Pairs of different breeds raised and living happily together?

[FunQuail]

Hi,
So can you have a pair of blue Swedish,
a pair of mallards,
a pair of Pekins,
a pair of khaki Campbell’s,
and a pair of rouens all raised together from ducklings, with lots of space, all live together happily? Or what could work with those breeds otherwise? Which of that list pairs off and who doesn’t?
Thank you!!

 

[FunQuail]

Thank you for your reply!
So could I do something like three hens and one drake of pekins, mallards, and rouens? Will they cross breed?

 

[FunQuail]

Theyll cross breed and be alot happier with one drake

Thank you!
So all 5 breeds would be happier with only one male? Did I get that right? Which of the five breeds should be the male?

 

[Kessel23]

Yes, all domestic ducks can cross breed with each other. Every domestic duck besides the Muscovy was domesticated from the Mallard and their genetics are almost identical. The Mallard derived ducks can cross with the distantly related Muscovy too but the offspring will not be fertile, like a mule.
I crossed a Pekin drake to a rouen hen this spring, here are the results-

(5 dark rouen like ducks in the middle, dad is the pekin to the left)

(mom in the middle and kid to the right)

(Pure Rouen to the left)

Large breeds like the Pekin and Rouen are not good are incubating and brooding their own eggs because of their body size, they usually end up crushing most of them. Mallards make great broodies though. You might need to provide swimming water for them to breed in, I heard it will increase fertility rates, although I have never had a problem with it.

So if you get 2 of each breed you will have 10, you should probably only get 1-2 drakes. You can see a Pekin drake and a Rouen drake in my pictures, mallards look almost the same as rouens. I do not have any pictures of the other drake breeds.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Thank you for your reply!
So could I do something like three hens and one drake of pekins, mallards, and rouens? Will they cross breed?

One drake with three ducks is the absolute minimum! Otherwise you will end up with over-breed ducks and fighting drakes. The breed itself is not important - ok a Jumbo Pekin drake with mallard ducks might not be such a good idea, but generally all domesticated ducks get along with each other and crossbreed happily.

 

[Kkrista123]

Having one drake is defiantly the right way to go. Personally out of all the breeds you listed, I would chose the blue Swedish to be my drake because they tend to be calm drakes that like to keep everything in order and also he will make some very pretty offspring! Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[Kkrista123]

Also whatever ducks you chose, just raise them together and they will be best friends till the end!

 

[FunQuail]

Thank you all so much! I think I’m just going to get mallards, 5 females 1 male.
Will keep you all updated!!
Thanks again!

 

[Kessel23]

If by pair you mean 1 drake and 1 hen then the answer is nope. Way to many drakes. All of those breeds will get along well with the right hen to drake ratio. All domestic duck breeds and species can get along with each other besides call ducks which may need to be kept separate because of their small size.

 

[Jpat]

Theyll cross breed and be alot happier with one drake