'My son's runner ducks for 4h.

[whisper237]

Here are my son's runner ducks he wants to show in 4h next week. He signed up to do breeding ducks so he has to choose between the two trios of runners and the saxony ducks. I posted about the saxony's on another post.

 

[70%cocoa]

The heads on the drakes look quite good - especially the one on the left in the pic. Can you get a pic of the ducks standing on the ground, from the side? (btw, same with the Saxonies in the other thread )

With Runners, it is mainly about type - that is, head shape and how they stand.

Taylorducks on here breeds very good Runners that do very well in shows, so hopefully she will be along at some point with some advice

 

[whisper237]

Yes I will try tomorrow night or Friday night. They decided to jump in the pool when I came in the pen. Since its been almost 100 degrees here I wasn't going to chase them around by myself and stress them.

 

[70%cocoa]

Makes sense They look like they are having a lovely time.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I assume with 4H the children will be asked questions about their ducks and also be expected to handle them? So which ever ducks are chosen- it is a great idea for your son get used to handling them and being comfortable with putting them into- and getting them out of a pen. Quizzing him on some facts could also help to settle some nerves about the day

Making sure the ducks themselves are not too scared of being in a show pen is important too. 70%cocoa is right about the way the points system works with Runners. The shape of their body is much more important than colour- so having them feel comfortable in a pen- and trained to stand upright is going to help make your sons birds stand out against the rest.

The main thing though- is that your son has some fun. The judge will try and give some very positive advice that will encourage your son. Sometimes though- kids can take it as criticism and be put off so even talking to your son about that kind of thing will help him enjoy the day more.



Here is a photo showing a young duck being pen trained. The blue colour is supposed to be calming- and you can see that I have used a fairly tall and slim box- this encourages them to stand up. With your hand you can gently coax the bird by lifting the head - running the hand down its back to encourage it to stand in a way where she is presenting herself in a way that closely fits the description in the Standards of perfection. best of luck on the day- I hope your son really enjoys himself...and cant wait for the next time.

Taylorducks on here breeds very good Runners that do very well in shows, so hopefully she will be along at some point with some advice

I will have to look her up one day - I have heard so many lovely things said about her ducks

 

[whisper237]

The ducks are pretty calm when being handled. They just know I won't go in their "pond" after them. lol yes he will be asked questions on his ducks, why he chose them etc. It will be a interesting show as most of the other kids show call ducks or pekins. And not much for breeder types. We were told the runners should look like pop bottels. Last time we weighed them as they have to be a certain weight the girls didn't even register over a pound and the drakes were right on the mark.
We are placing them in and out of a cage so that they are fine with being handled and cage containment.