In response to the thread: The Truth Behind Crested Ducks

[tsulagvnege]

When they are old enough to breed, please do not allow a crested to breed to a crested. There is an allele that causes death in a quarter of the viable eggs and problems with deaths of hatched ducklings shortly after hatching. There is also a chance of severe neurological problems. If you are going to let them breed, breed a crested to a non crested. Otherwise...enjoy your duckies! You would be surprised that most feed stores have no idea what they are selling. They just know it is a duck, goose or chicken. Some are not even allowed to tell you what they are or their sex. If you know how to vent sex, you are a step ahead of the game. I have some crested Cayuga, Pekin, Buff and Khaki Campbell, but I breed only to non crested, and those who show no signs of neuro or orthopaedic issues.

January

Ok, because the thread had originally been to educate about the crested trait, I need to clear up a misconception here. Breeding a crested to a crested causes the lethal condition in about one quarter of the eggs laid. But there are neurological issues in all the ducks that are crested. Breeding a non crested to a crested doesn't avoid the condition. It only avoids the lethal condition.

Breeding a non-crested duck to a crested duck will result in about 50 percent having the crested trait and about 50 percent normal non-crested ducks. The Fifty percent born crested will still have the gene and will have the neurological issues associated with the condition.

Let me quote Hollerread because he is the accepted authority that most use.....He states in his book ....

"In those that carry the allele for crest the head adornment may range from being totally invisible to measuring 5 or more inches in diameter. .......Ducks that carry the crest allele are susceptible to neurological abnormalities (which may be apparent at hatching time or not until months later) and to skeletal deformities (kinked neck, shortened bodies, roached backs, wry tails). Fortunately the majority of Crested ducks are normal and have a life expectancy similar to that of other breeds."

So, I write this to point out that the crest allele carries with it neurological problems that may not be apparent to the duck owner, but it may appear normal in all outward aspects. If you have crested ducks you should enjoy your crested ducks, but know that if you allow a crested to breed with a normal non-crested you are subjecting the offspring to possible neurological problems. As Hollerread states, most appear normal and live long happy lives. But some will be affected to a greater extent to the point that they suffer in some way neurologically whether it is apparent to us or not. This is the reason that if we want to be conscientious duck owners and breeders then we should not allow any crested duck to pass the trait on to any offspring (this includes breeding a crested to a non-crested). Know that you are perpetuating the suffering associated with the neurological problems that accompany the trait if only in a very few ducks is not being conscientious breeders or owners of ducks.

So to re-emphasize the point, breeding a crested duck to a non-crested duck does not avoid the problem. It just avoids the lethal embryonic developement condition.

 

[bibkel]

Gritsar, what a shame that the MANAGER got 8 ducklings with no knowledge apparently. And since that silly lady with the dirty smug look picking the best looking chicks....picked the best looking ones, you KNOW she got a lot of Roosters. ROFL.

now, what will she do with them? poor Roos.

I tend to over learn the breed I am getting so I am not surprised by much of anything. This is why I didn't get a runner to start, too high strung. Now, I have ONE as an experiment and she is doing fine, and I LOVE to watch her moving about because it is so different that my others.
My crested mallard is a female, and she is just fine. Her name is Bobross....it took a while for the other ducks to accept her, but now they are a good group. I still catch her sometimes and bring her in to cuddle and talk to. I am sure some of the eggs are hers and will hatch. I will use those that turn out crested as meat birds. Simple solution. Then I avoid to possibility of breeding two crested. I am not breeding to sell, mutts are fine with me.

I like the eggs and the antics. I have not culled a duck yet, only one chicken so far. I am still trying to determine the best way to kill. The head chopping is messy and it seems they flap a great bit more than a chicken does. I don't know if I can handle that yet.

I picked my crested mallard, because she was cute. I didn't need her, but she seemed to need me. out of all of them, she stood out to me. So, now she has a loving home, regardless of her deformity.

