New Ducklings: Help with identifying breed

[FortCluck]

@WannaBeHillBilly i didn’t realize White layers are meat duck I thought they were developed for being layers? OP please get your little one on a good supplement for its little legs liquid b complex is best but any good plain niacin would be better than none. Give it a chance to get it’s legs better. They sure are pretty little things!

It's on supplements for it's legs not just niacin either. I wish they had the rest of the ducklings when we went yesterday, but the siblings were gone. I'm sure this one isn't the only one who is suffering with a leg problem.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@WannaBeHillBilly i didn’t realize White layers are meat duck I thought they were developed for being layers? OP please get your little one on a good supplement for its little legs liquid b complex is best but any good plain niacin would be better than none. Give it a chance to get it’s legs better. They sure are pretty little things!

White Layers are a considered a light breed - i can't believe that when i pick up Blanca or Earthquack - and they are bred for egg laying not for meat. - I just said that the OP's duckling needs extra Niacin, Calcium, B-complex because it already has developed leg problems.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I agree with you was just wondering why it was mentioned that white layers are called meat ducks. That was not your comment but since you had them I asked you the question. I hadn’t ever heard them called meat ducks an figured you’d know.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I agree with you was just wondering why it was mentioned that white layers are called meat ducks. That was not your comment but since you had them I asked you the question. I hadn’t ever heard them called meat ducks an figured you’d know.

I have heart that several times from different sources, there is a duck available in Canada that is called "Alberta Meat Duck", which is also white. I have no further information about this duck and it is not recognized by the APA.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Probably isn’t the white layer Metzer developed.2 separate countries probably two. Separate breeds.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Probably isn’t the white layer Metzer developed.2 separate countries probably two. Separate breeds.

I assume it is a true farm breed, developed and raised on farms where the ducks were free ranged and the farmers had to herd the birds back inside in the evening and didn't want to step on a cloaked duck by accident…

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hard to miss a solid white duck probably even with out a moon. Kind of glow? lol

 

[KCNC06]

I'm no expert on duck breeds, still not sure if my white adults from TSC last spring are Pekins or White Layers. But based on ducklings I've seen at our TSC, my experience with TSC employees and their "knowledge" about the ducklings/chicks they have in stock and the ducklings we hatched this year ("too many"), I would guess these ducklings aren't the same age. Our TSC has a tendency to give discounts like that when they have ducklings that have been around for close to a week and they want to get them out. The smaller two look like they probably came in with a shipment this week and the bigger one was probably from last week.
I had a staggered hatch from eggs we took from our broody Pekin/White Layer (whichever) after finding dead ducklings in her nest. We had 10 eggs and it took about 15 days for all of them to hatch. The smallest looked like they could have been a different breed compared to the ones that hatched first. They start off standing nice and tall and then start getting that forward posture as they get bigger. They also tend to get clumsy and stompy as they get a little bigger. Since the normal coloring can range from yellow to yellow with ruddy markings, it makes it extra confusing. Our ducklings all had different shades of markings and all (except one with a black eyebrow) are solid white or creamy white now, and all came from the same "Pekin" parents.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I'm no expert on duck breeds, still not sure if my white adults from TSC last spring are Pekins or White Layers. But based on ducklings I've seen at our TSC, my experience with TSC employees and their "knowledge" about the ducklings/chicks they have in stock and the ducklings we hatched this year ("too many"), I would guess these ducklings aren't the same age. Our TSC has a tendency to give discounts like that when they have ducklings that have been around for close to a week and they want to get them out. The smaller two look like they probably came in with a shipment this week and the bigger one was probably from last week.
I had a staggered hatch from eggs we took from our broody Pekin/White Layer (whichever) after finding dead ducklings in her nest. We had 10 eggs and it took about 15 days for all of them to hatch. The smallest looked like they could have been a different breed compared to the ones that hatched first. They start off standing nice and tall and then start getting that forward posture as they get bigger. They also tend to get clumsy and stompy as they get a little bigger. Since the normal coloring can range from yellow to yellow with ruddy markings, it makes it extra confusing. Our ducklings all had different shades of markings and all (except one with a black eyebrow) are solid white or creamy white now, and all came from the same "Pekin" parents.

A sure sign of having a Pekin duck or a duck with some Pekin heritage is the appetite: I am sure that Blanca, one of my White Layers has a lot of Pekin genes in her. Sometimes the wind accidentally shuts the door to the duck-house so they can't get to their pellets during the day. It is those evenings when Blanca falls asleep with her head in the feeder:

Another sign for Pekin are the more massive legs.

 

[KCNC06]

Thank you! Is there a big enough difference in weight between the breeds for that to help determine breed? I was considering trying to weigh my older adults but wasn't sure it was worth the effort. My EXTREMELY spoiled 2.5 month old weighed 3.6 lbs earlier this week. My adults don't usually seem super interested in their pellet or crumble food. They seem to prefer rooting around in the dirt or my plants. But they don't seem worse about it than my others. They're Cayugas, Khaki Campbell's and Rouens.