The Beauty of Ducks-Chat Thread

[MeganFair]

@Table4Six My Campbell is about 11 months old, and the others are about 10 months.

The duck in the middle is Enterprise, and she's a Silver Appleyard. We got her from Metzer Farms, and specifically ordered all females. She hasn't developed a drake feather, but she is a bit more aggressive than the others. Here's another pic.

I'm still new to ducks, so if you think I have a stealth drake, I'll believe you! I was kinda chalking it up to her maybe not having ideal coloration.

 

[Table4Six]

@Table4Six My Campbell is about 11 months old, and the others are about 10 months.

The duck in the middle is Enterprise, and she's a Silver Appleyard. We got her from Metzer Farms, and specifically ordered all females. She hasn't developed a drake feather, but she is a bit more aggressive than the others. Here's another pic.

View attachment 1668280

I'm still new to ducks, so if you think I have a stealth drake, I'll believe you! I was kinda chalking it up to her maybe not having ideal coloration.

Okay, yes, unfortunately there was a slip up in your order. Enterprise’s coloration is 100% drake. He is still very cute and handsome.

 

[Table4Six]

View attachment 1668277 View attachment 1668275

Very sweet pictures

 

[MeganFair]

@Table4Six . . . My husband is going to be so pleased not to be the only un-modified male in the house!

Well, I guess I might get more ducklings this spring the all natural way too! Does anyone know how an AppleyardXWelsh Harlequin cross does? And why hasn't a drake feather developed yet? We were watching the Campbell because she was a Tractor Supply buy, so I thought they developed by six or seven months of age? Does this happen a lot?

And I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised since technically we ordered a Saxony from Metzer, and they sent us an Appleyard instead . . . This just, blows my mind and my plans wide open! In a good way, in a good way.

 

[Table4Six]

@Table4Six . . . My husband is going to be so pleased not to be the only un-modified male in the house!

Well, I guess I might get more ducklings this spring the all natural way too! Does anyone know how an AppleyardXWelsh Harlequin cross does? And why hasn't a drake feather developed yet? We were watching the Campbell because she was a Tractor Supply buy, so I thought they developed by six or seven months of age? Does this happen a lot?

And I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised since technically we ordered a Saxony from Metzer, and they sent us an Appleyard instead . . . This just, blows my mind and my plans wide open! In a good way, in a good way.

Here is a picture of my female appleyard from Metzer: as you can see your birds bill color and red breast feathers are off.

 

[Table4Six]

@Table4Six . . . My husband is going to be so pleased not to be the only un-modified male in the house!

Well, I guess I might get more ducklings this spring the all natural way too! Does anyone know how an AppleyardXWelsh Harlequin cross does? And why hasn't a drake feather developed yet? We were watching the Campbell because she was a Tractor Supply buy, so I thought they developed by six or seven months of age? Does this happen a lot?

And I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised since technically we ordered a Saxony from Metzer, and they sent us an Appleyard instead . . . This just, blows my mind and my plans wide open! In a good way, in a good way.

Is his voice different from the hens? He could be a late bloomer.

 

[MeganFair]

@Table4Six Your hen is absolutely beautiful.

I thought about that after replying to your last post. I mean, I'm not at home so that I can go outside and listen to him, but I do think he has a voice that's a bit raspier than the girls. And I also looked up young drake coloration, and yeah, you're right! Enterprise is a drake!

I mean, even thinking about his behavior makes sense. He's very protective of the hens. The pictures I shared were from a couple weeks back when we were cleaning their enclosure. I was with them because hawks are a very real danger at my house - we have at least two resident hawks in the area and I think some eagles nest near our house - so I stayed with them in their temporary enclosure. We don't have a fence up and no leash laws locally mean there's a lot of dogs that roam around too. One of the hawks made a fly by, and he was the one who kept watch the entire time. He even kind of stood over them.

Just this morning my daughter also noticed him posturing around the pen. He was puffed up, walking in a circle around the pen while the others were all laid down or foraging.

There should be a German word for that feeling one gets when they are informed that they've been misgendering their favorite duck for ten months.

 

[Table4Six]

@Table4Six Your hen is absolutely beautiful.

I thought about that after replying to your last post. I mean, I'm not at home so that I can go outside and listen to him, but I do think he has a voice that's a bit raspier than the girls. And I also looked up young drake coloration, and yeah, you're right! Enterprise is a drake!

I mean, even thinking about his behavior makes sense. He's very protective of the hens. The pictures I shared were from a couple weeks back when we were cleaning their enclosure. I was with them because hawks are a very real danger at my house - we have at least two resident hawks in the area and I think some eagles nest near our house - so I stayed with them in their temporary enclosure. We don't have a fence up and no leash laws locally mean there's a lot of dogs that roam around too. One of the hawks made a fly by, and he was the one who kept watch the entire time. He even kind of stood over them.

Just this morning my daughter also noticed him posturing around the pen. He was puffed up, walking in a circle around the pen while the others were all laid down or foraging.

There should be a German word for that feeling one gets when they are informed that they've been misgendering their favorite duck for ten months.

Thank you! A raspy voice is also a male indicator. Maybe you’ll have some crosses in the near future!

 

[MeganFair]

Thank you! A raspy voice is also a male indicator. Maybe you’ll have some crosses in the near future!

The kicker is I knew that too . . . Like I said, I trusted that Metzer had sexed the ducklings correctly, and didn't make the connections.

And hey, I'll definitely share pictures! I am not very curious as to what I'll end up with!

 

[Table4Six]

My Welsh Harlequin, Sybil, wasn’t as shy today, and I actually got some nice pictures of her.