Khaki Campbells - Where to purchase?

[Oregon Blues]

If you can not find a local show breeder, then I make another recommendation for Holderreads. I checked and he does offer exhibition potential Khaki Campbells.

If you must have the ducks by February, I suggest that you write to him and see if you can make arrangements to get ducklings in February or earlier. The other option would be to inquire about a pair of adults shipped now.

If your son wants to breed show ducks, he will face a lot of frustration if he starts with substandard breeding stock. Always, when breeding show animals, you start with the very best you can afford. If you start with hatchery quality ducks, you will never catch up with the breeders who have started with quality ducks. They will always be several steps ahead of you.

One last option, if you can't buy locally and Holderread won't ship early enough (it might be too cold where he is to ship mid-winter), then order the 10 top exhibition ducklings from Holderread, but get a trio from somewhere else in order to have something to show next summer. Then use the Holderread ducks for your son's breeding flock.

Don't forget to place an ad in the "wanted to buy" section, down at the bottom of the index page.

 

[GrannyCarol]

You might also be able to get good quality eggs from a private breeder to hatch (get them at least a month in advance) as most people don't hatch in the winter much. Then your son would have the fun (anguish!) of hatching his own. The one real drawback there is that shipped duck eggs are notoriously hard to hatch. That could be a setback. Sandhill Preservation Center carries Khaki Campbells too, though I see they won't be hatching until March.

http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/ducks.html

You might double check the requirements on when you have to have ducklings, it's going to hard to find some between now and February.

 

[Nu Chix To Cash]

Thanks guys.

It is my understanding since he plans to show a production duck they need to be laying by fair so he can track how many eggs he’s getting (hence the reason they suggest having ducklings no later then Jan/Feb). I know if he buys adult ducks he only needs to have those 2 months prior to fair time.

If anyone on here has experience showing ducks in 4-H and would like to offer any advice I’d greatly appreciate it. I’ve tried talking to the gal in our club that has done poultry for many years and she wasn’t very willing to give us any advice. We aren’t new to showing, just new to showing poultry.

GrannyCarol - I have thought about trying to incubate ducklings but finding eggs this time of year isn't easy. He's helped me incubate enough he could probably do it on his own.

 

[Heiko27]

Does anyone know if Holderread's khakis lay well too?

 

[Kevin565]

Quote:
Yes I believe they lay well also.

 

[GrannyCarol]

Mine laid well. I was getting eggs (though seasonal) even last spring and my Holderread's duck is 7 years old. She's still quite pretty and my drake is still gorgeous. If I weren't having so much fun with my other breeds, I'd incubate some next spring.

 

[Oregon Blues]

All I know about 4-H is what I've observed at the fair while I was showing my own birds in open.

My local 4-H program is absolutely awesome, but I hear stories of differing quality of 4-H groups. It depends upon the leader, I suspect.

I have not seen any egg production ducks at the local 4-H. 3 kids raised Cornish Cross market pens and got to sell them in the livestock auction, getting tons of money for them. That looked like a good deal to me.

I know there is some sort of 4-H handbook that tells what is expected of the 4-H member. I've seen the one for poultry showmanship, so I know it exists.

I've seen the 4-H egg judging and the judge was wonderful, explaining exactly what he was doing and what he was looking for and why he picked the winners that he chose.

If Metzer's has Khaki Campbells available right now and all you want is egg production, I think those would work for you. However, I still recommend ducks from Holderread because if your son enjoys his duck showing, he will want to move on and start showing birds he bred himself in open where competition is a lot tougher. It's always cheaper in the long run to start with quality birds than it is to start with cheap birds and then have to replace them later with better birds.

Also, look into the Golden 300's if all you want is eggs. They aren't show-able in open, but they are heavy layers and might be available right now because they are a commercial hybrid.

 

[Nu Chix To Cash]

Thanks for all of the information guys. I had him go back and take a look at the different breeds again. He narrowed his search down to the KC's, WH, and the Golden 300's. Your post about the WH being calmer helped him finally make his decision.

He also decided he was ok waiting on ducklings so after an e-mail conversation w/Holderread's the order was placed. He's very excited!

 

[StevenW.]

Quote:
Now those are AWESOME Khaki Campbells!

 

[StevenW.]

IMHO, I reccomend Call Ducks or Bantam Ducks of any sort. They are very friendly, eat less, poop less, and they are very easy to handle!
Another reason is because they make excellent show ducks!