- Thread starter
- #11
- Jan 13, 2013
- 190
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Aww, your ducks are charming! Sieben is such a beautiful color. Thank you for sharing the pictures -I think I'm going to like it here.
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Fiddlesticks! I was hoping that nobody would say that.
Your comment prompted me to contact the hatchery for more information. I'll be ordering from Metzer farms because of their low minimum order requirement and good reviews. Here's what they told me:
"The chart on our website is pretty accurate. The Blue, Black Swedish and Buff are about the same size. "
This is the chart that they're referring to: http://www.metzerfarms.com/DuckBreedComparison.cfm?CustID=1289063
It lists both Buff and Swedes as ranging between 5-6.25 pounds but they did tell me that the females are usually on the low end of that spectrum.
Perhaps they have large stock for that breed. When I was looking into Anconas I noticed that some places said their ducks matured to 4 pounds while others said they were 6-7 pounds. I wonder if with the less-common breeds there is more variation between nursery flocks.
Alternatively, maybe I'm tying too hard to make Buffs work! I just love the way they look so much, and a flock of a Pekin, Blue Swede, and Buff ducks together would be so colorful. I hadn't even thought about Ruens, though. Metzer Farms does sell them but I guess I had crossed them off my list because I thought they'd be the deep-keeled English show type. However, it seems that this hatchery breeds the 'non-show' type, which looks like a more agile, normal duck. I hadn't even realized! They're listed at 5-7.25 pounds on the chart. I'll have to look into them. The only problem is that they seem to be good mothers, and for flock control I might not want somebody who would be trying on a regular basis to hatch more ducks (personal experience has taught me that all accidental babies will be male. Haha). Thank you very much for the suggestion. It does open up my options a bit.
I guess I've really got to think about the Runner idea. I want one more than I want one of those pretty buffs, but I wouldn't want to be raising a runner into a less-than-ideal situation situation for her.
Can somebody tell me; if I ordered ducks that ranged from 5-7 pounds and they all grew up to be just five pounds (technically possible), would they be truly too small for my seven pound drake? Especially because there would only be two of them.
Boy, there's so much planning involved with this! With chickens it's so easy, 'I'll take two of those, and four of these, and a half dozen of those fluffy ones over there,' Hah! and everything always turns out fine. Not so with ducks, I guess.
Quote:
Fiddlesticks! I was hoping that nobody would say that.
Your comment prompted me to contact the hatchery for more information. I'll be ordering from Metzer farms because of their low minimum order requirement and good reviews. Here's what they told me:
"The chart on our website is pretty accurate. The Blue, Black Swedish and Buff are about the same size. "
This is the chart that they're referring to: http://www.metzerfarms.com/DuckBreedComparison.cfm?CustID=1289063
It lists both Buff and Swedes as ranging between 5-6.25 pounds but they did tell me that the females are usually on the low end of that spectrum.
Perhaps they have large stock for that breed. When I was looking into Anconas I noticed that some places said their ducks matured to 4 pounds while others said they were 6-7 pounds. I wonder if with the less-common breeds there is more variation between nursery flocks.
Alternatively, maybe I'm tying too hard to make Buffs work! I just love the way they look so much, and a flock of a Pekin, Blue Swede, and Buff ducks together would be so colorful. I hadn't even thought about Ruens, though. Metzer Farms does sell them but I guess I had crossed them off my list because I thought they'd be the deep-keeled English show type. However, it seems that this hatchery breeds the 'non-show' type, which looks like a more agile, normal duck. I hadn't even realized! They're listed at 5-7.25 pounds on the chart. I'll have to look into them. The only problem is that they seem to be good mothers, and for flock control I might not want somebody who would be trying on a regular basis to hatch more ducks (personal experience has taught me that all accidental babies will be male. Haha). Thank you very much for the suggestion. It does open up my options a bit.
I guess I've really got to think about the Runner idea. I want one more than I want one of those pretty buffs, but I wouldn't want to be raising a runner into a less-than-ideal situation situation for her.
Can somebody tell me; if I ordered ducks that ranged from 5-7 pounds and they all grew up to be just five pounds (technically possible), would they be truly too small for my seven pound drake? Especially because there would only be two of them.
Boy, there's so much planning involved with this! With chickens it's so easy, 'I'll take two of those, and four of these, and a half dozen of those fluffy ones over there,' Hah! and everything always turns out fine. Not so with ducks, I guess.
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They are about the size of a swedish I would say.
