Nice birds!!
I've had Khaki Campbell hens for over a year now, and just found a male of the same age for $5 on craigslist. Score!
My original flock of 12 was reduced to 5 by a bobcat with good taste
, so I have 6 two-week-olds in the brooder as well. Originally ordered ten from Purely Poultry, but two were DOA and two died within a day. My original 12 were from Ideal and, like they said, contained a couple with crests (aka poof-balls).
The eggs are just about exactly USDA Large sized, and usually have a little squirt of greenish tint on top, so it's easy to tell them from chicken eggs. Especially awesome in omlets and in baking! I appreciated them for laying all through winter when the chickens slowed down considerably.
The hens have been very low maintenance overall. I had to clip wings once when they were skinny adolescents, but not since. They get along fine with the chickens, turkeys, and guineas in the yard, but will hold their own against aggression. Mine eat Purina Flockraiser (20% protein) plus free-choice oyster shell grit and daily greens of some kind (peas, endive, and/or kitchen scraps). They're mostly content to rest in the shade, forage, splash in their tub, and dabble in the resulting mud. They aren't "lap ducks" but will eat goodies from my hand and tolerate being picked up - but then, I didn't spend much time training them as juveniles. They've been good sports about coming with me to the farmers market as "spokesducks" to sell their eggs, and lots of curious little faces up against the cage.
I recommend Khaki Campbells for eggs and entertainment!
Bryan
