May get DUCKS!!!

[raymondjames]

Hello byc! never been to the ducks corner of the forum. I am very excited because: drum roll please......
(drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum) (drum)
I may purchase DUCKLINGS!!! I am planning on using Murray McMurray possible Metzer. Hatchery advice: dont go to Welp. lost 1 chick in shipping. i thought there was a guarantee. ANYWHO, I still cannot decide on breed. which breed has most of these things:

larger eggs
frequent egg layers
mild-extreme mothering
calm, docile

Currently considering:

Welsh Harlequin
(Jumbo) Pekin
Rouen

any other ideas?

 

[TLWR]

I don't think pekins are typically known for being broody/motherly, but not really sure. The WH are and fit your list.

 

[raymondjames]

What about drakes? Will they fight w/ my roos? I plan on integrating them w/ my chickens (they'll share a all-fowl feed) and I know in the future i'll hatch more ducks but Is it worth it? what is the smallest breed of duck? (not aggressive) so he will not need as much feed which is good because he cant pay himself off with eggs

metzer said that mallards are the lowest weight they have. (2.25-2.5 lbs) aren't those the wild ducks at the ponds? Will they be okay w/ others?

 

[larkflying]

Depends on the drake and the rooster -- I had one rooster that shooed the drake around, and another drake that chased the rooster. Neither one of them hurt the other -- mostly they just ignore the other species. Welsh Harlequins are excellent egg layers, and I know that the breed description says that they do go broody and raise their own ducklings, but so far my WH's are not showing any signs of broodiness. My one Rouen hen is making nests and laying eggs . . . but that is just my personal situation. I have heard of other people having broody WH's.

I would recommend Metzers for the waterfowl -- they will sex the ducklings for you. It is important not to have too many drakes . . . they are frenzied during breeding season and can hurt the female ducks if there are too many. I had to rehome many of my drakes . . . if you were show breeding or keeping them in seperate areas then you could have more drakes . . .

As far as being worth it -- the WH's I got from Metzers outlay my chickens AND they lay during winter AND they are good layers for at least 3 years . . . I prefer the ducks over chickens for eggs. Main drawback is that the egg shells are so tough, and you might have too many for your needs.

 

[raymondjames]

Okay. I have decided on Welsh Harlequins. Also Metzer has low prices vs. Murray McMurray and still has them in stock. it may be a while before i get them, though.

 

[Tahai]

Welcome to the Duck Side (quackquackquackquackquack)

I like the Harlequins. Cayuga's are sweet too.

 

[jak2002003]

The Pekin ducks are normally really bad mothers and rarely go broody! But they do lay lots of eggs and are very cute.

Muscovy ducks are the most broody and take really good care of their ducklings, but they may not lay as many eggs as the other ducks you mention. They also find most of their own food if you allow they to free range, and they don't need a large area of water to be happy, as they don't swim as often as other ducks.

I have some mix breed ducks that looked rather like orphington ducks. They had many eggs, and also went broody easily.

 

[SMilano]

i have two pekin ducklings that are now 7 weeks. i have never owned ducks before, but have so enjoyed mine and and so happy i decided to purchase them. they have brought a lot of laughs and smiles to us. It turns out that the pekin duck can be "quack sexed", and by about week five we noticed that both ducks had very different sounds of quacks. Turns out we have a hen and a drake. Ollie and Milton. So, its too early for me to tell about egg laying, but i can tell you that i have never met a more people loving, affectionate, funny, enjoyable ducks than Milton and Ollie. They are definitely docile little ducks and i look forward to see how they are as adults!

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Welsh harlequins! I have 4! 1 drake, 3 hens. The hens lay GIANT eggs. I just wish they laid green eggs. I love green eggs. (and ham )


They would so totally fit your bill! I would suggest metzers though!

 

[raymondjames]

I decided on the Welsh Harlequin. What I'll probably do is wait for my pullet Hope to finally go broody or one of my silkies (we all know they will) and I'll give them some hatching eggs for Welsh Harlequin.

I'm still not sure, though. If I do that I could get ALL DRAKES.

Also my rooster is so sweet so the drake needs to be, too. My roo would probably follow the drake around (the rooster's sister, Hope follows the silkies, who are like .25 her size and I think she thinks she is a silkie...)

I wish they offered sexed eggs...