What Breed Should I Get?

[Aunt Angus]

Pekin ducks have been bred for a quick cash return: They have no control of their appetite and grow so rapid that they can be slaughtered at just three month of age.
If you keep Pekins as pets, you need to have an eye on their eating habits - which is absolutely difficult, who can resist an excited peeping duckling, bobbing in front of you asking for some treats…
Due to their heavy weight, even without being overweight, the commercial Pekin breeds likely develop leg and hip problems as their bones and joints could not keep up with the rapid growth of their bodies.
The only thing you can do is to give them extra niacin and (i know i will be beaten up for this!) additional calcium from week 2 on. Pekins need more calcium to grow stronger bones than other ducklings.

This is the kind of stuff I need to know. I know WAY more about chickens. Sounds like Pekin are akin to meat chickens - bred to grow big fast, and then suffer if they manage to live longer than slaughter age.

Maybe I'll change my Pekin order to a white layer. With chickens, I tend to stay away from the high-productivity layers for that same reason - health issues. They seem to get far more reproductive disorders. I'm assuming, then, that it's not quite as true with ducks?

I will say that I did rescue a high production red. She has a great personality! Oh my stars!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Pekin ducks have been bred for a quick cash return: They have no control of their appetite and grow so rapid that they can be slaughtered at just three month of age.
If you keep Pekins as pets, you need to have an eye on their eating habits - which is absolutely difficult, who can resist an excited peeping duckling, bobbing in front of you asking for some treats…
Due to their heavy weight, even without being overweight, the commercial Pekin breeds likely develop leg and hip problems as their bones and joints could not keep up with the rapid growth of their bodies.
The only thing you can do is to give them extra niacin and (i know i will be beaten up for this!) additional calcium from week 2 on. Pekins need more calcium to grow stronger bones than other ducklings.

LOL! Now I am leaning toward ordering a Khaki.

Can I just get one of each and call it a day?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

This is the kind of stuff I need to know. I know WAY more about chickens. Sounds like Pekin are akin to meat chickens - bred to grow big fast, and then suffer if they manage to live longer than slaughter age.

Maybe I'll change my Pekin order to a white layer. With chickens, I tend to stay away from the high-productivity layers for that same reason - health issues. They seem to get far more reproductive disorders. I'm assuming, then, that it's not quite as true with ducks?

I will say that I did rescue a high production red. She has a great personality! Oh my stars!

We humons have done a lot of bad things to animals…
As said, that why i decided for the White Layers. My wife desperately wanted some white ducks and i read a lot about the Pekin, and other meat breeds. Aylesbury, Rouen, Saxony, Silver Appleyard are all meat birds.
You can compare the most common duck breeds on my Duck Flock Planner page, just sort the table by "Class & Weight".

 

[Aunt Angus]

We humons have done a lot of bad things to animals…
As said, that why i decided for the White Layers. My wife desperately wanted some white ducks and i read a lot about the Pekin, and other meat breeds. Aylesbury, Rouen, Saxony, Silver Appleyard are all meat birds.
You can compare the most common duck breeds on my Duck Flock Planner page, just sort the table by "Class & Weight".

I have just read a handful of university studies of Pekins. A few stated that limiting their protein intake to around 15% in weeks 3-8 seems to keep them from packing on the pounds.

So many people swear by the personalities of these ducks, and I, like your wife, really like white ducks.

I will do more research and see what I can learn to help me decide.

 

[Aunt Angus]

What do y'all think about Saxony ducks???

(yes. yes, I am hopeless)

 

[MotherOfDuckens]

Well, talking to @WannaBeHillBilly , I found out Meyer's gets their ducks from Metzer's, which is about 2 hrs from my house! I decided I'd cancel my order for Meyer's and pick them up at the farm. Ideal situation!

I canceled my order and called Mezter's, and I find out they aren't allowing pick ups (COVID strikes again). So it's going to take 2-3 days to go what would take 2 hrs by car.

Since they now have to go through San Francisco, I figured they needed to be really warm.

So I ordered a Pekin, too!


I'll tell DH she was a "packing peanut." Ha!

