help me choose which ones to keep.... Blue Swedish ducklings....

[Mojo Chick'n]

Ok, here's the deal, I got 21 Blue Swedish Ducklings from Ideal today (yay!!) and as far as I can tell I have a good amount of females to males in there.

I have 3 splash, 10 blues and 8 blacks. Two of the blues, and one black are crested (I don't want those). So, if I keep 8 of them - two males and 6 females, which would you choose for your mix?

I was thinking a blue male and a black male, and a mix of splash, blue and black females.

I know that blue on blue will give 50% blue 25% black and 25% splash, and black on splash will give 100% blue (not sure what black on black or splash on splash would give).

I am thinking that this would be the optimal mix of colors for genetics in breeding a nice variety of ducklings in the future. But what do I know? Nothing.

I am looking for your opinions on this, so I can best choose (before I fall in love with one I can't keep - well, actually I'm in love with all of them at the moment, but I know this will pass as they get bigger and stinkier

)

eta - on further inspection, the prettiest splashed one is a boy (I believe) and I'd like to keep him... so maybe a blue male and a splash male, and 6 girls in splash, black and blue?

thanks -
meri

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Truthfully, I don't know how much to rely on genetic equations. I've bred blue to blue and blue to white (would solid white be splash?) and both times the babies were basically equal in coloring.

My advice is pick the calmest, and friendliest out. See what colors you have in those, then keep at least one of each color.

Wise choice on picking blue swedish. A little tip, they LOVE cherios. I don't like to give them the cherios until they are almost a month old, but it is hilarious watching them scramble to get them and gobbling them down. You can get a really big box of generics at Biglots for like a dollar.

 

[Wifezilla]

Post pics

That will help

(Ok, it won't, but who doesn't want to see pictures of baby ducks???)

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:

I like cheerios, too - the honey oat ones.

Yeah, that's probably good advice, just to keep the nicest ones and see what comes of them. At this age, they are all nice

I'm glad I didn't get too many crested ones, I just don't want them - they look weird to me

. I have a pair of the crested, I think, a boy and a girl. One of the blacks is crested - sort of, he has poofs all over his head, not just one, it is like someone put a two poofs on him and dif places.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
so far this is the only pic I have of them... gonna take more later.

aren't they just so squishy ya want to hug em and squeeze em ?

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Mojo Chick'n :

I like cheerios, too - the honey oat ones.

Yeah, that's probably good advice, just to keep the nicest ones and see what comes of them. At this age, they are all nice

I'm glad I didn't get too many crested ones, I just don't want them - they look weird to me

. I have a pair of the crested, I think, a boy and a girl. One of the blacks is crested - sort of, he has poofs all over his head, not just one, it is like someone put a two poofs on him and dif places.

LOL! I just don't like the idea of cresteds. Many seem to develop mental and physical impairments as they grow up and its not fair to breed a designer duck when its not going to have a quality life.​

 

[Wifezilla]

OMG they are so CUTE!!!

I don't think I could get rid of any of them...well...until I had to clean up after 20 some ducks...then I might change my mind

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:

yeah, hubby is already calculating how much he can get for them at the auction - well, just the extras, of course

I figure the playpen will fit the remaining ones ok til I can put them outside - if I get rid of over half before they get too big.

meri

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

omg I want some!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


You bunch of enablers have GOT to stop showing me pics of babies!!!!!!!!!!

 

[farmerlor]

Oh, I'm SOOOO glad you live so far away!!! They're SO cute. I want ducks!!