Jumbo Pekin vs Pekin

[needlessjunk]

Yes, I did call and tell them the leg tapes didn't match the chart. They claimed it was a mistake and refunded the money for the birds. I suppose we will ultimately see as they mature. They say the white layers are only 4-5 pounds. These birds all seem pretty big. Honestly I'm not sure they know what they sent.

Hmmm... That makes me wonder about mine now. I know 3 are for sure correct. But I also ordered a white layer and she is a fatty compared to the other 3. They are 4 weeks old so only time will tell.

 

[av8torcrj]

I ordered girmaud hybrid pekin, 2 male, 4 female. Jumbo pekin, 2 male 4 female. Leg bands sent were 5 orange, 4 yellow, 2 purple/black, 2 red. So, according to the chart all were correct except the girmaud hybrid females (should be blue) which were taped as white layer ( they sent an extra).
I can't tell anybody apart right now. They are all becoming pretty big birds. Of course I can't really see much difference in them in Metzers pictures either. There are some pinkish versus orange bills but I'm seeing that in my home hatched birds too.
The suggestion "they don't really know what they sent" was tongue in cheek. They were very forward in admitting a possible mistake and promptly refunded the difference. They offered to reship but I had already violated my personal promise to myself NOT to brood birds in winter. I have no reason to believe they are just sending random white birds. I just assumed Suzy Q hatchery worker was texting her boyfriend when she should have been paying attention to what she was putting in the box.
Once these birds mature I will have a better idea but I'm thinking its the big males that are having to be culled due to leg problems. I can't imagine their hybrid layer becoming a big mass of feathers that stumbles all over itself and cannot walk.
I like the ducks. They are very mouthy and loud but for the most part unafraid and friendly. None the less, as I've said, I wouldn't order them again because of the leg problems I've seen.

 

[duckmeister]

This is a picture of my jumbo pekin drake from Metzer Farms and 2 regular sized pekin drakes. This particular jumbo drake is the largest duck I've ever had in 50 years of raising ducks!

Ordered 10 ducklings from Metzer Farms; the ducklings were hatched July28th, so this guy is 5 months old. Of the 10 ducks, some of them were actually so big and short legged that they could hardly walk; felt sorry for them, one drake in particular would have been a great show pekin; massive body, attractive head; horizontal carriage; short legs, but I didn't keep him because the drake in the picture is larger and has longer legs, more upright carriage and I think he'll be a better breeder to the hens. I sold the all the other drake, but I certainly regretted having to do so, there's just something magnificent about such large gigantic ducks.

I fed these guys 16% protein layer pellets with added niacin right from the start, and seems to have helped them stay healthy.

This jumbo pekin has massive sized feet and massive bone to support his weight. The 2 smaller drakes have skinny little bones and small little feet that actually don't support their weight, they have a harder time walking than the jumbo drake does. Don't let anybody tell you these jumbo pekin's are fragile.

 

[saltandpepper2]

Is my tsc duckling a jumbo??? He's MASSIVELY compared to the other ducks, and has trouble walking. I putting him on a diet with extra niacin to help. Any other pointers?t

 

[Henry S]

I think if you are looking for jumbo waterfowl and you want to avoid leg issues, you'd be better off with French White Muscovies. They can be hard to find but I have 14 of them and absolutely none of them have leg issues because nature gave Muscovies extremely thick strong legs due to them being perching waterfowl. If you want pretty, white, egg laying ducks, stick with the regular Pekin as they lay lots of wonderful eggs. Keep some Muscovies for brooders and you're good.

 

[duckmeister]

My 18 day old Jumbo Pekin girls from Metzer Farms. Itsy Bitsy, and Little Bit are their names. You can see this strain of Jumbo's that Metzer carries have nice thick stout legs to carry the extra bulk. These girls have so far received no additinal niacin, just what comes in the chick starter mix, I do have a couple of bottes of niacin pills from Walmart, but so far in 50 years of raising ducks, I have never once had a leg problem from niacin deficiency. But if I do, I have the niacin pills on hand. These girls can flat run a foot race, they were fast and artful little dodgers evading capture by the Duckmeister to get them back in their newly cleaned box!
They are my babysitters for the 10 day old Jumbo Pekin's shipping from Metzer's next week too. My breeding stock for my Jumbo Rouen Clair breeding experiment next year, the Jumbo Pekin hens mated to the Jumbo Rouen like my avatar, and the Jumbo Rouen hens mated to a Jumbo Pekin drake.

 

[FishingMT]

I also ordered from Metzer, what has been your experience with them? I ordered- 2 Jumbo Pekins 4 mixed runners and 3 goslings- 2 african & 1 white embden. All 9 of these are females. I did not want any drakes or ganders, so I can enjoy my girls all year long without the breeding aggressiveness. They won't be here until June. They say they are shipped a day old, is that accurate? Did they seem healthy when you got yours in the mail? I hope I didn't make the mistake of getting jumbo Pekins instead of regular (already ordered) They are all strictly for pets & eggs. I couldn't handle seeing an oversized duck struggle & suffer from its own weight, my heart couldnt take it!! Please reply with any & ALL info you have. I'm worried now after reading the posts above..

 

[FishingMT]

My 18 day old Jumbo Pekin girls from Metzer Farms. Itsy Bitsy, and Little Bit are their names. You can see this strain of Jumbo's that Metzer carries have nice thick stout legs to carry the extra bulk. These girls have so far received no additinal niacin, just what comes in the chick starter mix, I do have a couple of bottes of niacin pills from Walmart, but so far in 50 years of raising ducks, I have never once had a leg problem from niacin deficiency. But if I do, I have the niacin pills on hand. These girls can flat run a foot race, they were fast and artful little dodgers evading capture by the Duckmeister to get them back in their newly cleaned box!
They are my babysitters for the 10 day old Jumbo Pekin's shipping from Metzer's next week too. My breeding stock for my Jumbo Rouen Clair breeding experiment next year, the Jumbo Pekin hens mated to the Jumbo Rouen like my avatar, and the Jumbo Rouen hens mated to a Jumbo Pekin drake.

Duckmeister- the last comment was to you, please give me advice. Also CUUUUUUTE DDUCKLINGS!! They are Jumbo Pekin from Metzer farms. Please reply to my last message & any info on metzer & your experience with them

 

[Aquam29]

Does anyone know if this 2 year old pekin is a jumbo? She was for breeding and is larger than what I thought she was going to be. Or is she just larger and needs a little exercise? Also, she seems like her wing feathers are missing feathers at the and of them and the beginning of them. I asked the previous owner why and he said maybe because the female to male ratio was off and she had it a little rough. Anyone have any ideas and how/if we can get them to grow back?

 

[Jpat]

I think it is a crapshoot on the breed wether or not there will be problems from their size. I have a jumbo drake and a regular-sized crested hen, along with a standard Pekin mix hen. My jumbo is in excellent shape, but I only feed him once a day with a large area to exercise. Maybe it's the genetics from the parents that give many trouble? Mine came from TSC, so I'm not sure what hatchery they are from...

Here's a picture of them.

Funnest duck picture ive ever seen hahaha