Jumbo Pekin x Khaki Cambell

[v.cyr]

how well would a Jumbo Pekin x Khaki Cambell cross be likely to perform as a dual purpose mix... we have been having a lot of luck with our DP mix chickens...our 3rd generation culls were quite meaty(I was surprised, actually.. they didn't look it), and we culled them because they were more lightly built than our keepers.. .and all our girls lay well... if we get ducks this year, I think I might want to shoot for the same sort of thing... a mix that lays well while also being good for the table... XL pekins and cambells are almost always available were we buy our chicks in the spring, and and I was thinking they may be a good mix to start with... I know cambells are phenomenal layers( GF's family has a couple) and pekins are "the meat breed"... so, does anyone have any experience with that crossing?..

 

[Kevin565]

With crossing it's basically a game of chance. They could make great dual purpose birds or end up leaning to one rather than the other,

 

[v.cyr]

With crossing it's basically a game of chance. They could make great dual purpose birds or end up leaning to one rather than the other,

might take the chance... it has worked great with my chickens so far... plus if I end up going one way more than the other, I can always try to balance it out in later generations, right...

 

[Oregon Blues]

You get what you get. No way to know until you do it.

Unlike chickens, there are already good meat ducks who are heavy layers. But if reinventing the wheel entertains you, go for it.

 

[v.cyr]

You get what you get. No way to know until you do it.

Unlike chickens, there are already good meat ducks who are heavy layers. But if reinventing the wheel entertains you, go for it.

nothing wrong with re-inventing the wheel... been done probably a few thousand times over the last couple millenia, and look how far it has gotten us

... but really, I want to do it both for kicks( I like to experiment), and also, even though I would love to get one of those DP Ducks, the place I usually buy chicks from may not have those breeds(then again they may... their chick selection has expanded tremendiously the last couple of years)... I am aware I could order them from a hatchery, but there are some issues with that for me... firstly most hatcheries' min. order is more than I want to get( nobody to go in on an order with me, either), and secondly, I am a bit of a control freak... I would rather pick out my chicks and/or ducklings myself, and only travel 10 miles home with them, than have someone else just toss however many I order in a box , and then trust the postal service to get them to me safely from hundreds of miles away... plus, even if the place I usually go doubles their prices this year, I'll still be saving money over buying from a hatchery...

 

[jess5254]

I have pekins and blue swedes. My pekins lay better than my chickens. They are very faithful to give me an egg everyday no matter what, The blue swedes are the same way. If it is something you enjoy doing and your not breaking the law or hurting anybody GO FOR IT and don't let anybody say you can't. good luck and let us know what happens

 

[v.cyr]

I have pekins and blue swedes. My pekins lay better than my chickens. They are very faithful to give me an egg everyday no matter what, The blue swedes are the same way. If it is something you enjoy doing and your not breaking the law or hurting anybody GO FOR IT and don't let anybody say you can't. good luck and let us know what happens

are pekins usually that good of a layer?... if so, I might not bother with the crossing(ok, I still might, just to see what it gets me)... I guess I am too used to thinking in terms of chickens... I honestly don't know that much about ducks(I think I was 10-12 last time we had any on the farm)

 

[v.cyr]

well, I just looked up how well pekins lay... 140-220 per year...so an avg. around 180... not that bad... I guess they're a decent DP bird all by themselves, wouldn't they... probably still gonna try mixing them, but I might try breeding just them by themselves too... maybe have 1 pekin drake and a mixed handfull of hens...