Pekin x Runner?

[Silvermist]

Yup its me again, bombarding the forum with more questions! I've always suspected that my male pekin isn't pekin. I compared the attributes of pekins and runner ducks and saw that my duck has some of each traits. He is not fluffy or chubby, and has a very slim neck and head like a runner duck. But he doesn't stand completely up right and sort of stands diagonally. He is pure white, and has light orange beak. He also waddles and is very aggressive, his bites leave scars.


He is on the right with a swag leaf hat. On the left is his wife Happy.
Next picture is him when he was around 3 weeks?

So, what is he? A mix?

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

yeah, probably something like that...i would call that a good guess.

are you sure its a he?? maybe its just the pic, but most boys usually have a curly tail feather.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Google a German Pekin. We have a "White Crested" from Metzer Farms and He (Drake) is almost as big as our Pekin (Duck). He is longer and more slender. He walks nearly as upright as our runners. I wondered if he had runner in him along with some Pekin since Metzer just refers to them as "White". Then I stumbled across a picture of a German Pekin.... This was exactly Tevye without the crest. European Pekins walk more vertical than our American Pekins.



Here is Tevye (back) right next to a runner for size and poise. And Snow our Pekin duck in front of him. Even though it doesn't look like it, he is slightly longer than she is, and weighs just a little less (8 lbs vs 10 lbs). So you can see the angle of the shot, note that our Welch Harlequin looks bigger than Snow and she only weighs about 5 lbs tops.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

Google a German Pekin. We have a "White Crested" from Metzer Farms and He (Drake) is almost as big as our Pekin (Duck). He is longer and more slender. He walks nearly as upright as our runners. I wondered if he had runner in him along with some Pekin since Metzer just refers to them as "White". Then I stumbled across a picture of a German Pekin.... This was exactly Tevye without the crest. European Pekins walk more vertical than our American Pekins.



Here is Tevye (back) right next to a runner for size and poise. And Snow our Pekin duck in front of him. Even though it doesn't look like it, he is slightly longer than she is, and weighs just a little less (8 lbs vs 10 lbs). So you can see the angle of the shot, note that our Welch Harlequin looks bigger than Snow and she only weighs about 5 lbs tops.

interesting....
hey, i was wondering, was you experience with metzer farms good or bad?? i want to order some more ducklings and goslings sometime next year, and was leaning toward them.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

interesting....
hey, i was wondering, was you experience with metzer farms good or bad?? i want to order some more ducklings and goslings sometime next year, and was leaning toward them.

I was very happy. On my first order, they did accidentally ship me a second crested instead of a Welsh Harlequin, but they made good on that. Total I ordered 11 ducks, then got two shipped when they corrected the order, then I had two shipped when I replaced two I lost to a raccoon (that won't happen again). So total, I received 3 shipments and 15 ducks from them. Two shipments arrived a day late (the first and last) - that was the PO's fault. There were no losses. All ducks were healthy except one who arrived constipated and took some nursing, but made it and it was about a week behind in development due to its slow start. All the ducks are beautiful, although Metzer doesn't breed for show quality. They seem very healthy and have a good temperament. Our Cayuga isn't as vibrant as some I have seen, (Our Black Swedish actually has more colorful plumage) but our Welsh Harlequin is absolutely beautiful with very strong markings. You can see all of their pictures in the signature line if you like.

We actually got all different breeds so we could easily identify them and get to know them individually by name. (No freezer camp for this clan.

)

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

I was very happy. On my first order, they did accidentally ship me a second crested instead of a Welsh Harlequin, but they made good on that. Total I ordered 11 ducks, then got two shipped when they corrected the order, then I had two shipped when I replaced two I lost to a raccoon (that won't happen again). So total, I received 3 shipments and 15 ducks from them. Two shipments arrived a day late (the first and last) - that was the PO's fault. There were no losses. All ducks were healthy except one who arrived constipated and took some nursing, but made it and it was about a week behind in development due to its slow start. All the ducks are beautiful, although Metzer doesn't breed for show quality. They seem very healthy and have a good temperament. Our Cayuga isn't as vibrant as some I have seen, (Our Black Swedish actually has more colorful plumage) but our Welsh Harlequin is absolutely beautiful with very strong markings. You can see all of their pictures in the signature line if you like.

