Pure verses a mixed breed duck

[charlindabob]

Chickboss, you make perfect sense and yes, you are 100% right in your post. Twice I was duped into believing that I was buying "pure" from what was advertised as a breeder of pure livestock. And, it got me to thinking about how often this happens, not only in the duck world, but elsewhere too. I have witnessed a dog breeder that bred purebred dogs put two small litters together and register as one with the AKC as it was a little bit cheaper than registering two seperate litters. This breeder sold them with papers and about half of the pups were from different parents.
I may have come off as bashing people that crossbreed ducks, but I really don't mean to. Unless of course if they sell them as a pure whatever. I raise Mandarins and although they do not crossbreed even with Wood Ducks, I wouldn't try.
I have ordered K/C ducks from Holderread so satisfy my "purity" need. I know that there are many very reputable breeders that have stock as good as theirs, but just how does one know? And again, I know K/C's come from quite a mix and several crossbreedings were instituted to make this particular duck.
A crossbreed (away from the accepted standard for any particular duck) to me would be like restoring an antique car and not using vintage or exact replicas of parts or deviating from what the original car looked like. I will freely admit though that I enjoy viewing modified antique cars and I would enjoy seeing what crossbreeding two specie of ducks would become.
And again, I don't mean to offend anyone for crossbreeding. That's my story and I am a sticking to it !!

 

[bigdawg]

i have seven wonderful mixed breed ducks, i hatched them myself. and when they start laying i will be hatching there eggs. i also am mixed breeding some light brahma hens to a ? breed of rooster to get a different color light brahma that no one else has. so if you didnt mixed breed animals and there off spring, everyone would have the same type. so has far as mix breeding i am 100 percent all for it . unlike other breeders i will always tell the buyer what they are getting, pure or mixed. if you dont know or trust a breeder your buying from then walk away.

 

[chickboss]

Quote:
I see where you are comming from totally.

I know there are a lot of people out there that would be happy to pass off crosses as purebreds, fiddle with papers (other critters), ect. Even in the purebred circle, you could easily be tricked into buying eggs from "SQ stock" when in fact they may be pet quality at best. But I believe there are by far more people who value honesty and good customer relations. I think overall, I am by far less picky about keeping things pure in terms of what other people do with their flocks, but boy, I hear you when it comes to honesty. I could never sell something knowing that it wasn't to the best of my knowledge as advertised. When you buy, be sure to try and get references. If you can find local breeders, all the better because you can see the parent stock. Other than that, if you get suckered, spread the word. I like the car analogy BTW.

 

[GrannySue]

What a coincidence that this topic should come up!
I acquired a funny duck last year at a poultry swap. Part runner, part who-knows, with a crest on the side of her head. She looked so endearing, I couldn't resist.

My interest in ducks is, I suppose, fairly selfish. I keep them because I like to watch them. Nobody wants their eggs, so I give those to a restaurant in town. I refer to my hobby (ducks and chickens) as my feathered aquarium, just like keeping fish - but with egg benefits.
3 dogs live with me as well, none of them purebreds. They're rescues.

That being said, I do think that passing any animal off as a purebred is simply wrong and irresponsible. There are many Heritage breeds that should be kept as pure as possible.

 

[pardygwyn]

Here's another thought re: duck breeders selling you mixed ducks marked as pure. It's possible a drake or a duck managed to get somewhere without the breeder's knowledge. These guys are pretty... um, busy... fences do fail, and many people I know have more than one breed on-site. As was the case in another recent thread, the duckling sold as a Khaki looked for all the world to be a Khaki but proved to be a mix once she grew feathers.

It wouldn't indicate the best quality control by any means, but mixed ducklings don't automatically mean the breeder is a scheming slimeball.

