small flock of my own to work with and to help preserve the breed.

Here is most of my little group today, settling into their new digs. Certainly didn't take them long to find the pool!

View attachment 1845376

More pictures to come as they get settled.

Does anyone else keep this breed?

Wow - they are beautiful!

 

[Pyxis]

I have assisted malpositioned before. Up to pealing them out. Usually with a foot over head. The pair I mostly hatch from tend to be this way but beautiful ducks. This last hatch,from different parents for genetic diversity, I had one completely upside down that internally pipped with its foot. I didn't know what to do as making a safety hole opposite from the air cell seemed it would bleed to death. So it drowned. Was there anything I could have done?

Those are hard. Basically, you can look for a bruise on the shell around where their beak should be, and carefully open it there. But if there's no bruise, it's really hard to tell where you should go.