Sell Me On A Duck Breed

[shawluvsbirds]

I heard you are in need of my help...

Your late to the party. Mimi has left the building for the night.

 

[duluthralphie]

Your late to the party. Mimi has left the building for the night.

My offer will greet her in the morning.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Aw, this picture is adorable. I can see the love!
Yes, this thought crossed my mind, but/and....

• even though I’ve successfully hatched bator chicks, I’m afraid I’m not familiar enough with ducks to spot problems during hatching. That’s just an excuse, I know.
• there is a house not far from me with a yard full of mallard-looking ducks. I’ve wanted to stop there out of sheer curiosity, but (and this leads to yet another question), my chickens are NPIP certified, which leaves me not stopping at unknown places just on a whim. I will assume that ducks are/can be certified as well, but that is why I figured I’d be purchasing from a hatchery. Well, and the fact that I wanted all females of multiple breeds...the first go around anyway.
• I really had wanted to hatch some of whichever breed suited us best after I let the girls (I hope I can call female ducks, “the girls,” like I do my chickens!) help raise a respectable drake. (Once again I am assuming here. Can drakes be rogue like cockerels?)

And that’s why I only want four! Even though the puppy dog ducks might aggravate me at times, my chickens do, this is what I’m wanting for my grandson. I know he will love these little ducks.

Yes, duck[farm]s can become NPIP certified too. Every hatchery must be, or else they would not be allowed to ship into other states. The reason why i mentioned the "neighborhood-ducks" is that those mutt-ducks are often more healthy and more vigorous than over-clean-bread incestious ducks. My black Swedish ducks for example are the cutest, friendliest feather-balls on earth, but every day another one is limping and it is not always a drake's fault. Sometimes they just stumble over their own feet and limp on…
At the complete opposite scale are my Buff-Orpington/Runner muttlings: They have the hybrid-vigor, are large, clever and know all too well how to wrap me around their webbed fingers, especially Mini Duck! - Which would make them really good pets. (imo)
But you're correct, with hatching eggs you never know what you get and may end up with all drakes…
Speaking of drakes: You cannot compare a drake with a rooster! Some drakes are rough to the girls when the hormones boil over in spring, but i have never seen a drake killing another drake. They brawl for a moment and then its done. And single drakes usually are very gentle with their girls, for example let them eat the treats first and just snack one or two. Drake sonly become a problem when there are not enough ducks around and they start to overbreed.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

This is something I did not know. My chickens have access to their Flock Raiser crumbles whenever they want it, no withholding at all. Do I need to feed ducks at specified times to prevent them from overeating? I didn’t know they were closet gluttons!

My Ducks have access to food and water 24x7 and they all eat responsible! All but Blanca Duck, she once fell asleep with her head in the feeder: And was awoken rather rudely when somebody stepped on her rump.
But she is not becoming [too] overweight because she keeps up with the rest of the flock when they are running around the house, up the hill, down the hill, raiding the tomato-patch… And she is a very good mouser, turing into a "Kugelblitz" when she spots one.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

What about tufted ducks (Bali ducks?) Or Swedish blues?

Please! Do not support crested ducks! It may look adorable but is a genetic defect that can result in a deadly mating-accident for the duck and may kill 25% of her offspring.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Theres a local gal here started selling mandarin ducks, she sells hens in the summer. Would i ever love to get some but you need a covered a run and i dont have the property cleared off enough yetView attachment 2034966

Yes they're beautiful, but imo the American Wood Duck is "beautifuller":

And a native species, in dire need of help!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Another question. Would it be better to stick with 4 ducks of only ONE breed or will I be okay getting FOUR different breeds?

Four different breeds are ok, if you don't combine light breeds (i.e. Runners) with a really heavy breed (i.e. Pekin) see here: http://ducks.database4specialists.com/

 

[Texag87]

18 pages in one day... TLDR
So I'l just agree with anyone who said Runners, partially agree with anyone who said Ancona, and disagree with anyone who said Pekin.

Those are the 3 breeds we have. I'm currently trying to sell my Ancona and Pekin while hatching more Runners.

I absolutely love my Runners. They have wonderful personalities, are easy on the fee, and great conversation starters.

Yes, duck[farm]s can become NPIP certified too. Every hatchery must be, or else they would not be allowed to ship into other states. The reason why i mentioned the "neighborhood-ducks" is that those mutt-ducks are often more healthy and more vigorous than over-clean-bread incestious ducks. My black Swedish ducks for example are the cutest, friendliest feather-balls on earth, but every day another one is limping and it is not always a drake's fault. Sometimes they just stumble over their own feet and limp on…
At the complete opposite scale are my Buff-Orpington/Runner muttlings: They have the hybrid-vigor, are large, clever and know all too well how to wrap me around their webbed fingers, especially Mini Duck! - Which would make them really good pets. (imo)
But you're correct, with hatching eggs you never know what you get and may end up with all drakes…
Speaking of drakes: You cannot compare a drake with a rooster! Some drakes are rough to the girls when the hormones boil over in spring, but i have never seen a drake killing another drake. They brawl for a moment and then its done. And single drakes usually are very gentle with their girls, for example let them eat the treats first and just snack one or two. Drake sonly become a problem when there are not enough ducks around and they start to overbreed.

bandit does the wait for females to eat first but it’s because he wants to eat treats straight out of my hand. Magnolia Ducks says that Bandits son does the same thing.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Oh .. I have videos to prove it. my girls are sometimes worse than the boys!

Yes they are! - Triple Duckburger anyone?

 

[Kabootar]

18 pages in one day... TLDR
So I'l just agree with anyone who said Runners, partially agree with anyone who said Ancona, and disagree with anyone who said Pekin.

Those are the 3 breeds we have. I'm currently trying to sell my Ancona and Pekin while hatching more Runners.

I absolutely love my Runners. They have wonderful personalities, are easy on the fee, and great conversation starters.

Yeah, Indian runners are great ducks, but I see them more as a production breed. They also look kind of awkward to me.