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

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
I have some that I just hatched a few weeks ago (but I didn't keep them) - three of these were purebred Dark Campbells and one was a Hookbill/Khaki cross. I couldn't tell the difference between them after they hatched! I had banded the little mutt right out of the incubator, but he slipped out of the band and there was no telling which one he was after that.

They are very dark brown, nearly black, and they can hatch with a small white bib (one of mine in this batch did - but, that could have been the Campbell/Hookbill mutt, because the Hookbill drake is bibbed) but it's considered a fault. It can happen with Khaki's too - Dave Holderread describes it as a "quirk" of the dusky color pattern, that some individuals hatch with small white bibs or patches underneath their chins.

 

[chickboss]

Quote:
Check out this thread if you haven't already!! Looks like you have a naughty Pekin!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=358338

 

[GardienneWings]

Here are the two latest hatchlings. As chickboss said the cream on the brown ones will fade out but so far the older black ones are keeping their bibs.

 

[GrannySue]

I'm looking forward to seeing more on this thread. Neighbour is getting a couple of Khaki Campbell ducklings today!
I may end up with a couple of his ducks because he's getting a couple of Pekins as well. When he finds out how much space 6 ducks take up, not to mention the noise, he may reassess his choices.

 

[gallesfarm]

We have 16 (started with 24, sold 8). One has developed the curled tail feather, but there are other males that have not done so yet. They are almost 9 weeks old now.

We'd like to end up with about 3-4 ducks, and one drake. Other than the curled tail feather, we can't tell yet by looking which is which. But they do have distinct voices. The ducks clearly quack-quack-quack, but the drakes make a sort of hissing squeaky sound. Is that right? I've tried going by beak color (greenish yellow for males, supposedly, slate color for females) but one with a slate beak was hissing not quacking. Foot color isn't reliable either.

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
Yes - voice sexing is the most reliable method at this point. Girls say "QUACK!" and boys sound like they have laryngitis.

 

[charlindabob]

Hello, I bought Khaki Campbell eggs earlier this year and hatched out 14. One of them has a large crest (topknot) and another has just the hint on a crest. I see that somebody else also has crested K/C's and I wonder where the crest comes from? Are they not pure K/C's if they have a crest or is it a recessive trait that appears now and then or ?? I am seriously thinking of buying some K/C ducklings from Holderread. Thanks to all............Bob

 

[charlindabob]

Well, it appears that no-one in here is/was going to answer my question about K/C ducks with a top knot or crest, so I called the guru of waterfowl and sure 'nuff, pure K/C ducks do not have the "top hat". So.....this spring when my real K/C ducks come in, I'll have these "pure" K/C's for sale.... Will the real K/C duck please stand up?!

 

[CityChicker]

To me, the term "pure" in domestic ducks is kind of silly. That is just me. They are *ALL* selectively bred Mallards and are the result of mixing and remixing of the same original couple breeds. KC themselves are a fairly new breed as far as duck breeds go and they were created as a mix of Rouens, UK Fawn and White Runners (US Penciled), and Mallards. Anyway, it is just something I always find somewhat amusing, LOL.

As far as Crests though, Crested birds have been created in just about every breed. I don't particularly care for the look of Crested birds and hence don't breed them. Maybe someone that does can elaborate on the genetics of Crested birds. I am sure it is like anything else though in that it is probably a mutation that popped up somewhere along the way and exists in or has been bred into various breeds. I am not sure how breeding a crest into Khaki Campbells would make them much less pure than they already are considering we know they are a Rouen/Runner/Mallard hybrid (and have likely also had other blood added via outcrossing at other points in their history as well, as most breeds have).

 

[Wifezilla]

I don't particularly care for the look of Crested birds and hence don't breed them.

I think they look cool but still wont breed them. The crest is actually a skull defect. When you breed a crested to a crested you can end up with a lot of dead or deformed ducklings.​