? on Breed

[GordieH]

Wondering if the duckling in front with a white 'puffball' on the back of its head might be a Crested Pekin. I bought 3 male White Pekins almost a month ago from Ideal Poultry. This was them. The chicken next to them is a 2-minth old EE. The chicks in the background are 3 wk old BO cockerels.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Sure looks like one!

 

[Ducks-R-Us]

Definetly is a crested, and a darn cute one at that

 

[GordieH]

Cool. It is supposed to be a drake. I may keep this one. How is the breed overall for meat and egg production?

 

[GordieH]

Thanks to both of you for replying.

 

[Oregon Blues]

It looks like a crested Pekin to me.

Your egg production from 3 males will not be high.

Pekins are the best for fast economical meat production. I've heard that there are some lines of Pekins that have been bred to be good egg producers. I don't know if the lines you have purchased are egg producers or not.

I have some Pekins right now that are going into the freezer soon. If I pick them up, they feel like they are fatty. Very different from my Appleyards, who are the same size, but definately much leaner. But the Pekins are big enough to butcher at the age of 7 weeks. You can't beat that for meat production. And, unlike Cornish X chickens, they are absolutely healthy and sound with no issues caused by the fast growth.

One more thing about the Pekins: mine are the calmest friendliest ducks I've ever raised. Very nice to work around.

 

[GordieH]

Quote:
AHHHHHHHH, I have six other ducks that are a little over 2 months old. 4 are Pekins, 1 is a Rouen and 1 is a Black Cayuga. I bought them straight run. But I am hoping that at least two of the Pekins are hens as well as the Rouen. I am fairly sure that the Black Cayuga is a hen as it does not have the shiny black feathers I have seen on pics of them online.

I will attest to the fact that the Pekins grow quickly. I am just waiting to see which are hens and which are drakes before I cull the flock.

 

[DB_Tex]

Ideal posts in it's FAQ that they occasionally sub in crested birds to fill an order for the "plain" variety, so I guess you won the lucky lottery! The crested gene has a "lethal" gene attached to it that results in infertility so you should read up on that for breeding.