Pale bills

[cms7352]

Hi,
We received 2 extra ducklings in our order. Two of them when they arrived didn't look great so I thought oh they must have looked that way before shipping. Now a month and a half later they are doing really well. The only problem is that 2 have super pale bills. I' ve read this is a sign of heart problems and that they should be culled. Does anyone have experience with pale billed ducks?
Thanksgiving

 

[cms7352]

That was meant to be thanks at the end spell check added giving... sorry!

 

[ZoeS95423]

what kind of ducks are they?

 

[AdamD77]

If they are Pekins, Aylesbury's have pale pinkish bills and have been crossed quite a bit with Pekins. Maybe yours are showing an Aylesbury trait? Not sure about this heart problems thing, someone with experience will have to comment on that...

 

[cms7352]

They are pekings. We have 7 ordered 5. 2 of them have very pale bills but their feet are a normal orange color. Is that common with the sign you mentioned? Will they survive?

 

[FenDruadin]

Frankly, I wouldn't worry about it. If they are acting healthy and strong, then they're probably healthy and strong. If you see problems later, then you can address it then, but I would personally never "cull" (in the sense of kill) a bird based on color. On the other hand, for breeding purposes I probably would NOT include them in my breeding plans--not just for health reasons, but because they would pull the resulting birds further from breed standard. That is one form of "culling" that I would agree with in this case.

I suspect they are just fine. Hatchery stock is usually not carefully bred to type and all kinds of color variations can occur. And if they do end up with heart problems, then you'll know and can deal with it then, but there's no sense in borrowing tomorrow's trouble.

Good luck with them--I'm sure they're providing plenty of entertainment.

 

[PortugalBreeder]

Quote:
Almost for sure that means they are females, but and when they start laying they will loose even more color, most of the time is nothing to worry about.

 

[gofasterstripe]

The pale beak does not mean its a girl.....The pale beak is the Aylesbury breeding within the duck. I have hatched out a few this year. Dont worry anout it, its just the character trait of the duck.

 

[PortugalBreeder]

Quote:
In ducks from the same breed (that descend from mallards) females always have paler beak.
Obviously, you can't compare between different breeds and have the same conclusions.