I don't know what my ducks are!

[Duckies34]

I have 4 ducks, I'm pretty certain one is an Indian Runner, she stands at attention, it looks like my black one is as well. I have a big yellow one with a hair do, I don't know the difference between the Pekins and the Crested ducks. And that black one I think is a Runner has hair on his head too. And the last one is either a Mallard or a Rouen I've been trying to look at pics to see if I can tell the difference. I don't know how to load videos on here so if someone will go to my facebook and see the video I took last night while they were swimming in my bath and see what you come up with, that would be great!
www.facebook.com/Nickole.Goit
Thank you in advance, also any guesstimates on ages? I was told 4 weeks but the Pekin? is twice the size of my yellow Runner
Thanks Again!

 

[leighton3]

Hi! I just looked at the video of them in the tub, so so cute! I'm going to guess and say the one with the hair do is a crested pekin. The noticeable difference between a crested pekin and regular pekin is really the little tuft of feathers on top of their head. Pekins look the same, but without the extra feathers. Good luck with the others! I have to agree one is either a mallard or rouen.

 

[Quack Addict]

Pekins grow very fast so the size difference makes sense. Any type of duck can be "crested". The "hair do" is cause by a defect in the skull that allows fat to grow creating the crest. I suspect the name "crested" came about because breaders had a hard time selling "defective" ducks. Crested ducks do have special needs you need to be aware of. Please look at this link.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/707110/the-truth-behind-crested-ducks

 

[DenverDucky]

So cute

 

[ducklover87]

My guesses are a crested Pekin, your black one with the stripes looks like a Rouen as it has 2 stripes under its eyes instead of one which would make it a mallard, your black one looks a lot like my Cayugas, and for the other little yellow one it looks like I wanna say maybe a welsh harlequin. I'm not sooo good with identifying runners as I don't have them and the only way I can tell if its a runner is by seeing it walk around. Hope this helps some.

 

[Narragansett]

It surprises me that so much misinformation still exists about the breeds. One look at the Standard of Perfection can clear up any misunderstandings. This information isn't a secret. The Pekin and the Crested are two different breeds. The Pekin is a heavy breed and has a more upright carriage. The Crested is a medium breed and should have a horizontal carriage. There is no such thing as a crested variety in every breed. That bit of propaganda was dreamed up by hatcheries who cleverly crossed the Crested with other breeds to sell crested mutts of various colors to gullible buyers. Pure Crested ducks come in only two colors, black or white. The Bali is similar to a crested Runner, but it has been extinct in the US for some time. Fear mongers who perpetuate the supposed special needs of Crested ducks are simply ignorant of the methods used by knowledgeable breeders to produce healthy birds.

 

[jdywntr]

The Crested Duck is a separate breed but:

I will quote Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks:

"The crest is caused by a dominant mutation that has shown up with relative frequency throughout recorded history. Typically in any breed of Mallard descent, one duckling with a crest will hatch out of every 100,000 to 1,000,000 eggs hatched."

Regarding Crested ducks, "However, these birds do have some inherent challenges. Crests in ducks are caused by an incompletely dominant autosomal gene, which has been given the symbol Cr. When two ducks with crests (Cr/cr) are mated together, approximately one quarter of their embryos (those homozygotes with two genes for crests, Cr/Cr) die. Typically, of those that survive, approximately two-thirds will have crests (Cr/cr) and one-third will be plain headed (cr/cr).... Furthermore, ducks that carry the gene for crest are susceptible to skeletal deformities (kinked necks, shortened bodies, roached backs, wry tails) and balance problems. The balance difficulties may appear immediately at hatching time or not until hours, days, weeks, or months later.

They can appear within any breed as it is a mutation and I think the reason that many people have a problem with crests is that 1/4 die in the shell and others can have problems. Since the problems these birds may suffer from are not always apparent at birth, there is no way that a breeder, regardless how knowledgeable, would be able to avoid them.

 

[Narragansett]

A simple mutation does not make a seperate breed. Holderread knows his stuff for sure, but he has not bred Crested ducks to any extent as far as I know. That old wives tale about the percentages of crested vs noncrested does not hold true 100%. There are several exhibition lines which breed crest to crest and hatch 100% crested young. The problems which are often attributed to Crested ducks alone can also occur in any breed. They are easily eliminated in a few generations of selective breeding, if you know what you're doing. Those who rail against the supposed horrors of breeding Crested ducks have simply not done it for more than a few hatches, and they haven't risen out of their ignorance to educate themselves how to prevent it. They also are working with inferior stock that has not been selected for quality.

 

[desertdarlene]

They look like a crested Pekin, rouen, cayuga and I'm not sure about the grayer one, possibly a blue Swedish, but it's not dark enough, could also be buff or Welsh harlequin. Maybe when it grows out we shall see. Oh, and your Cayuga looks crested, too.

 

[Duckies34]

yes it is crested, i was kinda wondering if the Cayuga could possibly be a black runner? Tho i don't know I've just been looking at pictures, the grey-ish one is a yellow runner I'm almost certain of that when she's on flat ground she's tall, still don't know the sexes tho