Golden Cascades?

[billw]

I bought out somebody getting out of ducks today. Got some KCs, some runners, some mutts, and six ducks that the owner claimed are "Golden Cascades". They females look a lot like buffs but the drake looks slightly different than buff drakes that I've seen. They're really nice looking ducks.

Searching turned up only a bit of pretty general information and nobody seems to be selling them. All the woman could tell me was that she got them from a feed store about four years ago and that they were her best layers until recently. Are they hybrids? If not, I might want to find some more and keep them going.

 

[billw]

A rainy day has given me a little more time to research this, so I will share what I have read.

This was a breed produced by Holderread in the 80s. Its characteristics are supposed to include 7+/-1lb adult weight, sexual dimorphism, good (and possibly extended) laying, and active foraging. Holderread no longer sells them.

They are sold by the Sand Hill Preservation Center, but someone else reported on BYC that what they offer may not be the best representation of the breed. It is possible that this breed is uncommon enough that its qualities have declined.

That's too bad, because it is a nice looking bird and if the stated characteristics were true, I would be happy to have some more.

If anyone here has GCs and would be willing to sell me some hatching eggs, please get in touch.

The owner reported that none of the ducks I took are laying much, but she got in over her head and has been feeding them mostly stale bread and rice, so I imagine that they'll perk back up with more suitable feed. If I can get these laying and add a few more to the flock from another source, I might try breeding them for a couple years to see how they do.

Here is a site with some pictures:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/GoldCas/BRKGoldCas.html

 

[Keystone Waterfowl]

Wished I had seen this post yesterday. I just sold out my last golden cascades at an auction today in Kanasa. Mine were for Holderread's line from years ago. The hens should be a light buff and they have a very dark bill. I haven't taken the picture off my website yet if you want to check out what the hens should look like. (www.keystonewaterfowl.com). I really hated giving them up since they are so hard to find. The males kind of remind me of a Saxony but not quite as big and the colors are a bit different but a similar pattern. I think Sandhill is probably about the only place that you can still get these but I would strongly recommend that you buy more than you want and then cull heavily to get the best representation of what they should look like. He doesn't sell them anymore but I think you can still get one of his info sheets on the breed from Dave Holderread from his website.

 

[Keystone Waterfowl]

Oops. I just noticed that you posted a link at the end of your posting so you already know what they look like. And, I can confirm those in the picture look like what you'd get from Dave H. years ago. I know someone that got some at Sandhill and they were able to cull them down to where they had a couple of pairs that looked right. Good luck with your new ducks.

 

[Keystone Waterfowl]

I know that there is someone else in BYC that has them because I remember seeing them in their signature line thinking that they had similar ducks to me. If I can think of who it is I will post for you.

 

[Keystone Waterfowl]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/629915/rare-golden-cascade-duck-eggs

Looks like that person may have them and they were selling hatching eggs last year. Didn't see an ad yet for this year but maybe if you PM them.

 

[billw]

Thanks for the info, KW.

Did you find that the stated characteristics were true? Were they strong layers for you? If they had a chance to forage, were they active or lazy? How was their temperament? All the ducks I brought in are pretty traumatized by the change, so it is hard for me to judge.

 

[Keystone Waterfowl]

They were good layers and good foragers but I really didn't notice them to be a whole lot better than my runners. They did have a better temperment than my runners and were much calmer and not so excitable like some runners can be. I would have probably kept the breed since they are so hard to find and I think someone should continue breeding them but they are so similar to my saxony ducks is what prompted me to finally let them go.