The khaki-Campbell duck Thread !!!!!!!!

[Khakigaspa]

Khakis in the snow. Got 7 more inches last night and they are out frolicking in the spring run this morning. When they saw me with the camera they must have thought I had lettuce as they mad a beeline for the pond!

Love seeing them in the snow! Just such a contrast for me in hot hot Aust. I see yours have a little house near the pond, do they go in happily at night?

 

[Khakigaspa]

Thank you 2blueguineas.  We do love him and he is special to us and I like his colors also.  He is the sole survivor of my first try at raising ducks and I would never part with him.  We do enjoy his antics and his actions as "The Sarge" around his five girls.

Carcajou, what is generally a good ration for drakes and ducks? I have two drakes and five hens, will there be a prob. With fighting or will they just divvy up the girls lol.

 

[Carcajou]

Carcajou, what is generally a good ration for drakes and ducks? I have two drakes and five hens, will there be a prob. With fighting or will they just divvy up the girls lol.

I have read that one drake to 3-4 ducks is the general recommendation. 2:5 might work but again, it may depend on the drakes themselves. I have one drake to five ducks and he is okay with four of them. He often chases the fifth one away when they are outside but they all seem to be okay at night in the coop.

Maybe someone that has had experience with less than three ducks per drake will chime in and offer some advice.

 

[Carcajou]

Love seeing them in the snow! Just such a contrast for me in hot hot Aust. I see yours have a little house near the pond, do they go in happily at night?

Yes, they do go in happily. I lure them into their enclosure in the late afternoon with their feeder (which I only put a small amount of feed in in the morning) and they usually go right in. Sometimes I have to entice them with lettuce. Most nights they go in on their own a few minutes after dark. If not, they know the routine when I start walking toward their enclosure and tell them it is "time to go night night" they go right in. I did have to herd them in the first few nights but after that, no problem.

 

[Carcajou]

I'm getting my first Khaki Campbell! I bought a drake from Celtic Oaks, he will hopefully get to ship out on Monday! Thank you Celtic Oaks I am so excited

We will be making room to add a few hens later on.

Congrats!

I have read many Celtic Oaks posts and consider them an esteemed duck authority.

 

[Carcajou]

It's such a subtle difference...and your boy is very handsome! I really like that yellow glow

Do you show your birds at all? None of my gals are laying yet, that I know of, is it a secret night thing? Just thinking they could be laying and the foxes, magpies etc. snaffling up the eggs before I get up lol. None of them are going into their beautiful new house we built but by winter they have to learn, ( so many foxes active then) but I have a plan of a 'holding pen' on the entrance side of their house, where I'll feed them at night and they'll have no choice but to go inside. Maybe they will come to see the new house as their safe place for laying. I have a really interesting little duck that is a cross between one of my Muscovy girls and ??? ( Could be a Pekin or Khaki Campbell). He is only a few months old and has the coloring of the Khaki Campbell's with a more defined scalloping pattern and teal colored feathers on the side. I'll take some pics. and maybe you'll know how he ended up this way I believe when they're crossed they are 'mules' and unable to breed?

Thank you, we like him also and though a fault, his yellow bill is pretty. We don't show our birds. I started raising ducks for snail control (I was overrun and I mean overrun with them!!), foraging the pond weeds, and for eggs and my research led me to decide on Khaki Campbells. Of course, they have endeared themselves to us and because I see them and tend to them daily I now have more pictures of my ducks than I do of my grandkids!! Just can't resist taking photos of them.

How old are your ducks? My current five girls were day olds last May and when they starting laying and really came up to speed in September I got 5 eggs many days and 4 eggs most of the rest of the time. They waned and stopped laying in December and just started up again. I thought they might start again in January but I think because of the cold they used all their energy to keep warm. I now keep them in the coop until 7 AM no matter the time of the year and they usually have all their eggs laid by then (ducks usually lay between 4-8 AM). If not they will lay them here and there and quite often in the pond. I try and find them all because I don't want predators getting used to having egg nog for breakfast

The holding pen by their house is a must and feeding them lightly in the morning then giving the main meal in the late afternoon inside their pen has been successful for me. You really need to train them to go inside the house at night, might take a little herding at first but then they should get the hang of it. I would start that as soon as possible. I don't know what other predators you have in Australia but we have plenty of four footed and winged animals that enjoy a duck dinner.

Would enjoy seeing photos of your cross breed though I am not the person to try and figure out just what it might be. Of course, all ducks are cute

 

[2blueguineas]

Congratulations! Khakis are fantastic, so much character, they make me laugh every day. we have a restaurant and I swear they know on Thursdays I come home with all the lettuce trimmings and practically climb in the car to get them! post some pix. of your boy for us when he arrives

I will post pics as soon as he gets here...I can't wait!!

 

[Khakigaspa]

Carcajou!

Thanks so much for all your great info. and consolidation of advice, Im sure most people around our village think I'm nuts when I launch into a 'duck rave'...the'vey already decided I I'm eccentric when often seen early morn. floating out through the mists here, still in my white nightgown with the khaki c's, pekins, geese, one cav.spaniel, boston terrier, a looong sausage dog and two cats following after ...good entertainment for passers by

Ive also embarrassed myself on Facebook with friends who are either part of my duckie/doggie/pusscat fan club or who openly shake their heads about my very different sensibilities since moving to the country lol...so its great to have a whole forum to here to share 'duck tails' I'm not going to confess (yet) this new connection!

Laughing now at you're having more pix of your ducks than your grand-kids! As for those egg numbers they'll be great for the restaurant and will make divine cakes...we do use the mussies eggs but I find the whites a little rubbery and the yolk overly rich, have to yet taste the KC's (I believe they are wonderful). I'll try and get a good shot of my mystery duck today and post. His feathers are scalloped and etched in dark brown pattern like the scales on a fish, all over and these bright green/teal wings beginning to form, hope I get a good shot. BTW KC's now three months old, so expect them to be laying, say another month? As for predators, we have big foxes, goannas (HUGE! when I first came to live here in 2005 saw one that was easily 8 ft long, Ive been looking over my shoulder ever since!) Also wedge-tail eagles that fall into the over-size category too ;-) Chicken hawks, wild dogs and venomous brown, black and tiger snakes. non-venomous pythons that love eggs, but its really the foxes that cause the most grief.

Till next post!

 

[Khakigaspa]

I have read that one drake to 3-4 ducks is the general recommendation. 2:5 might work but again, it may depend on the drakes themselves. I have one drake to five ducks and he is okay with four of them. He often chases the fifth one away when they are outside but they all seem to be okay at night in the coop.

Maybe someone that has had experience with less than three ducks per drake will chime in and offer some advice.

I forgot to mention that my seven KC's were incubated by a friend here for me and of course they are brothers and sisters... so they all move around like 'one', you know the look? So don't think there will be a prob. between the two drakes. The prob. was though with the Pekin drake that died recently, he was older and sexually very aggressive and I believe now, in retrospect to be the one who drowned my littlest KC drake. The muscovy drake is a gentle giant and the gander thinks he is the father of them all I do have two young Pekin drakes that are reaching maturity but they appear to be quite low in the pecking order of all the flock. Things might change when hormones kick in come spring, so I'll have to keep watch. I've no idea what 'mystery duck' will be yet ...but I think a drake. Being a cross or hinny in this instance he will, I'm told not only be sterile but not particularly interested in mating at all.

 

[Jharper]

Hatched this morning!