help me pick a duck breed

I started with 3 runners. One died before she was a year. I still have the other 2. Then hatched some at school and ordered 2 girls from Metzer Farms just in case my duck was a boy (which is what I wanted.... she's not a boy though lol) so I'd have an ok boy/girl ratio.

My runners are small.
I have 1 welsh harlequin. She's not really much bigger than them, but she's a big girl.

The 3 runners were in a dog house kit from Lowe's. 4 runners would have been ok in there for sleeping, but not sure I'd put 4 WH's in there.
 
Metzer farm a great choice. Buff ducks are a great breed all around calm. my Black Swedish aren't as loving but their hilarious my crest very scared of everything despite being played with a lot. My runners are 3 wks old and are sweethearts. Whatever the breed every single ducks personality is different i know we have 20 and no ones the same but Please take others advice on the drakes they can be a nightmare. Goodluck with your springtime babies.
 
I'm no expert but we keep Khaki Campbells. They're smaller than some, lay regularly, and have been fun to keep around. I think they're more skittish than most, but ours will come over if you sit down. The boy, though... He'll chase you around the yard which is endlessly entertaining.
 
I have a drake and duck Welsh Harlequins and they are AWESOME. They love to forage, they LOVE swimming and they are calm. WH females are broody and unlike some breeds, they will sit on the eggs and make good mothers. They are not obnoxious and very good with small children. I also had a Khaki Campbell drake and he was wonderful. He was a great boy and was not aggressive at all. I still miss him :(
 
I've not had much experience with ducks, but I'll tell you what I've gathered so far. I got 1 Khaki Campbell and 1 black and white Magpie from Ideal Poultry a week ago. (They are not the best place for waterfowl, but mine are fine. I'm not breeding them or anything so they are fine.) They were one week old yesterday.
The things I have noticed about the Khaki:
1) She doesn't like swimming as much as the Magpie. She prefers the submerge her head to clean it, paddle around for a minute, then get out.
2) She's a bit more skittish than the Magpie, but she still likes me. Especially when I bring peas!
3) She's a bit bossy. She tries to lead the Magpie around.
4)She LOVES to climb! She tries to climb on me as high as she can. She is always trying to get to a higher point than she already is. She's a little mountain duck.
wink.png


Things I've noticed about the Magpie:
1) She LOVES to swim! She will dive and paddle and play. But when she's done, she's done. She will hop right out of the sink on to the counter and wait to be dried off.
2) She's friendly. She likes to be held. She doesn't like to be picked up, but once you have her she likes to cuddle up with you. She will let me pet her more readily than the Khaki will.
3) She will try to eat anything! Especially shiny things. I just got a new ear piercing and she hopped right up on my shoulder and tried to eat my earring. Which hurt really bad. She nibbles on my hair, nose, eyes, ears, eyebrows, fingers, anything. She doesn't care. She's not rough, just curious. It's adorable to watch her explore.

They weren't really bonding with me until I started hand feeding them peas. I'm pretty sure they would do a backflip for peas. They go absolutely nuts or them. Now they follow me around and sit in my lap. They either consider me Mama or the Pea-Bearer. I'm not sure which.
Overall I prefer the Magpie's temperament so far.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom