Do you think this SWEDISH duck is breeder quality? PICS to judge by.

[Oregon Blues]

By the way, if you are serious about improving, those white stripes on the head are a very bad fault. So breed away from those.

 

[r4eboxer]

Quote:
I think I need more ducks

Do you mean the stripes on the drakes or does she have white stripes on her head too. I am going to look for the book you suggested. Hopefully I can get it on my ipad. Off to google and check to see if Holderreads has any Swedish ducklings available.

Thanks for giving me your input. I just really love animals of all kinds. I figure I'm going to hatch some eggs becuase I just enjoy that kind of thing. I might as well try to accomplish something from it.

 

[70%cocoa]

Is the duck you're planning on breeding from the one with the bib that goes all the way up the neck to the bill? If we are just looking at bibs I think that the other black duck is better. Her bib is patchier but it doesn't go up her neck and she has a lot less white round her head. I think that the hardest thing to get rid of, as Tbitt has said, is white on the face and up the neck. Other than that, inheritance of bibs seems to be a bit random. It's definitely the case that two birds with perfect bibs can and will produce offspring with messy bibs. If you have one bird with a messy bib then you can improve the offspring if you choose a mate with a good bib. Bibs can definitely be improved over time but I think you'll need a better bibbed drake to do it.

With the white wing feathers, it's not unusual to get uneven numbers of white ones on each side. As Oregon Blues says its much better to have even numbers but uneven numbers would not put me off using a bird for breeding. Inheritence of wing feathers seems hard to pin down. I have two black birds each with 5 white feathers on each wing. They had two offspring - a duck with two whites in each wing and a drake with none. Kinda random. I can't see if your second black duck has the white wing feathers but she may be carrying the genes to produce them.

Type wise, they could be straighter in the back and deeper in the chest. Overall you are looking for a more stocky, compact appearance. Your birds stand a little too upright - chests should be a bit closer to the ground (but still higher than the butt).

I agree with suggestions to source a better drake - unless you are not too fussed about the breed standard. I'd use him with both your black ducks. Try to keep track of the eggs so you know which mother they came from. Good records will help you work out who is producing the better offspring. With a drake, look for one with bib that is not too big (even on the small side, about the size of an orange) and as little white on the face and neck as possible. Also really avoid any drake with a bib that extends too far below the middle of the chest. Try for a bird that's less upright than the ones you have.

Get a blue or silver drake. A silver drake will give you 100% blue offspring. Blue offspring are easier to sell too - most people want blue ducklings.

 

[r4eboxer]

Quote:
Wow I didn't know there was so much to a duck. Her ducks are very nice. Kind of makes me feel sorry for mine.

 

[r4eboxer]

70%cocoa :

Is the duck you're planning on breeding from the one with the bib that goes all the way up the neck to the bill? If we are just looking at bibs I think that the other black duck is better. Her bib is patchier but it doesn't go up her neck and she has a lot less white round her head. I think that the hardest thing to get rid of, as Tbitt has said, is white on the face and up the neck. Other than that, inheritance of bibs seems to be a bit random. It's definitely the case that two birds with perfect bibs can and will produce offspring with messy bibs. If you have one bird with a messy bib then you can improve the offspring if you choose a mate with a good bib. Bibs can definitely be improved over time but I think you'll need a better bibbed drake to do it.

With the white wing feathers, it's not unusual to get uneven numbers of white ones on each side. As Oregon Blues says its much better to have even numbers but uneven numbers would not put me off using a bird for breeding. Inheritence of wing feathers seems hard to pin down. I have two black birds each with 5 white feathers on each wing. They had two offspring - a duck with two whites in each wing and a drake with none. Kinda random. I can't see if your second black duck has the white wing feathers but she may be carrying the genes to produce them.

Type wise, they could be straighter in the back and deeper in the chest. Overall you are looking for a more stocky, compact appearance. Your birds stand a little too upright - chests should be a bit closer to the ground (but still higher than the butt).

I agree with suggestions to source a better drake - unless you are not too fussed about the breed standard. I'd use him with both your black ducks. Try to keep track of the eggs so you know which mother they came from. Good records will help you work out who is producing the better offspring. With a drake, look for one with bib that is not too big (even on the small side, about the size of an orange) and as little white on the face and neck as possible. Also really avoid any drake with a bib that extends too far below the middle of the chest. Try for a bird that's less upright than the ones you have.

Get a blue or silver drake. A silver drake will give you 100% blue offspring. Blue offspring are easier to sell too - most people want blue ducklings.

Wow that was really helpful, I will use the other duck as I have enough to try to accomplish already. I could go get better stock but that would take the fun out of it for me. Though I will look for a better drake as I don't think any of the three will improve the offspring. I will post pics of the other two.

This is fun!

 

[70%cocoa]

Yes, it is fun!!

Swedish are hard - all the markings are hard to get right and then there's type. But it's a fun challenge

Speaking of Swedish ducks, mine are yelling and rattling their pen door. It's 7:40 am here and they think they need to be let out.

 

[r4eboxer]

70%cocoa :

Yes, it is fun!!

Swedish are hard - all the markings are hard to get right and then there's type. But it's a fun challenge

Speaking of Swedish ducks, mine are yelling and rattling their pen door. It's 7:40 am here and they think they need to be let out.

it figures I would get the one of the hard breeds

I am looking at a few others. I don't see any available from Holerreads, I guess they don't do Swedish?

Your swedes sound like they demand your attention. I wish mine liked me more I have never been able to get them to imprint on me.​

 

[70%cocoa]

Mine just demand to be let out. And then when it's time for bed they demand peas. The two I hatched are the tamest but most will eat from my hand.

No, don't think Holderreads do Swedish

 

[Oregon Blues]

R4eboxer, I don't know if this will help you or not. You can think of the white markings on a Swedish duck sort of like the markings on a tuxedo cat. To be a tuxedo, it needs the white bib and the white feet. But the white feet will have different size socks on them.

Well, the Swedish is also tuxedo marked. It needs the white bib and the tips of the wings are white like the tip's of the cat's feet. You must have the gene that gives the white wingtips, but the size of the white wingtips is out of your control. That is one of the reasons that Swedish are difficult to breed. However, smaller wingtips and larger wingtips seem to run in families, so I suggest being careful about breeding birds with no wingtips (which probably lack the gene) and birds with huge white wingtips (which have over-size wingtips running in their family).

Size of bib can't be totally controlled, but over-size bibs run in families and smeared splotchy bibs also run in families. White on the head is a different gene than the bib, and it is not desirable. White neck ring is completely unwanted and that is a separate gene from the bib. Breed away from those undesirable markings.

Your best bet to get nice sized clear bibs with the correct shape is to breed birds with nice bibs, because the size and shape seem to run in families. You might still get some bibs that are not what you want. Around here, the bad bibs are removed from the breeding pens.

If you want to start with what you have, then the best you can do is to breed them and only keep the offspring that move you closer to the standard for your next generation of breeding stock. You might be able to get there eventually if you work at it long enough, through enough generations, but I have to warn you: you have a very long way to go.