We actually got all different breeds so we could easily identify them and get to know them individually by name. (No freezer camp for this clan.

)

cool!! thanks...i think i will go with them I saw the pics, they are beautiful!! what is your favorite one?? I raise meat chickens and gamebirds, but just can't kill any ducks or geese...they are more like pets with some eggs as a benefit I like having a mixed flock, it is really fun.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

cool!! thanks...i think i will go with them I saw the pics, they are beautiful!! what is your favorite one?? I raise meat chickens and gamebirds, but just can't kill any ducks or geese...they are more like pets with some eggs as a benefit I like having a mixed flock, it is really fun.

Well you know that is always a difficult question. Officially of course, we love all our "kids" equally.

But Tevye, Tevye, Tevye. If we knew more when we got the ducklings, we probably wouldn't have gotten him since there are so many potential problems with a crested duck. So far we haven't seen any issues and he is very engaged and seems to like to play and have fun, so I am pretty sure he is doing fine. But he has personality in spades! If you have a little time read https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/919453/tevye-a-really-awesome-duck He has been a great source of entertainment and he is probably single-wingedly responsible for us having a single cohesive flock now (even though he doesn't "run" it).

Rhiannon (the Welsh Harlequin) is the sweetest and most beautiful. She spends a lot of time farther from the flock although she does interact with them, but is the most attentive to my wife and I when there is no treats involved. If we sit in a chair in the yard, she will lie down by our feet or under the chair. We can pick her up and cuddle with her and she is happy with it, and she squirms when she has to poop so she doesn't do it on us.

Snow (the Pekin) is hands down the smartest and most curious. They have a feeder that they have to step on a plate to open (keeps the little birds from eating all their food). I made a modification to it last summer and I pulled the plate off for an hour. All the other ducks were oblivious to me doing it, and one of the other ducks actually walked up to the feeder while I had the plate off and tried to open it, gave up and walked away. Snow saw me take it off and she followed me to where I was working and quacked non-stop at me until I finished my work and put the plate back on. After I put it back on, she checked my work and made sure it worked correctly, then she was quiet. She knew that was the lever for her food and without it, she couldn't eat.

Kaine runs the flock with all that that entails. He makes sure they all go in at night and makes sure they know he is the king. The other ducks of course have their own personalities too, but those are the really outstanding ones.
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Wow, chickens/game birds ducks and geese. You can't be too close in the city... Even here in Montana, they won't let you have birds like that in the city (or in most sub-divisions). We probably should give Silvermist back their thread. They asked a simple question and they will come back to a whole thread only slightly related to it

. If you just want to chew the fat, you can PM me.

 

[Silvermist]

yeah, probably something like that...i would call that a good guess.

are you sure its a he?? maybe its just the pic, but most boys usually have a curly tail feather.

I forgot to say, we took that pic before his drake feather grew, but we knew because he didn't quack

 

[Silvermist]

interesting....
hey, i was wondering, was you experience with metzer farms good or bad?? i want to order some more ducklings and goslings sometime next year, and was leaning toward them.

I googled a pic, and lol they are so fat (or maybe my ducks are slender). Yeah, it looks very similar but just wondering does beak color help at all to determine what breed a duck is?

 

[needlessjunk]

I googled a pic, and lol they are so fat (or maybe my ducks are slender). Yeah, it looks very similar but just wondering does beak color help at all to determine what breed a duck is?

Pekins have orange beaks while other white ducks like layers and runners have a light Orange/pinkish beak. I would guess he is a cross especially from the baby pic. My avatar is of my 2 male pekins take around 16 weeks. Here is a pic of them when they were a baby at 2 weeks