Waterfowl Projects

[Senna95]

Genetically, there aren't as many colors and patterns to play with in waterfowl as there are in chickens, which I think is why you don't hear of as many "color projects". I loooove playing with color and difficult patterns - I'm working on Magpie Calls in the usual Black & Blue, but also in Chocolate and Lilac. I'm also working on Magpie Dutch Hookbills - it started with an accidental crossbred duckling last spring, and I love the Magpie pattern so much I kind of became obsessed with it, so I have my F2 generation ducklings hatching in a couple of weeks.

I love the magpie pattern too. And runners.... Was thinking about making that my next project, but for that pattern you need to breed A LOT of birds, and with my other 2 projects going on I may have to put that one on the back burner for a while.

 

[toadbriar]

Blue-fawn anconas? What would those look like? Do you have a photo?

All I have is Anconas... and this goofball hatched out. She IS blue fawn, isn't she? looked a bit dark to be one as a youngster:


Anyhow her mom is heavily marked (almost bibbed) and one of my drakes has a lot of belly marking.

I plan to keep her in a segregated area of the pen at night with the overmarked hen, just so I can collect their eggs separately, not hatch anymore of the overmarked hen's, and mostly eat this girl's until I want to experiment with hatching from them. I think blue fawn would be pretty with the Ancona spotting, and there are Anconas around that seem to have mallard coloring. I'm not quite sure I understand the extended black gene right now, because I don't know how she popped out without it.

But in the meantime, she's a really swell little duck.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

Toadbriar - she is adorable! Crazy cakes!

Maybe it has something to do with the gold spots on my Poppy & her Mom?
A recent picture of Poppy greeting the new ducklings:

She & Fern are laying lunatics right now! Two a day for a while. Last week I got 16 eggs between Mon. & Fri. from three ducks. Good breeding! I am a little overwhelmed at the idea of MORE layers, but I had ordered them already and...

 

[toadbriar]

Toadbriar - she is adorable! Crazy cakes!

Maybe it has something to do with the gold spots on my Poppy & her Mom?
A recent picture of Poppy greeting the new ducklings:

She & Fern are laying lunatics right now! Two a day for a while. Last week I got 16 eggs between Mon. & Fri. from three ducks. Good breeding! I am a little overwhelmed at the idea of MORE layers, but I had ordered them already and...

Yes their mom is the overmarked hen with the penciled or patch. And YES she is the one who loves new babies! totally sweet that the trait has passed on