Breeding Projects -- Waterfowl

[Ducks and Banny hens]

Alright, My turn.

-I am working on the Bessemers as everyone knows, but I'm not going to sell any for a long time. I not only need to insure genetic stability as we discussed on the thread, but I'd certainly like to monitor them, see where they need improvement, and react accordingly. I expect to sell some maybe in 5-8 yrs, something like that. Although, they'll still probably get distributed long before then. I might trade them now and then, or give them as a gift to someone, but I'm not going to sell them just to sell them. Eating my culls wont be a last resort, and spiral breeding can be demanding, so the accounted Bessemer population will be pressed for a while.

-I also have a top secret

project I'm working on. I can only tell you the following: entirely never-before-seen color pattern; odd parentage for it's purpose; and if I sexlink, the target date should be about, only 2 years away....

 

[agregg15]

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Or, you could just get snowy calls. (which looks like a mini WH)

I want to try to get more of the peach color and the green feathers on the wing. I'm probably going to try this for an Agri-science project for the FFA.

 

[Rosecomb-Ryan]

Ill go! My main project this year is.... MUSCOVIES! Only Show Quality Muscovies, hoping to raise 100-200 and keeping around 40-50 from this year. Really wanting to raise some awesome whites. But also getting some Chocolates from my Blacks to breed back to my Chocolates.

Heres a question:

Black (Split to chocolates) male X Chocolate female? Black Males and females and Chocolate males and females right?

I have 8 trios and 3 pairs set up for Breeding! This shall be an interesting Spring!


Ryan

 

[Ducks and Banny hens]

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[CedarbrookWren]

I got my 6 muscovies last Easter so this will be my first time breeding anything. I'm hoping to set up a breeding pen for my blue girl and Blue pied drake and get some silver babies! I may try incubating a few eggs in my classroom for my visually impaired students to experience. I will be taking the rest of the eggs to sell for food or incubation depending on the market I find....could do more ducklings if I find I am easily able to sell them, I just have no idea what this will be like!

I may be getting babies in the middle of January as one black hen is already sitting on a nest (I took most from her but think she has 2 or 3) and another black hen is sitting on a nest that is hidden somewhere on the farm I've no idea where.

My main questions at this point are:
How do I know what is the best quality of my offspring and original ducks? by next fall I'd like to be only keeping 8 or less and I want to contribute to the breed by keeping and breeding the best but I don't know that I know how to determine which are the best.
Is it possible to control when the hens start sitting and when the babies are born? I'd like some around Easter and some around the middle of June...how do I make it happen since the girls obviously don't take my advice when it comes to family planning (grrr babies in January....)

 

[Ducks and Banny hens]

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Best Quality? Observe them carefully, and cull ruthelessly for Hardiness, Vitality, and personality. Basically, it's your choice of what you value.

It is hard to maneuver broodiness around, but I think forbidding them from finding suitable places (keep it bright, noisy, etc.) may work.

 

[agregg15]

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That's a lot of Muscovys.

 

[xIndigoSkyx]

I have a Rouen and pekin cross that I just love the colors!!! Mow... The weird one that looks like a welsh. I want to get more like her, how would I go about that? I've heard that I breed her with a Rouen 1/4 of her babes'll look like her.

 

[RAREROO]

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Do you have pics of the Rouen X Pekin cross ?

 

[xIndigoSkyx]

I sure do!