Breed favorites

[KLoudon81]

For those who raise multiple breeds: What is your favorite duck breed and why?
=)

 

[LeiaLayers5]

I am fairly new to all this (within a couple years now), but since I have started owning ducks, I have had: mallard drake, pekin drake and now duck, Welsh harlequin drake, silver appleyard duck, khaki campbell drake, khaki/mallard mix duck, cayuga duck, and magpie duck. While I love all my ducks, I did really like my silver appleyard duck for her soft coloring and loud honking yell. Sadly I lost my Pekin drake, WH drake and KC drake last year to respiratory illness, but we currently have the Mallard drake and Mix Duck as adults and the Cayuga, Pekin and Magpie as younger ducklings. In my limited experience, you need to try some variety to get a feel of what works best for you. I know I have heard many talk about breed personality and whether they are more docile or social, but from the variety we have, it seems that it really depends on how you raise them and how much time you spend with them. While my Silver Appleyard was my favorite at the time, mostly due to being youngest and I liked how soft she was and she would let you rub her neck, I really cannot say that any breed has stuck out to me so far. My mallard and Khaki mix are not what you call social but come when called and will eat out of your hand when you have treats. My Pekin duckling is the most social currently and she will curl up in your lap or beside you and let you pet her. I wish I could add more to this, but I just enjoy them all and love learning all their quirks and love variety.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well I started out with Muscovy's back in 2004 only because they were available in our river[runaways]. I have kept Muscovy ever since and love the breed they are quiet[called quackless ducks] and they have a wonderful personality . They get very large the drakes anyway some weighing as much as 15lbs and they fly.

Last year 2016 I had my Muscovy's hatch us some Runner ducklings and Buff ducklings. Now I have to say I love these breeds too. Very different in every way. Muscovy's are more independent of each other and quiet where Runners rarely do anything apart from each other and because the Buffs where hatched with the Runners they are the same you very seldom see one with out the others. Everything is team work. And they can be very loud so important to take things like this into consideration if you have neighbors. Most female domestics are loud though, drakes not at all.

 

[chickens really]

I really can't say who I love more?........I have Appleyard, Calls and a Buff Hen and I love them all for their silly personalities...No two Ducks if the same breed act the same......All seam like feathered Puppies to me.......

I love Ducks!


Cheers!

 

[KLoudon81]

My family and I are definitely new to ducks. This is our first year. We have 2 Rouens, 2 Khakis and 2 Welsh harlequins. We are not too fond of the Khaki Campbells because they aren't very attractive, are very skitish, and often like to bully the other ducks. We hear that they should be excellent egg layers though, so hopefully they'll earn their keep well. The Rouens have great personalities. They don't particularly enjoy being held, but will tolerate it. They enjoy nibbling on you and giving little love bites. They also show such excitment when they see me coming, much like a dog. The WHs are also super skittish and will only come near you if you have some sort of tasty treat for them. They are, however, absolutely gorgeous! We've also read that, like the Khakis,they should be amazing egg layers. I would love to try pekins, but we do have neighbors near by, and I've heard that pekins are so much louder than all other ducks. I know my female Rouen is also loud at times, but she is usually quiet, as long as she has food and water. If they run out, that's a whole other story. They main reason we invested in ducks is for eggs. The only places we found near us selling ducklings only offered straight run, so we didn't know what genders we were getting. I was afraid we would get all drakes, but only 2 of the 6 are drakes. We are hoping that they'll get along once maturity hits, otherwise, I guess we'll need more girls to add to the flock.

 

[GooseFanatic]

Gus my Chocolate runner