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

[nchvac]

With the KC ducks I keep hearing that they are smaller and of course don't have much meat. How much is not much? Is it similar to the small "Cornish" style miniature chickens they sell in the store (I know they are Cornish X hens and only about 3 weeks old) or maybe a 3 or 4 pound chicken?

It is just my wife and I and I wonder if we can make a meal or two out of the KCs. I am supposed to pick up some KCs this week either a couple weeks old or get some hatching eggs depending on what the woman has available. I am going to get some extras as some are sure to be Drakes and I only want 1 drake if even that many. I may wind up getting a meat breed to breed for a larger carcus from time to time, but in the mean time I am going to raise these out and I am just wondering what to expect meat wise from the extras.

The woman did say the KCs that are hatched out are light colored and I am wondering if other than the color if there are any differences between light or dark feathers.

Thanks

 

[caesargirl]

@nchvac meat wise, think of those rotisserie chickens you see in the grocery stores... No difference between light and dark feathers.

 

[Bert2368]

With the KC ducks I keep hearing that they are smaller and of course don't have much meat.  How much is not much?  Is it similar to the small "Cornish" style miniature chickens they sell in the store (I know they are Cornish X hens and only about 3 weeks old) or maybe a 3 or 4 pound chicken? 

It is just my wife and I and I wonder if we can make a meal or two out of the KCs.  I am supposed to pick up some KCs this week either a couple weeks old or get some hatching eggs depending on what the woman has available.  I am going to get some extras as some are sure to be Drakes and I only want 1 drake if even that many.  I may wind up getting a meat breed to breed for a larger carcus from time to time, but in the mean time I am going to raise these out and I am just wondering what to expect meat wise from the extras. 

The woman did say the KCs that are hatched out are light colored and I am wondering if other than the color if there are any differences between light or dark feathers. 

Thanks

The couple of KC drakes I have slaughtered would barely feed 2 adults 1 meal, with maybe some soup stock from the remains/bones. These ducks have mainly some nice breast meat, very little from thigh or leg, and that leg/thigh meat is TOUGH from my free ranging ducks.

Try a KC/Pekin cross for a larger framed dual purpose meat/egg bird that still lays a ton of eggs and is likely to be a bit friendlier to humans than the KC.

I like my KC's, but meat from the excess drakes is a very minor contribution, the feed consumed to grow to slaughtering size and time to process (SO MANY FEATHERS!!!) the KC drakes vs. yield is not a good tradeoff, it's just something I do to make myself feel like I'might not wasting the poor little excezs drakes lives.

 

[nchvac]

@nchvac meat wise, think of those rotisserie chickens you see in the grocery stores... No difference between light and dark feathers.

Well that is not bad at all as those are 2 meals for us. How large are the meat breeds?
Looks like I am going to have to hatch some eggs because the woman I was buying the ducklings from had an incubator break down but I think she is going to sell me some hatching eggs. There is also a local guy that has some Roens that I think will sell me some hatching eggs as well. Will the Roen make a good mix with the KC or being that I am ok with the roteseri chicken size would I be better to just go with the KC only?
I did see on this post a feed to meat conversion chart and it is not good on the kc, but if they are foraging and eating scrapes that shouldn't matter as much if keeping only one breed simplifies things, which is what I am attempting to do.

 

[nchvac]

The couple of KC drakes I have slaughtered would barely feed 2 adults 1 meal, with maybe some soup stock from the remains/bones. These ducks have mainly some nice breast meat, very little from thigh or leg, and that leg/thigh meat is TOUGH from my free ranging ducks.

Try a KC/Pekin cross for a larger framed dual purpose meat/egg bird that still lays a ton of eggs and is likely to be a bit friendlier to humans than the KC.

I like my KC's, but meat from the excess drakes is a very minor contribution, the feed consumed to grow to slaughtering size and time to process (SO MANY FEATHERS!!!) the KC drakes vs. yield is not a good tradeoff, it's just something I do to make myself feel like I'might not wasting the poor little excezs drakes lives.

The only thing with Pekins is it seems like there is so much variation in the egg laying - seems like this happens with the popular breeds of almost anything fowl.

 

[caesargirl]

@nchvac I got my KCs for eggs, but my other exceptional layer is my white mallard. She was bred with a male jumbo pekin and her offspring, and theirs, make up the majority of my production flock, for both meat and egg. Basically I bred pekin to mallard, then other pekin to other mallard and then let those offspring breed. I have ended up with birds that clean out at 4-5lb birds that lay every day. That's why I'm doing the same breeding program now with KC bred with male Cayuga. Two groups, different bloodlines in the two groups, but sticking with female KC and male Cayuga. Hoping to end up with excellent layers and a rich meat bird that cleans at 5-6 lbs.

 

[unmistakablySam]

I just got my first small flock of duckling from Tractor Supply yesterday! They were straight run which makes me nervous because I really don't want all of them to turn out to be male. Has anyone else bought ducklings from TSC, and if they were straight run, how many turned out to be drakes?

 

[Carcajou]

I just got my first small flock of duckling from Tractor Supply yesterday! They were straight run which makes me nervous because I really don't want all of them to turn out to be male. Has anyone else bought ducklings from TSC, and if they were straight run, how many turned out to be drakes?

Welcome to BYC!!

Didn't get straight run from TSC but did, at my first try with ducks, get them from another local feed store. Ended up with 9 males and one female. Of course, I gave most of them away. The second time I ordered all females from a reputable hatchery, it was worth the extra cost.

Good luck!

 

[unmistakablySam]

Aw yikes, I was afraind you'd say most of them ended up being drakes. I didn't want straight run but that's all they had for ducks at TSC. I guess I'll be back here in a couple of months asking help to sex them haha. Thanks!

Welcome to BYC!!

Didn't get straight run from TSC but did, at my first try with ducks, get them from another local feed store.  Ended up with 9 males and one female.  Of course, I gave most of them away.  The second time I ordered all females from a reputable hatchery, it was worth the extra cost.

Good luck!

 

[nchvac]

Aw yikes, I was afraind you'd say most of them ended up being drakes. I didn't want straight run but that's all they had for ducks at TSC. I guess I'll be back here in a couple of months asking help to sex them haha. Thanks!

Don't waste your time because they know nothing about your ducks- they don't even know what day a shipment will arrive or what breeds they will be getting. Hopefully they are true straight run and if so you should expect 50/50. Personally if I am buying chicks I get the smallest they have and usually end up with hens, actually I have every time doing that if you can do it. With that said, the ones I have picked in the past were probably over a week old so the roosters had a little time to advance.

Either way you are learning and this is a lesson you won't forget.