Help with breed!

[makakona]

Hi, friends! Not new to ducks, but we've only owned Pekins before. We rescued a mixed batch and while I have guesses, I'd love to hear more experienced thoughts! We were thinking Swedish Runner, Khaki Campbell, Mallard, and White Layer? We've not had drakes before... Are any of these looking like drakes to you?

Swimming duckers!

Thanks for the help, especially from my 13yo duck-loving girl! <3

(Oh, and this is NOT their normal swim set-up! We are switching them to a newer, bigger, better duck house and this was the quick and easy way to keep them happy and clean while we finished resetting things, ha!)

 

[makakona]

It looks like the video might not be working, so here are some stills. Thank yooooou!

 

[Canadian Wind]

They are very sweet! Where did you get them from?

I don't think it's really possible to sex them at this age, and am unsure if vent checking is still okay by this size.

As for breeds, that's another thing that can be difficult, apart from specific ones. Whilst they may look like one breed, there's no telling if they are pure or mix until later. That being said, I'm not that great at ducklings, so someone else might have much better ideas than me!

 

[Plague]

It looks like the video might not be working, so here are some stills. Thank yooooou!

Cute little ducklings! I would say the brown is khaki Campbell, the other one with the orange bill looks like a mallard from the picture since it looks like only one stripe through the eyes, the yellow one could be pekin or white layer, I have a little one like that right now and I don’t even know which it is I have, since as far as I can tell they are pretty much identical, just the size difference when they are adults and the higher egg laying quantity of the layer hens seems to be only way to know about them? If it starts outgrowing the other 2 I would think Pekin, we have 3 blue Swedish and a Pekin and when they was little they was real similar in size, then about week 3 or 4 the Pekin was noticeably bigger. Now that they are 5 months there isn’t quite as much a difference, but the Pekin is if I had to guess 2-3lbs more. The black with white bib looks like a Black Swedish, can’t really tell if it would be a runner swimming. Until they get a drake feather or adult colors can’t really tell the sex unless you vent them, or when they start quaking or the raspy drake voice from my limited experience. I am no expert by any means, but from my understanding you can vent sex them when they are older, it is just the bigger they get the harder they are to handle to actually do it. I tried when ours was like 4 weeks, but was our first ducks, and they was so big at that point, I found it too difficult trying to get them held to even attempt it.

 

[Plague]

Cute little ducklings! I would say the brown is khaki Campbell, the other one with the orange bill looks like a mallard from the picture since it looks like only one stripe through the eyes, the yellow one could be pekin or white layer, I have a little one like that right now and I don’t even know which it is I have, since as far as I can tell they are pretty much identical, just the size difference when they are adults and the higher egg laying quantity of the layer hens seems to be only way to know about them? If it starts outgrowing the other 2 I would think Pekin, we have 3 blue Swedish and a Pekin and when they was little they was real similar in size, then about week 3 or 4 the Pekin was noticeably bigger. Now that they are 5 months there isn’t quite as much a difference, but the Pekin is if I had to guess 2-3lbs more. The black with white bib looks like a Black Swedish, can’t really tell if it would be a runner swimming. Until they get a drake feather or adult colors can’t really tell the sex unless you vent them, or when they start quaking or the raspy drake voice from my limited experience. I am no expert by any means, but from my understanding you can vent sex them when they are older, it is just the bigger they get the harder they are to handle to actually do it. I tried when ours was like 4 weeks, but was our first ducks, and they was so big at that point, I found it too difficult trying to get them held to even attempt it.

Oh and when I say there was a noticeable difference I mean it was a huge difference, like the Pekin was like almost double the Swedish was at that time.