Mixing breeds, what to expect?

the_finch_family

Songster
Dec 15, 2022
156
510
136
East iceland
Hi!
I was wondering if any of you have tried mixing up breeds like magpie ducks with larger mallards or something similar to that.

I currently have one wild mallard female, a mallard derived mix male (he's quite large, but I have no clue what breed he exactly is), a magpie male and female, and a small-ish pekin female.

I wonder, what could I expect from such mixes? Both my larger females (the pekin and the magpie) are laying eggs still today despite -15°C temperatures, could I expect the offspring of these girls and the mallard derived male to have less eggs throughout the year? Concidering how much more my mallard male likes the snow and the cold than the others, could such a mix possibly be hardier?
Could a mix between my magpie male and pekin female result in hardier, better egg laying ducks?

These are just speculations, I've only had experience breeding finches, so things such as the genetic links to egg laying potential and hardiness aren't exactly something I've had to look into as much as I'd have to with the ducks. I've mostly focused on behaviour, general health, intelligence and looks for my finches.

If any of you have links to some articles relating to duck breeding for size, egg laying and hardiness I'd really appreciate it!
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Not an article, and not free, but Dave Holderread’s book, “Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks” talks a lot about that. From reading that, I would say, yes, you could get “hybrid vigor” but you also might not. I also have recently been reading Ashton’s book, “The Domestic Duck” (yes, I’m a nerd). I haven’t finished it, but he was talking about how the number of eggs layed is influenced by type but individuals can lay much better or worse than expected. He was suggesting using better layers for breeding. So, even though Pekins were bred to be meat birds, not egg birds, you might have a great layer who might pass that trait on 🤷‍♀️.
 
Not an article, and not free, but Dave Holderread’s book, “Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks” talks a lot about that. From reading that, I would say, yes, you could get “hybrid vigor” but you also might not. I also have recently been reading Ashton’s book, “The Domestic Duck” (yes, I’m a nerd). I haven’t finished it, but he was talking about how the number of eggs layed is influenced by type but individuals can lay much better or worse than expected. He was suggesting using better layers for breeding. So, even though Pekins were bred to be meat birds, not egg birds, you might have a great layer who might pass that trait on 🤷‍♀️.
Oh I see! I'd love to get some good reading material into my collection, so I'll definitely look into getting these two. I'm somewhat of a nerd too, but can you blame us? These things are so interesting to read about and learn!
 
Here's a bit of an update!!!
I'm now quite confident of the mixes I have.
Two brown babies from my grey magpie female x mix breed make (1&2), one girl from mallard x magpie drake (3) and one girl from my grey magpie female and normal magpie male (4).

Here they are! I'm absolutely obsessed with the look of my mallard mix girlie, she's absolutely stunning, especially now that she grew out her feathers nicely.
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