The more research I do on ducks the more I find them fascinating. I would like personal experiences and opinions on favorite breeds please. Thanks in advance!
For eggs, I like KC, Golden 300's, and white layers. For lawn ornaments I like my current flock of crested blue swedish, and my last flock of Welsh Harlequins. The WH were good layers for me, dunno yet about the crested Blue Swedish. Also have 2 KC's in this flock, and notice they are more nervous than the other ducks I have/had. I don't raise ducks for meat, but any of the heavy breeds do very well. Pekins are going to grow the fastest, but others such as Silver Appleyard's, Saxony's, etc, are said to taste better. They are also more likely to be good mother's, capable of hatching and raising their own babies. So totally depends on what your goals are. What are you looking for?
I would like some decent laying ducks, not flighty or less inclined to fly, and also a broody to sustain flock! They don't have to be overly friendly but yes it does help.
My current flock consist of Welsh Harlequin, Khaki Campbell, Buff, Ancona, and Muscovy. The KCs are by far the best layers but my least favorite overall. They are VERY skittish. My WH is an excellent layer and went broody for the first time this year at a year old. She was a very dedicated sitter and wonderful mother which is pretty typical of the breed. She is also very friendly and easy to handle.
I love my blue swedish, they are hardy, friendly, good layers of good size eggs my KCs are decent layers, but the eggs are smaller and they are much more skittish
I chose to focus my flock on Welsh Harlequins. They are very docile and friendly, so I find it easy to corral them and bring them to food/treats whenever I call them. They are also good layers (I have tracked one of my ducks since the beginning of the year and she has only missed 3 days so far) of large white eggs. Not to mention they are absolutely beautiful! And despite their best attempts at times, I have never seen them fly more that a foot off the ground in more-or-less a grand "leap" toward something.
Funny you mention the easy to corral part. My WH leads everyone into the coop each night as soon as she sees me come out.