Can Peking ducks survive on their own???

[Miss Lydia]

Actually he is quite light…much lighter weight than a standard female mallard I have. He should weigh closer to a goose, right??

Keep feeding him good nourishment and he'll gain. But I don't think he should weigh as much as a goose. My goose [female] weighs around 13lb.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have pekins as well. No, they aren't built for surviving in the wild. They've been bred to provide a lot of meat at a young age - that process has been ongoing not for years but rather centuries. Pekins were domesticated 500 or 600 years ago. Jump forward to today and the end result is a bird with relatively high nutritional needs compared to its wild (or more wild) cousins and very poor ability to escape predation.

7-9# at full growth a year in. Supposedly they can get over 12#, but that has not been my (admittedly limited) experience. {Mine are from Hoover Hatchery, a very popular source for ducks obtained thru TSC and similar locations. Hoover is not famed for mass producing exceptional birds}.

Agree with the others, he was almost certainly dumped by some possibly well meaning but ignorant person. Beak and leg color varies thru the year, and is more pronounced in females. Diet has some effect as well, but a female pekin's beak and legs will get quite orange as they prepare to lay, then slowly fade as they produce egg after egg until they pause (and maybe molt), then gradually darken back to a respectable orange before laying again. I've paid less attention to the process in my (too many) drakes, but mine partially free range, so seasonal diet has more than the usual effect. So much so that I get greenish egg yolks in late fall when they eat more acorns...

 

[Bubblesduck]

How's he doing?

Actually much better, I think Peking’s “speak mallard” because he bonded quite quickly with the few mallards I have, and he is eating what they eat. However he does tend to sit near the fence that separates the yard in two (call ducks and mandarins are one side…if not the mallard males try and dominate my female calls)…but he stares at my white mandarin and my white call female…probably reminds him of his former mate or friend…

 

[Bubblesduck]

I have pekins as well. No, they aren't built for surviving in the wild. They've been bred to provide a lot of meat at a young age - that process has been ongoing not for years but rather centuries. Pekins were domesticated 500 or 600 years ago. Jump forward to today and the end result is a bird with relatively high nutritional needs compared to its wild (or more wild) cousins and very poor ability to escape predation.

7-9# at full growth a year in. Supposedly they can get over 12#, but that has not been my (admittedly limited) experience. {Mine are from Hoover Hatchery, a very popular source for ducks obtained thru TSC and similar locations. Hoover is not famed for mass producing exceptional birds}.

Agree with the others, he was almost certainly dumped by some possibly well meaning but ignorant person. Beak and leg color varies thru the year, and is more pronounced in females. Diet has some effect as well, but a female pekin's beak and legs will get quite orange as they prepare to lay, then slowly fade as they produce egg after egg until they pause (and maybe molt), then gradually darken back to a respectable orange before laying again. I've paid less attention to the process in my (too many) drakes, but mine partially free range, so seasonal diet has more than the usual effect. So much so that I get greenish egg yolks in late fall when they eat more acorns...

I raised two Toulouse geese that I got from metzer farms as goslings….breeding pair …both male and female always had bright orange beaks and feet…when female was killed, I had a hard time finding a female of same age / species…eventually bought female from a guy on Craigslist who told me his price was based on meat value…I bought her and she is still with the other goose today…I definitely saved her from the dinner table, but she was not treated well …had ptsd I think and both feet and beak were very pale…so maybe poor nutrition. My geese had eaten organic vegetables and probably as well as I ate

 

[Bubblesduck]

How's he doing?

 

[Bubblesduck]

Though I think I will need to get him a Peking female at some point

 

[KathiQuacks]

Actually much better, I think Peking’s “speak mallard” because he bonded quite quickly with the few mallards I have, and he is eating what they eat.

Not surprised he “speaks mallard,” as Pekins, and other domestic ducks, are all derived from mallards!

…but he stares at my white mandarin and my white call female…probably reminds him of his former mate or friend…

Poor guy. Getting him a female or two that’s actually his size would be good for him, yeah haha. It doesn’t have to be a Pekin female necessarily, other domestic duck breeds would work too (unless you wanted to breed them for pure offspring). My Pekin drake has a Khaki mix and Swedish mix as partners, and they all love each other.

 

[tlcmurphy]

Not surprised he “speaks mallard,” as Pekins, and other domestic ducks, are all derived from mallards!

Poor guy. Getting him a female or two that’s actually his size would be good for him, yeah haha. It doesn’t have to be a Pekin female necessarily, other domestic duck breeds would work too (unless you wanted to breed them for pure offspring). My Pekin drake has a Khaki mix and Swedish mix as partners, and they all love each other.

And produce the most adorable babies

 

[Bubblesduck]

How's he doing?

Now I think he is fine. He won’t let me pick him up anymore…runs away (as normal instinct) with my other mallards. I’ve hand raised a lot of ducks and I noticed that with mallards, even if they are completely imprinted on you and are hand raised…once they are mature, they revert to semi-wild…they’ll quack and say hi, but don’t come close or pick us up!!! (With call ducks, etc…if hand raised they will be pretty tame with you always)

 

[Canadian Wind]

I'm so happy to hear that, and so thankful that you came along and rescued him. Poor fella. He's been through a lot, but I'm sure he's found himself a safe place finally.

Have you named him?