 

[cbohn80]

breeders mixed breeds to come up with a breed they want. currently i am mixing pekins with runners and cayugas because i want a fast growing meat bird that has some broodiness and also lays a good amount of eggs. i plan on mixing my brahma roo with a few girls from my flock also for the same reasons. as long as i dont burn down a breeders barn and sell my birds as purebred whats the big deal.besides i think it will be awesome to pass my own breed on to my children. how awesome would that be

 

[Tahai]

I like pure breeds in all animals because you, theoretically, know you are getting specific characteristics that the breed was created for and breeds true for.

Are mutts nice? sure. Can you stumble on a new breed? sure. Do f1 generation crosses have better vigor? most usually.

But there is no consistency of characteristics past the f1 generation of the cross, until a new breed is created and stabilized.

 

[Oregon Blues]

The whole point of purebreds is that you know what you are going to get.

I can walk out to my Appleyard pen and pick up any egg at random. When I hatch it out, I will get a large meaty duck with a calm temperament that is a good egg layer and is Appleyard color. It doesn't matter which egg I pick, they are all going to give me the same thing. There will be very minor variations: some drakes will have more sparkle on their throats. Some ducks will have more lacing. But they will all be recognizable as Appleyards. Even beginners who know very little about show ducks will be able to pick them put as Appleyards.

I can mail eggs to anywhere in the country, and if the recipient can get them hatched, they will have a duckling that grows up to be a large meaty duck with a calm temperament that is a good egg layer and is Appleyard color.

People who buy Appleyard eggs from me don't want them to hatch out with some blue, some white, some with crests, some that are hyper, some that only lay 30 eggs a year. They want Appleyards.

The same with Pekins. People who buy Pekins want white ducks who grow like kudzu and have good feed conversion. They don't want the joy of being surprised by what they get.

As for people who breed barnyard mutts, more power to them. I suspect that the majority of them do not have a program to develop a new breed, so I don't consider that argument to be valid.

I also do not think they are doing the slightest bit of harm to purebred ducks because most of them are starting with hatchery ducks which aren't purebred to begin with. People don't buy quality ducks to start a mutt breeding program.

As long as they don't sell mutts as purebreds, they aren't bothering me in the slightest. All ducks are good. Whether they are purebreds or mutts, they are still wonderful ducks.

 

[Oregon Blues]

As a slightly different issue, take a look at the "What Breed Is This?" forum and it will give you a hint about how many people really do care what breed their duck or chicken is. They want to know what breed it is. If they didn't care, they wouldn't bother to try to identify it.

 

[njduck]

here is my take. It is sort of like breeding dogs. I am a huge Golden Retriever person. I have owned and do own a few high quality Goldens. However I do not believe papers of a bloodline means it is a good golden. I have breed goldens, not as a breeder or well versed genetics specialist. But I had 2 very good goldens that where from good blood lines and had good traits and lucky enough not have the bad traits that are inherit to goldens. My last 2 dogs I did not even send in for the their papers. Paper is just that paper. However people looking to turn a profit and not really look for the best qualities will breed pure breed. So it technically is a purebred, but it is show and passing on unwanted traits. Then those dogs are passed on and bred again. This in turn creates purebred dogs that are not what you and degrades the genetics. So a person who says they are selling a purebred, is. They went off what the PAPER's say the animal is. Anyone can create papers, it is not hard to do and can be done with any animal, from dogs to horses. I have been in the horse, cattle, and even dog business long enough to see and know what is going on. It is deceptive (purely money driven), it is up to the person buying to research. Also the person selling to you could have been decieved and not known it.

As for ducks I breed true and cross. I cross for certain traits I am looking for. I have no true science behind it. I just pick out traits I like from 2 different species and I cross to see what I get. If it doesn't fit the bill. I try something different. I have found that crossing 2 different crosses, has created a duck that fits my needs. I am looking for ducks that lay well and fit the needs of the table. Since I don't eat my ducks, I am selling them. With that being said I need to appeal to more then 1 crowd. If I have ducks of various color, shape, and size. It opens up a bigger market. That duck may become a pet and live a nice life forever verses being dinner. But I never advertise a purebred duck.