 

[RugenerGooser]

It is not my nature to argue the issue here, but let us look at the context of part of what you quoted from Dave...Susceptible does not indicate every duck will have these problems. As I recall saying in another post, I have them but do not really breed them. They are far too busy free ranging and working on my 52 acre pecan and fruit orchards. They will have the fortitude of living happy lives here on the farm and since someone thought it was okay for them to have a huge hole in the skull which is unprotected due to never closing together properly, here we are. I only have one drake and the rest are hens. I do not go out of my way to breed them, as the girls have their own buddies they go off to gossip with and the drake likes hanging out with an American Buff drake that is visually impaired. I do not know if we are on the same page, but God forbid! Look at what is being done with donkeys, horses and dogs, to mention a few because we think smaller is cuter, for example. I have seen some horrible results from this. Unfortunately, some of these large hatcheries are breeding crested to crested and they should know better. The judges like them at shows, AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH! I have not bred any, though I own some. As I stated in a previous post, when they have lived out their days, there will be no more. I have noticed the ones we have saved are much smaller than the breed standard. I don't know if you have noticed that yourself. I focus mostly on critical, threatened and endangered breeds of waterfowl and I breed Great Pyrenees. Inbreeding or anything potentially cruel toward a species is bad news. My point was merely to say, "If you must breed Cresteds, please do not breed crested to crested. I just recently bought Dave's last two Pomeranian ganders from his dispersion. I must say...they make my four other grey saddlebacks look mediocre in comparison. I will have to post pics of the two gents on the Pomeranian thread. Thank you, however, for your reply. I pray you not take offense to my reply as it is not intended. I am the doc and the vet here as well as breeder and I take animal husbandry practices very seriously, as we all should. I am not, however in disagreement with you. We brought home a Blue Swedish Crested during duck days last spring, and she seemed fine at first. By two months old, she was going off by herself, running around in circles and had a huge skull opening. I believe not only did she have neuro issues, but also brain damage resulting in crested being bred to crested. She did not live much longer after this took place, poor baby. She was a specimen from a large hatchery. We bought her because she was the only one and was merely to be a pet, as the other Cresteds are. It is almost like we don't think God does a perfect enough job in his creation and we think we can do better. WRONG!

I hope you have a blessed day!
Blessings!

January (the Gooser)

 

[ashleajones515]

I have two crested ducklings. Up until about a week ago, they were both healthy. I walked out to the coop the other day and found one of the ducklings on his back, paddling his legs, unable to get up. I helped him up, and he went about his business like nothing was wrong. It happened a few times, but he always acted fine right after. Now, its happening 10+ times a day. He is eating and drinking normally once he is helped up, but I am wondering if this is anything that he will grow out of, or should I do the humane thing, and put him down.

 

[The Howards]

I have two crested ducklings. Up until about a week ago, they were both healthy. I walked out to the coop the other day and found one of the ducklings on his back, paddling his legs, unable to get up. I helped him up, and he went about his business like nothing was wrong. It happened a few times, but he always acted fine right after. Now, its happening 10+ times a day. He is eating and drinking normally once he is helped up, but I am wondering if this is anything that he will grow out of, or should I do the humane thing, and put him down.

If the young one is otherwise healthy I personally wouldn't put it down. I would bring it in and put it in a crate so you can supervise it though. Our crested did this a lot when she was small, she eventually did stop but that may not always be the case. She walked like a weeble wobble her whole life and otherwise led a happy existence. Guess it depends on the level of care you are able to give every day. We provided her with lots of extra calcium and brewers yeast to help her develop strong bones..I also fed her a can of cat food everyday, which she loved and demanded. I follow some crested ducks on facebook that are totally dependent, meaning they do not walk on their own. Some are able to move but not fully on their own without tipping and their owners have made wheelchairs for them so they can negotiate and stay upright. Again, personally, I would not allow it to breed and pass on its genetics but I would let it live it's life out. Jennifer, our crested, was such a sweetheart and I miss her daily.