Bantam Duck Page

[Mrs. Turbo]

here is one of several great articles on line breeding call ducks by Daphne Mays.... We have personally tried the brother sister mating several times but our fertility drops every time among other things. There are very strong opinions on this subject so you just have to research and try it out for yourself to make a decision.

http://www.longshadowfarms.com/linebreeding.html

 

[AliciaM]

Thanks for some of those links..

I didnt get the calls to breed.. I got them because I wanted a small duck... They just happen to be pretty amorous..

Is it normal for them to breed and lay this time of year? All three of my girls are laying.. Im getting about 3 eggs a day...

Thanks.

 

[linda_zeagler31002]

All right quick question you caller experts, I hatched 3 white lee morey calls last spring of my call pair, and my drake can't service them all, even though he tries and tries to service the chicken too, Ha Ha, so I been shopping for a great blood line but not to costly White call drake to trio these out, so, Wanita at Holderread emailed me that she had one left, but what do you think about this route, taking a Holderread White Silky drake and putting with them???? Okay, everyone jump in, you can see my white calls on my website it is under my name over to the left, I got to let them know tomorrow by noon, so I will check with you all for your opinion, before I call to purchase one or the other.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

even great bloodlines produce and sell pet quality call ducks so I guess it depends on what your goal is...... if you just want pet ducks or if you would like to start breeding toward the standard. I do know if you let a call drake breed more than 2 hens you have a very good chance of your drakes boy parts prolapsing. They do breed in the fall sometimes, but the eggs are not always fertile.

 

[Robert Blosl]

I only keep four out of 20 young birds hatched and raised. I breed from pairs mostly mother to son and daughter to father or neace to uncle and aunt to nephew type breeding. I did cross a male that came from David Touchette from Mass trying to get his old style gray call type on my birds. This new shot of blood does not bother me for these type of matings and in this cross I mate the best son back to the mother and then the next year the best son again back to my old hen. I then find a new mating in the third or fouth year. Nothing wrong with pet quality calls. They are fun to raise and a joy to own. bob

 

[turbo]

Quote:
I wouldnt use a white silky drake on the white call hens...unless you dont mind having a cross/mixed ducklings. It really just depends on what you goal is with the calls, if you just want pets then you should be ok to buy calls from Holdereads, if you want SQ call ducks then I wouldnt purchase call ducks from Holdereads....because their best calls are not even close to SQ. I have had several friends who show purchase their "elite SQ Calls" this year and they were not very good.....I understand that they have purchased their breeders from some well known call breeders, but from what I have seen Holdereads has not been able to offer very good calls to the public. I think it is almost impossible for a hatchery to produce good call ducks on a regular basis...or on a mass scale.

Also you do run the chance of blowing out your drake if he tries to cover more than two hens, there are a few stud drakes out there that can handle more than two...but in my experience you run a good chance of ruining him for breeding if you over extend him.

 

[linda_zeagler31002]

WOW, Turbo, see now, every one told me and I mean all around the world, to go with holderread, and I believe you, no doubt, seeing all the time and post you do, so, and here I have invested some mega dollars and bought there ducks, LORD JESUS, one more question, What is the difference in the black east indies and the blue, I was ordering a pair of these with this order, but couldn't find any pictures of the blue, and so don't trio my calls, only pairs? I think I will wait them on the drake for my hens, and take your great advice!! I will keep searching and keep researching.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Linda, Turbo is right. If you want show quality ducklings, you want to use the best male you can find. Holderreads is a great place to start, but if you can afford better, I would get better. Checkout Turbo's auction site. There may be what you want there.

