Mixing duck breeds

The worry is that a big drake could drown a smaller hen.

We have a real mixed bag of breeds here, but the Pekin is a girl and the bantam (Australian Spotted) is a boy, so they've been okay so far, except that the guy can't balance on the girl's back, which leads to all sorts of frustration. Our other two were supposed to be Australian Spotteds, too, but a Cayuga/Blue Swedish drake apparently had other plans. We got one blue with a brown head boy and a black with brown pencilling girl from that union.
 
The worry is that a big drake could drown a smaller hen.


Good to know, though now I need help planning. I wanted a Cayuga because it's pretty and I wanted the grey eggs (there's only two people to feed, so we don't need a proific breed). However, lately my BF has saidhe wants meat ducks adn to eat a lot, whixch means jumbo pekins. I'm not sure what genders/breeds to get or how many (or if I should breed two together and keep the mix kids to breed and eat the thrid generation).

Any suggestion anyonre?
 
Well, I found, it depends on the duck. I also have some geese. Seems there are "bullies", and then there are "get alongs". If raised together it seems to help alot, but I have added some together later. At first, there is some pecking order squabbling. (much like adding a horse to a new herd). I do watch , and if a drake seems , persistant in bullying , he goes and lives in the "boys pen". My runners turnout with 2 young african geese, the runners move quick enough that the geese don't hurt them, but I wouldn't put any duck in the goose pen at night after sexual maturity and they are fed separately. Geese seem to be pretty defensive about nesting areas and feedtime. That said, my Shetland geese were raised with Saxony ducks and they turnout in day yard just fine, but have separate sleeping quarters. My Hookbills are along right now, they did fine with runners, but did try to breed with Saxony and the size difference could be risky. And Spring brings more fighting over females.
I did find a Hookbill duck drowned during turnout, not sure if it was a drakes or the geese....
 
One of the farmers at our local market was selling duck eggs, and we started chatting one day about breeds. He said that his were Cayuga, but the laws require him to wash eggs for sale, and when he does this, the grey washes off. When I heard that, I was much less disappointed that my half-cayuga duck got her momma's green egg genes!
(momma was a bantam, though - even more of a problem to mix with a big breed!)
 

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