SWEDISH Duck Thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[70%cocoa]

Now, is that a fault for showing, or is it dictated that basically if Swedes have brown feathers they are not considered swedes? It's not like that up here in Canada. We have some of the world's last populations of Chocolate Swedes. Very rare, and still very authentic Swedish. I take it that you aussies don't have any Chocolate swedes?

I did reply to this bit earlier but I stuffed it up and BYC ate it, LOL.

Brown in the feathers is a fault for showing here. If a bird had brown, it would still be considered to be Swedish, just a Swedish with a fault. Unless it was brown all over... No chocolate Swedish in the Standard here but that doesn't mean someone might not be working on them. They'd look pretty nice!!!!!

 

[Lovely Emily]

The SPPA (I don't know if you guys have SPPA down there) recognizes Chocolates. They are one of the originaly varieties, you know. Swedes are a landrace from Germany (go figure, but it's the truth). They were originally bred in B/B/S, Chocolate, Deep Lavender and Deep Lilac (without Buff dilution). Now only the Blues are being bred (and of course the subsequent Blacks and Splashes. It's really quite sad to see most varieties of a breed to, not only get nearly lost, but get entirely shunned, too. Honestly, if you were to post pictures of your Chocolate Swedes here, how many PMs do you think you'd get telling you that someone ripped you off, etc.? I wish the APA and other organizations would recognize, as a default, ALL of the varieties of heritage breeds, and ALL of the breeds. Because people often think of the Standard as the Bible for breeding poultry, so if it's not in there, some think it isn't so. I hope I get some Chocolates. They'de be pretty.

Emily

 

[70%cocoa]

The SPPA (I don't know if you guys have SPPA down there) recognizes Chocolates. They are one of the originaly varieties, you know. Swedes are a landrace from Germany (go figure, but it's the truth). They were originally bred in B/B/S, Chocolate, Deep Lavender and Deep Lilac (without Buff dilution). Now only the Blues are being bred (and of course the subsequent Blacks and Splashes. It's really quite sad to see most varieties of a breed to, not only get nearly lost, but get entirely shunned, too. Honestly, if you were to post pictures of your Chocolate Swedes here, how many PMs do you think you'd get telling you that someone ripped you off, etc.? I wish the APA and other organizations would recognize, as a default, ALL of the varieties of heritage breeds, and ALL of the breeds. Because people often think of the Standard as the Bible for breeding poultry, so if it's not in there, some think it isn't so. I hope I get some Chocolates. They'de be pretty.

Emily

Yeah, I know what you mean. It'd be nice if the Standards at least recognised black and splash/silver, as a start! It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that only Blue is recognised.

I'd like to see Lilac, Lavender and Chocolate Bibbed birds recognised here. Whatever they were called. I've seen some in bantam form at an auction, so I know that someone in my area is playing around with these colours.

 

[jess5254]

I just hatched out seven of my black swede eggs. 100% hatch rate YEAH!!!! Are the males always black with a bib and the females lighter colored. My male is a black bib and the hen is a much lighter colored almost brown with white spots. THe babies that hatched are 4 like daddy and three like mommy does this mean 4 male and 3 females?

 

[70%cocoa]

I just hatched out seven of my black swede eggs. 100% hatch rate YEAH!!!! Are the males always black with a bib and the females lighter colored. My male is a black bib and the hen is a much lighter colored almost brown with white spots. THe babies that hatched are 4 like daddy and three like mommy does this mean 4 male and 3 females?

Jess, congratulations!!!

With those two parents the different colours in the ducklings shouldn't indicate particular sexes. It's possible that your hen is chocolate though....does she actually look dark brown, compared to your drake?

Would love to see pics of your new bubs!

Edit since I meant to say 'dark brown' not 'darn brown'.....!

 

[jess5254]

My drake is black bibbed and my hen is a lot lighter almost smoky colored. I posted pics in this tthread of them and was told she might be a lavender, I dunno its hard to say. I think they are beautiful ducks especially my drake that is why I breed them.

 

[70%cocoa]

Jess, I went back to look at the pics of your duck and I agree that lavender or lilac are possibilities (lavender and lilac are terms that are not used that consistently to describe colours but in the UK/Europe 'Lilac' is used to describe a bird that is Blue and Chocolate and 'Lavender' is used to describe a bird that is Splash (or Silver) and Chocolate.

 

[Dare Bear]

Hello everyone,

I have two beautiful black Swedish girls (Pippa, and Ophelia- I will post pictures when I get home

), who are now almost 6 months old (next week). They have both began to lay eggs within the past two weeks, at first it was just medium sized white eggs, but now the other duck (we think it's Pippa) has started to lay very different eggs. they are thinner and longer, but also black. I don't know if it is because she rolls them in the dirt or they just come out that way, the black coloring will scratch off in some spots. That's all fine and dandy, but my real question has more to do with the marble sized egg we found today. Is this normal? I don't know how to put pictures in this post, so I have put them on my profile.


Please note, the yellow thing next to the marble (egg) is a corn flake, which is about the same size.

If you guys have any information we would greatly appreciate it.

 

[70%cocoa]

Dare Bear, congratulations on the eggs - I hope your girls turn out to be great layers.

Those eggs all look totally normal to me, for young Swedish ducks starting out laying. It's normal to get some tiny little eggs - and, if they are coloured, for them to be darker than big eggs as the colour pigment only has to spread over a small area and so it's more concentrated. The black colour on the outside is a pigment put on the egg just before it's laid. Black ducks do often lay black eggs. Over time they will become lighter and lighter as the duck uses up her supply of colour pigment.

The tiny eggs you have probably only have white in them, no yolk.

Over time the size of the eggs being produced should stabilise and become more consistently normal sized.

Would love to see some photos of your Swedish girls There is probably an instruction thread somewhere about how to put pics in a post...

 

[CrookedFurrows]

Hey guys, read the whole forum as I've had some Swedes for a little over a year now, ordered them from Meyer hatchery.
A few questions: First off, does anyone know whether or not my swedes are pure bred? They are colored relatively correctly I have five, A drake with a correctly shaped bib (although a little messy), a few brown feathers, and a small crest, The rest are all hens one almost completely black with a few white spots where the bib should be, one blue with white "eyeliner" and a bib that seems to have been split in two, one blue that is almost entirely blue...., and finally the best one by far a black hen with a relatively clean bib the right size shape and symmetry no white under the chin and two outer most white flight feathers on both wings. All of them are pretty small in comparison to my three Pekin ducks although they do free range and swim in a shallow pool.
I am currently a stranger to the finer details of judging poultry, as I have worked with sheep and goats for most of my life, and would very much like to start a breeding program. I do not like my current drake as he not only has a crest but brown feathers so I have taken the liberty of purchasing six pure bred hatching eggs (I received 7). I also Purchased a little giant incubator with turner from a good friend of mine who raises chickens. Yesterday I received the eggs and have not been able to put them in until today due to an unfortunate occurrence (my brother simply had to see what the temperature knob does!). I set the temperature (again) to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and put some water at the bottom (a very little amount). I am currently adjusting the temperature once more before the eggs are set, and I must admit I am filled with nervous apprehension and am not sure of the humidity level, temperature, nor why my hatching eggs are dramatically different sizes. One of the hatching eggs almost looks as if the yolk is stuck to the shell, and yet another when candled seems to have no discernible air sack and the albumen seems to "separate" or un-stick itself from the egg shell when gently turned... Is this normal?
Please help me sort this all out - M.A.W.