 

[linda_zeagler31002]

Thank you JimFarmStands, my problem is for example there is a listing on her site, SQ drake, no pics. Just won national competition, okay, now say if I buy this duck and it gets here and its a dang off the wall duck?? This has happen to me from well known breeders and I am not throwing there names out there and starting SMUT conflict, but I am tired of investing with people you are suppose to trust and find out later I have made bad investments for 2-yrs, my money is hard earned work money, my hands are so cracked from empting and cleaning my ducks and critters homes, I can't hardly stand toliet paper to touch them to wipe my buttttttttt!!! I really started to sell off all my calls this fall, from disappointment in purchases that I have made, and just be done with it, I wanted pet and SQ, our last son just finished college and needed something to feel the void in our lives, just like right this minute the bull dozier and backhoe has just pulled in tha I paid cash for in SEPTEMBER, yeah, we are clearing a 2-acre area to rebuild my pens, and and having acre area with a 4-6 feet duck waddling pond made, and we have the electric poles like out on the highways, I am putting one in the middle of the pond, and going to divide it like a pie, and divide my breeds instead of 50 small pens to clean, but wooohoooo they are here finally, okay, Turbo, thank you, and everyone else, I am going to try and fix my bad purchases, and see me being a honest person I can't pass my bad ducks off on nobody.

 

[CityChicker]

Linda-
Enjoy your birds and your hobby. That is the main point of all this, especially with something like Calls that aren't generally kept any longer for their utility. It is all about personal enjoyment and a love for the hobby. It sounds like you have some wonderful projects underway and will have an awesome set up for your birds. That and your happiness with your birds is all that matters.

Everyone is correct in that the Holderread's are not known for Calls. I have seen some good Calls from them and I have seen some not so good Calls from them. Everything is relative though. Most (in fact all) of the lower quality Calls I have seen come from them have had that reflected in the price. I have seen better quality Calls for hundreds of dollars. It just, "is what it is". Price reflects quality and to an extent, it also reflects reputation. The Holderread's have an incredible reputation. Yes, they are not known for top show quality Calls in particular, but they are a good bet for strong quality, healthy birds, that meet and exceed the breed standards. As I'm sure you know, they also have several different price ranges depending on the quality you wish to purchase. Some of what you pay for though is their reputation and expertise (in the adult birds especially). Any breeder, even with the best stock, is going to produce a small number of excellent birds, a small number of crappy birds, and a lot in the middle. The Holderread's are no exception.

At any rate, I have known them and dealt with them for many years and for the most part, my experiences with them have been wonderful. As you are around longer, you will get more of a feel for which lines are known for what and you will develop your own likes and dislikes. One example that I have used before is the Holderread Runners, which I have worked with extensively. Their line is known for being larger and stouter than what typically wins these days in shows, but I much prefer that look, hence I have a lot of their Runners. I seem to remember from one of your other threads that several of the birds you purchased from them are their other varieties of bantam ducks. In bantam ducks, again, they can't be beat. They are the only ones even breeding some of the varieties they have. That in itself certainly warrants working with them.

Don't sell your birds short. I would continue working with what you have if you yourself are happy with them. Don't go by anyone else's (including mine) arbitrary idea of what your birds should look like. Again, go with what makes you happy.

As far as specific questions about breeding- I am not currently breeding the Silkies, but know they were developed in part (if not almost entirely) from Calls, and that the Holderread's do use some smooth birds in their breeding. Again, go with what it is you want to do. If your goal is to breed some Silkies, then I'm sure you could get a Silky drake and outcross your hens to him (very common practice, especially with something there is not a large number of). If your goal is to breed Calls though, I would go the route of locating a Call drake. High quality White Calls are not that difficult to come by. As far as the Blue East Indies, the Blues are basically the same as Blue in any other duck breed. It is the result of one Blue dilution gene, in this case combined with the extended Black of the Black East Indie. It is the identical color of the Blue Runner, Blue Cayuga, or Blue Swedish (other than the Swedish being bibbed obviously). If you breed a Blue and a Black together (Holderread's used to only sell Black X Blue pairs I believe), then you will get 50% Black offspring and 50% Blue. If you do get a pair of Blues, like with any other Blue, you would get 25% Black, 50% Blue, and 25% Silver/Splash.