Oh please tell me you name your Pekin Peanut! I know it doesn't match your fruit name...maybe go with nut names? ;-)

I just got 6 Silver Appleyard ladies from Metzer in early December. They were supposed to arrive before Thanksgiving, but that is a whole other (very sad) story. Because they are APPLEyards I decided to name them after types of apples, or apple-themed anyway. I have Fuji, who is the biggest (big like a mountain...Mt Fuji...), Honey (for Honey Crisp) who had a face as sweet as honey, Pippin (because she almost choked when she was really young, and you might get an apple seed stuck in your throat, and apple seeds are sometimes called pips...and Pippin is also an apple name, so that one was a bit of a stretch but here we are!), Red (like Red Delicious) who is appropriate the reddest of all of them and has more red flecks on her chest than anyone else, Gala (I read Gala as a name used to mean someone who sings, and she is constantly cooing and snore-cooing and making the most adorable sounds, especially when I have music playing), and the last one will either be Goldie (like Golden Delicious), Cider, or Cosmo (for Cosmic Crisp), depending on her personality.

It's too early to say what the Appleyard personalities will ultimately become, but as ducklings I can say they are WAY bossier than my others were as ducklings. They are constantly tussling. Also, those girls already have some very healthy lungs on them! I think they are in their freakout phase of development (at least, I hope it's just a phase) because they seriously spaz over everything and act like any movement is MURDER! I now call the straw "murder straw" because they scream bloody murder and trample over each other any time I try to add some fresh for them (which is frequently, because duck poop). At any rate, I am so excited for my loud little hooligans!

I have adult ducks that I ordered from MPC last June. I actually had a great experience with MPC and it was very sad to hear about the bad experiences with them. I personally had a bad experience with Metzer (goes back to the very sad story), but I know many people have excellent luck with them. I am a little farther away (but not too far) up in the PNW.

My adults are 3 Pekins, 3 white layer hybrids, and 3 Cayugas. Like many have stated, I have already experienced multiple health issues with my Pekins, and zero issues with the others. Maybe I also got "duds" with their personality, but two of them I call "anonymous Pekin #1" and "anonymous Pekin #2" because I can't tell them apart and they are the most generically boring ducks of the group. The third Pekin is Pig Duck and there is something very special about her. She's not a goofball or like a dog, but she's just an old soul, very calm and caring and motherly. Unfortunately, she is also the one dealing with the brunt of the health issues. All three of my girls have had leg issues already. I made sure to give them extra niacin when they were young, continue to supplement, was very careful with feed and nutrition and monitoring feed intake. I knew going into them that they were at risk for leg, foot, and joint issues, so I tried to do everything I could and had heard to help curb those as much as possible. They are not overweight by any means, and I was extra careful to monitor their feed as they were growing so they are not nearly as large as they could have been. At least two of them have also had soft-shelled eggs, and that hasn't been an issue with the layers. All the ladies have oyster shell available free-choice in multiple parts of the yard. Poor Pig has a very gnarly foot injury and infection that I've been treating for about a month now. That could be a whole other thread, but I can tell you that the leg injuries on all three Pekins were not bumblefoot. I'm sure that will come at some point, too. I had a Pekin drake but he was a total man-child (best way I can think to describe him) and a stomach like a bottomless pit. He would literally throw the smaller ladies to the side to steal their food. He also pushed the ladies out between himself and the muscovies to act like a shield while he ran away. He'd push the ladies out of their nests while they were trying to lay at night, then trample their eggs. :-(

It's funny because I got the layers for my roommate who was mostly interested in eggs, and assumed their personalities would be boring. By far they are the favourites of everyone in the house. Very spirited! Also very healthy, and have been consistently laying starting at 4 mos old. By far they have given us the most laughs.

My Cayugas are a mixed bag. My drake, Snoop Dukk, is the most gentlemanly drake anyone could hope for (really lucked out with him!). Yellowbill is very sassy and LOUD. Blackbill is very mellow and I rarely hear so much as a murmer from her. They are all beautiful.

