Ideal hatchery and breeds

[MerryMeridional]

My ducks are a bit over 15 weeks now. I purchased sexed females from Ideal Hatchery out of TX. I know these aren't "show" birds and are bred more for production in a backyard flock setting. My ducks are beautiful and I really enjoy them. I am just a bit surprised at their final shape. I was expecting a little more of an exaggerated upright shape or stance. My one crested girl has the slenderest shape and is slightly more upright than her sisters. I am thinking maybe this line was bred with some cayugas? Maybe? Just curious if anyone has thoughts on this subject.
I can't wait for duck eggs in a couple months!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@Magnolia Ducks and myself purchased some ducks from Ideal this spring.
My Buff Orpingtons look more like Saxony ducks and the Magpies look similar to what you got, except for their white bibs and bellies.
Your ducks look like a mix between Runner and Cayuga, they also have the greenish/blueish speculum feathers at the side. The posture is definitely not Runner, but @Loopeend has more experience with clean bred runners.
It seems that Ideal has a real problem keeping their breeds clean!

 

[MerryMeridional]

@Magnolia Ducks and myself purchased some ducks from Ideal this spring.
My Buff Orpingtons look more like Saxony ducks and the Magpies look similar to what you got, except for their white bibs and bellies.
Your ducks look like a mix between Runner and Cayuga, they also have the greenish/blueish speculum feathers at the side. The posture is definitely not Runner, but @Loopeend has more experience with clean bred runners.
It seems that Ideal has a real problem keeping their breeds clean!

OK good to know that other people have had similar experiences. These are the only ducks I've personally kept but have been reading about ducks for the last couple years and they really seem to have cayuga traits, from body shape to variation of color.

My understanding is that black runners are supposed to have a distinct beetle green sheen and some iridescent colors on their wings. Mine have a subtle iridescent green on their heads and bodies with some really bright teals, purples, greens on their wing tips and sometimes you can see almost a purpley-rose iridescent color on their backs. A few of mine also have some random white feathers - one has almost speckles of white on her chest, another has a single white feather on her shoulder, another on her wing tip. I thought maybe that was related to the white and khaki "standard" runner traits mixed in, but maybe it's from another breed altogether.

They have neat personalities and are beautiful ducks. They are eating the weeds and slugs I throw in their run and I've already used some of their straw bedding in my garden, so my garden buddies are doing their job. I am hopeful that they are heavy egg producers, as this is a big part of why I got them! Just curious about their actual breed since they weren't what I was expecting.

 

[CLovesDucks]

Your ducks are so cute!

 

[CLovesDucks]

And I agree. They look like they have Cayuga in them with that emerald green shimmer. Pretty!

 

[MerryMeridional]

@CLovesDucks Thank you! I think they are, too.

For those of you with experience with cayugas and indian runners, how much do their temperaments differ? Are they about the same in terms of noisiness? I'm just wondering, if I were to add more ducks in the future (maybe 2-3 more, max), which is the quieter breed. I think both breeds are good for egg production. And it looks like I can't let mine forage in the garden like I thought I might be able to do. See -- zucchini leaves that have been eaten through the fence. I also don't want to annoy my neighbors too much. I'm on good terms with my neighbors across the street. Since it is cool at night they keep their windows open and say they can hear the ducks sometimes, but that they are funny and they like their sounds. So I don't think I should increase the volume too much, hehe.

I might go through a different hatchery next time. Maybe. I do love my duckies, and they were very inexpensive even with the long shipping distance. But it's also nice to know what you're getting.

 

[CLovesDucks]

@CLovesDucks Thank you! I think they are, too.

For those of you with experience with cayugas and indian runners, how much do their temperaments differ? Are they about the same in terms of noisiness? I'm just wondering, if I were to add more ducks in the future (maybe 2-3 more, max), which is the quieter breed. I think both breeds are good for egg production. And it looks like I can't let mine forage in the garden like I thought I might be able to do. See -- zucchini leaves that have been eaten through the fence. I also don't want to annoy my neighbors too much. I'm on good terms with my neighbors across the street. Since it is cool at night they keep their windows open and say they can hear the ducks sometimes, but that they are funny and they like their sounds. So I don't think I should increase the volume too much, hehe.

I might go through a different hatchery next time. Maybe. I do love my duckies, and they were very inexpensive even with the long shipping distance. But it's also nice to know what you're getting.

I’ve never had cayugas but my runners are sweet and derpy. Very docile birds that love to forage.

 

[Loopeend]

My ducks are a bit over 15 weeks now. I purchased sexed females from Ideal Hatchery out of TX. I know these aren't "show" birds and are bred more for production in a backyard flock setting. My ducks are beautiful and I really enjoy them. I am just a bit surprised at their final shape. I was expecting a little more of an exaggerated upright shape or stance. My one crested girl has the slenderest shape and is slightly more upright than her sisters. I am thinking maybe this line was bred with some cayugas? Maybe? Just curious if anyone has thoughts on this subject.
I can't wait for duck eggs in a couple months!

Those are NOT Indian runner ducks.
The waddle like any duck; and don't walk like an indian runner. They aren't even 50% Indian runners. Neck too short, feet to short, body turned the wrong way, bill the wrong shape, just nothing Indian runner about it.
Are you sure they didn't actually mistakenly gave you some "cayuga's?"

Sidenote; Black Indian runners can have green and purple sheen. It's both the oil on their feathers in the right light, ánd some green/purple from males/females shining through. The amount of "sheen" wanted in Indian runner ducks is what we LIKE to see in the breedingnstandard; but unwanted green or purple lustres still happen very often.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’d say Cayuga! Contact Ideal and send pics. Very pretty ducks

 

[MerryMeridional]

Those are NOT Indian runner ducks.
The waddle like any duck; and don't walk like an indian runner. They aren't even 50% Indian runners. Neck too short, feet to short, body turned the wrong way, bill the wrong shape, just nothing Indian runner about it.
Are you sure they didn't actually mistakenly gave you some "cayuga's?"

Sidenote; Black Indian runners can have green and purple sheen. It's both the oil on their feathers in the right light, ánd some green/purple from males/females shining through. The amount of "sheen" wanted in Indian runner ducks is what we LIKE to see in the breedingnstandard; but unwanted green or purple lustres still happen very often.

Thank you for your input! I did not know that about the black runner coloration.

I may call the hatchery and just see what they say.

Yes, I did a search for indian runner/cayuga mix and the ones I found from a post on here that were known to be 50/50 were still more slender and upright than my birds. So these might be several generations mixed.

I got these ducks in big part for their eggs, I hope I am not disappointed in their production.

My ducks are very small though, I believe cayugas are supposed to be more medium sized, like 7 or 8lbs? I just weighed the biggest duck and she was 4lbs, so my girls must all be in the 3-4lb range which is small for a pure cayuga but the correct range for runners. Today they are 16 weeks old from their shipped date. Not sure if I can expect them to get much bigger.