Crested Ducks

[JacinLarkwell]

*If you're here to tell me I'm an awful person for wanting to breed these, don't bother.*

I want to breed crested ducks. I found a hatchery with the breed I like and they have both normal and crested avaliable. I know that there are certain methods to help lessen the chance of anything going wrong geneticalls, but what are they? Is it as simple as crested x normal?

My plan was a crested male and uncrested females so that I don't have to worry as much about a crest being pulled during breeding. Is this a good plan?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Alright, thanks everyone. I didn't know about the motor control problems they can get, but I had seen that information that @Isaac 0 posted. That's how I knew it was at least not all a list cause

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Sounds good.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Unfortunately, I don't. @Pyxis, or @learycow would be people you would want to talk to.

Okay, thanks. Figured you were a good bet since you always seem to know so much about ducks

 

[Pyxis]

So if I breed the crested male to clean females, I should get about 50-50 heterozygous crests and clean ones. Will I still have problems with certain crested babies, or will they all be avoided because I won't have any homozygous crested ones?

Any crested duck can have issues because of the nature of the crest - the crest actually causes fat deposits in the brain. Sometimes these deposits are large, and have even been found to decrease size of the cerebellum, which may be the cause of some of the motor function problems some crested ducks have.

The crest is also fed by blood vessels that go directly through the skull under the crest and into the brain. For these reasons, crested ducks always have a chance of neurological issues.

Cresting is also a lethal gene. Two copies actually kill the duckling late in incubation. So when breeding crested to crested the 25% of offspring that inherit two copies die late in incubation, before they hatch. So all crested ducks actually only have one copy of the gene.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Just so you have it, here's info on the problems I was talking about:

http://www.duckdvm.com/condition/intracranial-lipoma

Hmm, thanks. That percentage is way higher than I thought it would be.... I'll have to think on that a bit more, since it seems like by processing age I still might not know all of the ones with problems

 

[HappyDuckie]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Yes, it would be best to have the crested be male. Good luck.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

So if I breed the crested male to clean females, I should get about 50-50 heterozygous crests and clean ones. Will I still have problems with certain crested babies, or will they all be avoided because I won't have any homozygous crested ones?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@Isaac 0 , any chance you would know the genetics?


Just wanna make sure I know all I need to before I actually order these guys

 

[Isaac 0]

@Isaac 0 , any chance you would know the genetics?


Just wanna make sure I know all I need to before I actually order these guys

Unfortunately, I don't. @Pyxis, or @learycow would be people you would want to talk to.