pekin ducks?

[redstarbill]

Will Pekin ducks lay on and hatch there eggs? are they good parents? rite now I take there eggs everyday, but thinking in spring I'll leave them and see what happens. any thought?

 

[mahsmaj]

I'm thinkin about doin the same thing in the spring... I mean they lay sooo many eggs that I dont need them all and I could afford to let some eggs go for a week or 2 or 3 or 4... I really hope my 2 pekin girls will wanna hatch this spring!!! I have heard of peoples pekin ducks hatching out their own eggs here on BYC!!!

Oh and

 

[sara]

Pekins have the broodiness bred out of them in favor of laying quantity. That is not too say a Pekin absolutely wont sit, but they certainly aren't known for their broodiness. Good luck with whatever you decide. Ducks are fun.

 

[vfem]

My chicken is hatching some pekin ducks right now... they lady I got the eggs from told me her's have hatched their own before. I can't say for sure it is true, but its what she told me.... though I have heard they've had the broodiness breed out of them (the breed pekin that is).

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
This is what I have read as well. Mine haven't laid yet, but I have read that they most likely will not brood their eggs. But like sara said, it's worth a shot! They lay soooo many eggs, if you left some that didn't get brooded, it wouldn't be that much of a loss!

 

[redstarbill]

Thanks for the info, I'll wait till spring and see what happens.

 

[Dill]

Really depends on the indivdual pekin. I've had 4 (accidental) clutches. They had hidden nests each spring (around May). But when you WANT them to have babies, they won't

 

[therisingers]

I went on Google to check this out and sure enough I found out JUST what I wanted and needed to know HERE on my BYC! I will always look HERE before Google from now on when it comes to my poultry. I was reading a book last night and it said that Pekins WON'T brood and we had just bought four more yesterday because of how FAST our "Madea" grew and how friendly he/she is. So we were disappointed when I read that. But I was not so sure and decided to check it out myself. And when someone mentioned above about letting chickens brood them FOR the ducks, that works for me and I have Muscovies which are excellent moms and will brood anyone's babies. So I think we're good. I DO love Pekins. We are just thrilled with how cool our big one is. We ended up with a female MALLARD and she was supposed to be a Pekin. So she will probably end up eaten because she's grumpy with everyone around her and I didn't want Mallard ducks. I want Muscovies (we have five of them) and Pekins (we have five of THEM, too) and so far, so good. My favorites have to be my Buff Orpington chickens though. They are actually friendly and let us hold them and come up to us (we DO feed them dandelion treats sometimes so they ARE looking for treats but they DO let us hold them) and so far, they are awesome. Thank you all for the info you post here. It's helped SO much with this journey that we're on. God bless.

 

[CorinneP]

Love my Pekings but always find Cold Eggs for sure my gal isnt keeping hers warm .

 

[twins4ever79]

So if the eggs get cold, even for a little while, does that mean they aren't good anymore?