exhibition rouen duck keel?

[nickie]

I picked up a rouen duck from an exhibition line and I was wondering about the large keel she has. What exactly is the point of it being so large? The thing practically drags the ground.

She is a bit thin, but young, and the blue bar in her wing isn't as defined as is like... I don't know a thing about exhibition anything and I am not planning on showing her, but I would like to know what she should look like coming from her background.

 

[kswaterfowl]

Exhibition Rouens are awesome looking birds, especially the hens!!! The lacing on an excellent quality hen is beautiful. I guess I don't really understand your question, but I will tell you that is what you want in a nice quality Rouen. You don't want a bird that is some where in between a Mallard and a Rouen, you want the large birds, almost cinder-block looking birds with nice keels that touch the ground. I have seen that most exhibition Rouens are heavy birds with nice keels, but they are not the most "thick" birds. They often appear a little thin when you look at the from top down, but if you pick them up they are of nice weight. You will notice it takes longer for heavier duck breeds to get up to full weight as well. They are slower growing than many of the lighter breeds.

 

[nickie]

She is beautiful! She is young, maybe 6-8 months, from last years late hatch. She was in a circle pen with no greens and a bit of corn thrown down on the mud. To me she seems a bit under weight, but I am used to looking at my 10 lb. pekin ducks.

My actual question was a curiosity thing... Why desire the keel to be so big it drags?

I will post a pic if you would like to give me an honest opinion of her.

 

[nickie]

like I said, I don't intend to show her, but if showing is something my kids become interested in as they get older I would like to know what I'm looking for. The man I got these two from didn't make any claims as to her showability, just that she was from exhibition lines. Honest opinions of her (sorry I don't have a clear side view of her) are appreciated. Also, if anyone knows why a large keel is desired I would live to know.