Mallard x Buff Orpington Hybrid

[NathanZee]

The latest. They're getting slightly better with looking in one direction while staying still. Just slightly.

Beautiful! My ducks have never been good at posing!

Two Buff/Mallard ducklings hatched! One looks like a Apricot duckling, and the other is kind of a blue mallard color. I cannot wait to see what they look like as adults! Is it possible that they are sex-linked? One is so much different than the other.

The ducklings today, with their Runner/Buff siblings. One is easy to pick out, and the other is the one in back with more eyestripes. It doesn't show up in person, but the Apricots color is actually quite different from the standard yellow the other two ducklings have.






Swimming a few days ago.


Here you can see the difference between the Mallard/Buff and the Runner/Buffs. Instead of a bright yellow it is more of a tan.

 

[schatze]

Beautiful! My ducks have never been good at posing!

Two Buff/Mallard ducklings hatched! One looks like a Apricot duckling, and the other is kind of a blue mallard color. I cannot wait to see what they look like as adults! Is it possible that they are sex-linked? One is so much different than the other.

They're so cute!
Mine definitely are not sex linked. After "talking" to them individually, I have a male and female in each color. So, two males and two females. I don't know if it means anything, but Bruiser (my dark female) has a light tan oval on the back center of her head. As a duckling, the fuzz was off center, but her regular feathers are centered back there.

 

[NathanZee]

They're so cute!
Mine definitely are not sex linked. After "talking" to them individually, I have a male and female in each color. So, two males and two females. I don't know if it means anything, but Bruiser (my dark female) has a light tan oval on the back center of her head. As a duckling, the fuzz was off center, but her regular feathers are centered back there.

I figured out mine are definitely sex-linked. I think yours are different because you have snowy mallards not wild-type mallards. That's interesting, I'm guessing its just a random spot, or maybe is it from the snowy mallards?

 

[schatze]

It's hard to get them now! They tend to like to hide out in the sunflowers, so this is a rare daylight sighting, haha.

Nibbles (male), Telly (male), Bruiser (female), Sterling (female). The pairs look very similar, but the females are visibly smaller, and Bruiser has brown in her bib where Nibbles does not.

 

[PotatoWaffles]

It's hard to get them now! They tend to like to hide out in the sunflowers, so this is a rare daylight sighting, haha.

Nibbles (male), Telly (male), Bruiser (female), Sterling (female). The pairs look very similar, but the females are visibly smaller, and Bruiser has brown in her bib where Nibbles does not.

Are their colors sex-linked?

 

[schatze]

Are their colors sex-linked?

Mine definitely are not. Each similar looking pair has one male and one female. With that said, I have snowy mallards and not regular mallards. Even as ducklings snowies look very different from regular mallards, they're completely yellow.

 

[Gardenmom52]

We had 2 Buff Orpinton drakes who matted with our Mallrd hen, she hid in our juniper bushes and hatched 12 chicks. Eleven survived; there are 11 Mallard x Buffs crosses; 5 blonde and 6 chocolates. Our 2 adult Buff Orpington drakes now live on a 40-acre farm with 14 hens various hens.

We now have 1 Pekin hen, 1 Mallard hen (with 3 new chicks...a parting gift from our 2 drakes), and the 11 Mallard x Buff hybrids.

 

[Gardenmom52]

Hello Potatowaffles,
Our group comes out of the Juniper bushes daily and spends most of their time drilling holes and foraging for bugs. They announce their presence for breakfast and dinner, but prefer to stay under cover during the heat of the day and at night. We try to coral them into their pen and coop, but they all run towards the bushes to sleep so we let them be for now. As the night temperatures drop, I will block their access to the junipers a herd them into the coop for safety.

I am searching for home for the males (chocolate colored ones); we are over our limit for poultry.

 

[Gardenmom52]

We have a Pekin female, a Rouen (Mallard) female and had 2 buff males ( they now live on 10 acres with 14 other females).

The Rouen hatched 12 ducklings under a Juniper bush; 11 survived (the first 1 was killed by a neighbor cat as it hatched). The offspring are 2 colors with beautiful markings.

The Pekin laid eggs but the Rouen pushed her off and had 3 more ducklings...we will need to clear away all the lower Juniper branches to find and clear away any remaining dud eggs befire they burst. I think you will enjoy the results of your Mallard x Buff cross; good luck...hopefully yours wont hide their nest.

 

[NathanZee]

Are their colors sex-linked?

If it is a wildtype colored duck and a standard Buff drake, they will be sex-linked. Blue and chocolate drakes and buff lilac hens.

Hello Potatowaffles,
Our group comes out of the Juniper bushes daily and spends most of their time drilling holes and foraging for bugs. They announce their presence for breakfast and dinner, but prefer to stay under cover during the heat of the day and at night. We try to coral them into their pen and coop, but they all run towards the bushes to sleep so we let them be for now. As the night temperatures drop, I will block their access to the junipers a herd them into the coop for safety.

I am searching for home for the males (chocolate colored ones); we are over our limit for poultry.

They are beautiful! It's crazy how they look EXACTLY like mine.

Do yours fly much?