Sell Me On A Duck Breed

[WannaBeHillBilly]

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.

Limpy is such a nice drake, he even calls in the flock if i give him some treats. They all have their personalities, but usually one drake with multiple females is nice to the girls.

 

[Kabootar]

Okay, this is confession time. I went back and checked my first post on this thread and I really mixed up my runners with my khaki Campbells . My bad .

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

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

Awkward? The Dutch Hookbill looks awkward:

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Okay, this is confession time. I went back and checked my first post on this thread and I really mixed up my runners with my khaki Campbells . My bad .

So you have Khaki Runners or Indian Campbells or?

 

[MGG]

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.

Oh, sorry, didn't know that. I just think they're cute with the puffy crest and all. Thank you for the correction.

 

[Kabootar]

Also, just a few more questions on ducks, period - any breed:

• I use Purina Flock Raiser
• Do I adjust their feed in the early days, or not?
• Added Niacin?
• Less protein?
• Do I need to look for feed made specifically for ducklings?

We add brewers yeast to waterfowl feed, 20% protein for 2 weeks then reduced to 17%. So yes kind of special food for waterfowls.

 

[Kabootar]

So you have Khaki Runners or Indian Campbells or?

Both plus pekings, but I think pekings are more like pet ducks than any other.

 

[Texag87]

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

When I was looking into getting ducks the Runners did not impress me. The word you used”awkward” describes how I felt about them even though so many people were very happy with runners. we acquired ours playing duckling roulette at Tractor Supply. When we get more ducks it will be runners or we will hatch some half runners.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Oh, sorry, didn't know that. I just think they're cute with the puffy crest and all. Thank you for the correction.

I thought so too, before i read some of the details why they have that crest. It is just something that wouldn't survive in the wild and is such a disadvantage for a duck that we should overcome that "cuuute" thought and consciously say "no, that is going too far". Like with naked cats or dogs. Just because we can breed those, we really shouldn't.
Don't get me wrong, i have some crested ducks and drakes and i love them to pieces , but i would not allow them to breed or breed them on purpose. - And unfortunately it did happen…

 

[Coopscraft]

Muscovy ducks: quiet goofy hardy calm free range domesticated from a wild bird in Central America.