My muscovies were another sad story. Too much sadness for one night. The abridged version is I ended up choosing 3 drakes, and I really want to believe they must have just come from a highly aggressive line because I raised them the same way as my first group and alongside them, and while they were awesome with me and other humans, they were an actual threat to the safety of the rest of the flock. They also destroyed my garden, but I could forgive them for that. So many others have had awesome luck with wonderful scovies.

So, many of my ducks have not fit their breed profiles, and while I do believe how you raise them has a lot to do with it, I raised the first batch all the same way at the same time, and I'm raising the Appleyards all the same way at the same time, and there are VERY clear personality differences - even among the same breed. Each duck is truly an individual.

Sounds like you have some awesome choices coming your way and I'm sure they'll all make excellent ducks with wonderfully unique personalities! From what I can tell you are going to love the heck out of them, no matter what you get and who they turn out to be. I'm so excited for you! Sorry to write so much, but I figured maybe you would want to hear some of the details. Keep us all posted! Cheers!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Oh please tell me you name your Pekin Peanut! I know it doesn't match your fruit name...maybe go with nut names? ;-)

I just got 6 Silver Appleyard ladies from Metzer in early December. They were supposed to arrive before Thanksgiving, but that is a whole other (very sad) story. Because they are APPLEyards I decided to name them after types of apples, or apple-themed anyway. I have Fuji, who is the biggest (big like a mountain...Mt Fuji...), Honey (for Honey Crisp) who had a face as sweet as honey, Pippin (because she almost choked when she was really young, and you might get an apple seed stuck in your throat, and apple seeds are sometimes called pips...and Pippin is also an apple name, so that one was a bit of a stretch but here we are!), Red (like Red Delicious) who is appropriate the reddest of all of them and has more red flecks on her chest than anyone else, Gala (I read Gala as a name used to mean someone who sings, and she is constantly cooing and snore-cooing and making the most adorable sounds, especially when I have music playing), and the last one will either be Goldie (like Golden Delicious), Cider, or Cosmo (for Cosmic Crisp), depending on her personality.

It's too early to say what the Appleyard personalities will ultimately become, but as ducklings I can say they are WAY bossier than my others were as ducklings. They are constantly tussling. Also, those girls already have some very healthy lungs on them! I think they are in their freakout phase of development (at least, I hope it's just a phase) because they seriously spaz over everything and act like any movement is MURDER! I now call the straw "murder straw" because they scream bloody murder and trample over each other any time I try to add some fresh for them (which is frequently, because duck poop). At any rate, I am so excited for my loud little hooligans!

I have adult ducks that I ordered from MPC last June. I actually had a great experience with MPC and it was very sad to hear about the bad experiences with them. I personally had a bad experience with Metzer (goes back to the very sad story), but I know many people have excellent luck with them. I am a little farther away (but not too far) up in the PNW.

My adults are 3 Pekins, 3 white layer hybrids, and 3 Cayugas. Like many have stated, I have already experienced multiple health issues with my Pekins, and zero issues with the others. Maybe I also got "duds" with their personality, but two of them I call "anonymous Pekin #1" and "anonymous Pekin #2" because I can't tell them apart and they are the most generically boring ducks of the group. The third Pekin is Pig Duck and there is something very special about her. She's not a goofball or like a dog, but she's just an old soul, very calm and caring and motherly. Unfortunately, she is also the one dealing with the brunt of the health issues. All three of my girls have had leg issues already. I made sure to give them extra niacin when they were young, continue to supplement, was very careful with feed and nutrition and monitoring feed intake. I knew going into them that they were at risk for leg, foot, and joint issues, so I tried to do everything I could and had heard to help curb those as much as possible. They are not overweight by any means, and I was extra careful to monitor their feed as they were growing so they are not nearly as large as they could have been. At least two of them have also had soft-shelled eggs, and that hasn't been an issue with the layers. All the ladies have oyster shell available free-choice in multiple parts of the yard. Poor Pig has a very gnarly foot injury and infection that I've been treating for about a month now. That could be a whole other thread, but I can tell you that the leg injuries on all three Pekins were not bumblefoot. I'm sure that will come at some point, too. I had a Pekin drake but he was a total man-child (best way I can think to describe him) and a stomach like a bottomless pit. He would literally throw the smaller ladies to the side to steal their food. He also pushed the ladies out between himself and the muscovies to act like a shield while he ran away. He'd push the ladies out of their nests while they were trying to lay at night, then trample their eggs. :-(

It's funny because I got the layers for my roommate who was mostly interested in eggs, and assumed their personalities would be boring. By far they are the favourites of everyone in the house. Very spirited! Also very healthy, and have been consistently laying starting at 4 mos old. By far they have given us the most laughs.

