I have 3 of them, they are 7months old. Mine are skittish, I've raised them since they were babies and they will not let me come too close without running the other direction! They have excellent layers and that's what I got them for. One of mine is a "crested" so she has a Puff of hair on top of her head. They can get noisy when one gets away from the others but otherwise I don't hear much from them. They were raised with my chickens and for me, they are wonderful, they will go into the coop nightly without much herding on my part, they know where Home is and are ready for bed when the chickens are!
I had a bunch of KCs awhile back that I got for my Dad. They were part of a mixed flock of Pekin, Swedish and Cayugas. They were friendly but not as friendly as the Pekins. They were fairly quiet - the Pekins being rather noisy and probably not giving them a chance to get a word in. I thought they were some of the prettier ducks we had, esp. the males. The best thing about KCs though is that they lay lots of eggs. If you're going for egg production then a KC is a good one.
I had 2 at one time. My hen would chase squirrels out of the yard...LOL Nice ducks. Not cuddly/people ducks though. GREAT eggs. Now I have Welsh Harlequins. A lot like khakis but friendlier and a little bigger.
I'm ashamed to admit I'm not even sure how many we have - I think it's 7 with another two Silver Swede/Khaki Campbells. *hangs head in shame* I adore our Campbells. They are quiet (compared to our other ducks!), humorous and get along easily with every other critter here (cats, basset hounds, chickens and rabbits) and even herd beautifully when our border collie works them. Our KC's let themselves out of their pen at 8am or so every morning and follow me to their pen when I feed them in the late afternoon to tuck themselves in at night. They lay lovely, delicious slightly offwhite eggs. They have the loveliest subtle coloring - from beige to tan to light brown. Our original KCs, drake and three ducks as adolescents: Marvelous darlings, even our KC drake Bernie gets along with our two other drakes - a very bossy Chocolate Ancona and a macho Rouen. Bernie makes sure all the gals get where they're going, he always brings up the rear when the flock is on the march. I will always have KCs, they are the backbone of our flock. A close up of one of the adolescent KC ducks: You simply cannot go wrong with KCs!
We get all our ducks from an animal shelter, I never buy them. So, they are always grown ducks when we get them, the youngest I have gotten is a 6 month old runner. There are two drakes and a hen at the shelter. I am not sure if they will let me take just her, leaving the two drakes behind. Was hoping for a really friendly duck breed. My pekin is not really very friendly and the runners are very skittish. Not sure if it is possible to get a very people oriented duck if I don't raise it from a duckling though. I will probably email the shelter tomorrow and ask about her. I am such a sucker. They do have a pair of Muscovies, but I don't want another drake and I can't bear to break up the pair to take just the hen. We'll see, the KC's are pretty. I will post pics if we get her. Thanks for the info.
TrystInn, Your KCs are beautiful! Come to think of it, our KCs got along well with everyone too. I was always a Pekin fan, being from Long Island duck country and thinking, as a child, that all real ducks were white. I still love Pekins but KCs are a close, close second now. Plus, the lawn doesn't look like someone had a pillow fight on it with KCs like it does with a flock of Pekins. I must get some more.....the eggs make the most fabulous egg salad. And I hear some chefs swear by duck eggs for souffles.
I have two crested Khaki Campbell babies that run until I catch them and then calm down when cuddled. When they are old enough to see the outside, I think that will be the end of my duck cuddling though. They are FAST! If I pick up just one, the other cries until I pick her up too. (Not because she wants to be picked up too, but because the two of them are very bonded.) They are both equally noisy so I suspect girls.
