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

[weendogmom]

Looking for some assistance from all you long time KC owners...

I have 4 ducks purchased from the big farm store - straight run. They are about 10 weeks old and driving me nuts because I can't figure out if they are drakes or ducks. 3 of the 4 seem a lot larger than one. The 3 bigger ones seem to have a darker patch of secondary feathers than the smaller one. One of the big ones has a few white spots on the neck.
Their feet all seem the same color, a drab dark yellow. Their bills are all dark brownish slate.
None of them seem to be getting curly tail feathers and their heads don't seem to be changing yet. The waiting is getting to me!!

They don't hiss, they sort of run around when they are scared and very softly babble - I can't describe it, but it's not an all out quack like we hear from the mallards in the neighorhood.

Any thoughts?

 

[cosbackyard]

This is a longshot - but it's possible you may have 2 or 3 drakes. That's quite a size difference between them and the fourth.
The quacking is also a giveaway. Females should be quacking loudly by 7-8 weeks from my experience.

However I'm kind of surprised that none of them are showing head coloration by 10 weeks. My drake was showing by 8 weeks. I'll try to remember to post pics tomorrow.

 

[Robbo]

I could tell by the quacking as well by around 5ish weeks and 100% confirmed by 7 weeks. My girls quack loud and demanding were as the drake I have only makes soft noises and when he needs to quack it is this soft awful raspy noise that comes out.

 

[cosbackyard]

I could tell by the quacking as well by around 5ish weeks and 100% confirmed by 7 weeks. My girls quack loud and demanding were as the drake I have only makes soft noises and when he needs to quack it is this soft awful raspy noise that comes out.

Haha, demanding is a good way to put it. My girls tell me often and loudly when they want something.

 

[Carcajou]

Looking for some assistance from all you long time KC owners...

I have 4 ducks purchased from the big farm store - straight run. They are about 10 weeks old and driving me nuts because I can't figure out if they are drakes or ducks. 3 of the 4 seem a lot larger than one. The 3 bigger ones seem to have a darker patch of secondary feathers than the smaller one. One of the big ones has a few white spots on the neck.
Their feet all seem the same color, a drab dark yellow. Their bills are all dark brownish slate.
None of them seem to be getting curly tail feathers and their heads don't seem to be changing yet. The waiting is getting to me!!

They don't hiss, they sort of run around when they are scared and very softly babble - I can't describe it, but it's not an all out quack like we hear from the mallards in the neighorhood.

Any thoughts?

I wonder if they are true Khakis. The lack of darker heads, the lighter spots on their bodies, and the color of the wing speculum lead me to believe they may be crossed with another breed. Their bills are of a Khaki color though. As cosbackyard said the females should have a noticeable quack by now.

Here is a photo of my 2011 flock of 8 males and one female at 13 weeks of age. You can see the female to the left. They males didn't get bright orange feet until later.

 

[5foulladies]

hello KC mommies and daddies! I am trying to introduce two hens that are 4 weeks old to my older hens that are 10 weeks. The older girls are hissing, chasing, and when they grab hold of the smaller girls necks give them a good shake. Have any of you experienced this, if so what did you do to ease into this or curb the aggression?

 

[cosbackyard]

Looking for some assistance from all you long time KC owners...

I have 4 ducks purchased from the big farm store - straight run. They are about 10 weeks old and driving me nuts because I can't figure out if they are drakes or ducks. 3 of the 4 seem a lot larger than one. The 3 bigger ones seem to have a darker patch of secondary feathers than the smaller one. One of the big ones has a few white spots on the neck.
Their feet all seem the same color, a drab dark yellow. Their bills are all dark brownish slate.
None of them seem to be getting curly tail feathers and their heads don't seem to be changing yet. The waiting is getting to me!!

They don't hiss, they sort of run around when they are scared and very softly babble - I can't describe it, but it's not an all out quack like we hear from the mallards in the neighorhood.

Any thoughts?

Those do look a bit different from mine. I haven't seen them with the spotted coloring before. Love to see more pics.

Here's a pic of mine taken a few days ago. They're nine weeks old.




It's hard to tell from the picture but my drake has a slightly darker head. He's the one eyeing the camera warily.

 

[Carcajou]

hello KC mommies and daddies! I am trying to introduce two hens that are 4 weeks old to my older hens that are 10 weeks. The older girls are hissing, chasing, and when they grab hold of the smaller girls necks give them a good shake. Have any of you experienced this, if so what did you do to ease into this or curb the aggression?

You will need to keep them separated until they get used to each other. Are they in a fenced area? If so you can separate them with a run of fence between them. They will also need to be separated when they are inside at night (which hopefully they are). Though separated they still need to see each other and be able to try and poke at one another through the fence. Over time, they will accept each other.

 

[Robbo]

I know it has already been established that I have an off Khaki as she is very friendly, very talkative, ect. But I was curious.... are Khaki's (or maybe female ducks?) very talkative at night? The ones that are use to going into a coop?

We usually round up the 2 ducks and 2 chickens at about 9pm for the coop (the chickens don't go in on their own, GAH!) but the past few nights since it is getting warmer out and we haven't cut vents yet (going to this weekend!) we let them stay out a bit later. Well by 9:30pm it is getting pretty darn dark finally... and the past two nights my Khaki *lights* up with quacking, though nothing is near. Both nights I have worked but my mom has ran out to get her in the coop before the neighbors start complaining. This is the only time she gets fussy. I am wondering if it is because it is getting dark so she can't see that well and knows she is suppose to be in the coop? Once she is in the coop she is quiet until I let them out in the morning and then I get a few hellos from her.

 

[cosbackyard]

Mine don't make a peep at night. In fact they put themselves in. Maybe she's calling for you to put her away?
Not sure what your situation is like there - but be super-careful with predators around dusk. I've lost several just by waiting a little too long before I locked them up.