My Cayugas are a mixed bag. My drake, Snoop Dukk, is the most gentlemanly drake anyone could hope for (really lucked out with him!). Yellowbill is very sassy and LOUD. Blackbill is very mellow and I rarely hear so much as a murmer from her. They are all beautiful.

My muscovies were another sad story. Too much sadness for one night. The abridged version is I ended up choosing 3 drakes, and I really want to believe they must have just come from a highly aggressive line because I raised them the same way as my first group and alongside them, and while they were awesome with me and other humans, they were an actual threat to the safety of the rest of the flock. They also destroyed my garden, but I could forgive them for that. So many others have had awesome luck with wonderful scovies.

So, many of my ducks have not fit their breed profiles, and while I do believe how you raise them has a lot to do with it, I raised the first batch all the same way at the same time, and I'm raising the Appleyards all the same way at the same time, and there are VERY clear personality differences - even among the same breed. Each duck is truly an individual.

Sounds like you have some awesome choices coming your way and I'm sure they'll all make excellent ducks with wonderfully unique personalities! From what I can tell you are going to love the heck out of them, no matter what you get and who they turn out to be. I'm so excited for you! Sorry to write so much, but I figured maybe you would want to hear some of the details. Keep us all posted! Cheers!

Thank you for your story! My son's favorite apples are pippens and Granny Smith, and I have a dear friend who married the great-great grandson of the farmer who developed the McIntosh apple. McIntosh would be a great name for a drake, imo! My favorite apples are Jazz - also a great duck name. But mine will either be fruit or gemstones. I'll decide when the ducklings arrive!

Had I gotten a Pekin, she would likely have been either Mango or Pearl. But I actually just changed my order to get a Saxony. I will try Pekin once I get a little experience with ducks. I also wouldn't mind having a white layer, but I don't want to start with more than 4 right now. The Saxony is a bit rarer, and I took it as a sign that I should order one when a new batch just became available only for my ship date. They are usually sold out.

I have a colleague who has a small duck farm. She sells eggs for consumption. I completely forgot to ask her about breeds, but I emailed her last night about Pekins. She said she started out with lots of Pekin and loved them, but many had the same problems many on BYC talk about, so she's stopped breeding/buying them as often because the vet bills were really hurting her profits. I'm not concerned about profits, but I am concerned about being able to give my animals health and happiness. So Pekins will have to wait. They are on my wish list, though. But I want to make sure I'm up to the task first.

I have come to the conclusion that ducks are like chickens. And dogs. And cats. And horses. And ferrets. And pretty much every other animal: they are individuals. My ducks might end up being stinkers. Or they won't.

 

[MotherOfDuckens]

I love the Saxony idea! They are next on my list! (Along with maybe Buffs. And maybe Blue Swedish. And maybe Ancona. And maybe Golden Cascade. And maybe...oh you know how these lists work! )

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I have just read a handful of university studies of Pekins. A few stated that limiting their protein intake to around 15% in weeks 3-8 seems to keep them from packing on the pounds.

So many people swear by the personalities of these ducks, and I, like your wife, really like white ducks.

I will do more research and see what I can learn to help me decide.

You have red the funny stories about @SuperDuck 's two Pekin Drakes, have you?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I love the Saxony idea! They are next on my list! (Along with maybe Buffs. And maybe Blue Swedish. And maybe Ancona. And maybe Golden Cascade. And maybe...oh you know how these lists work! )

Can you tell me more about the Golden Cascade breed? - I have a Duck Flock-Planner website where you can compare a lot of duck-breeds by many attributes and it would be great to add more breeds.