What is your favorite duck breed?

[Beccazon]

Everyone has a favorite or two. I am new to raising and trying several. For many reasons. We want eggs. We want meat. We want some just to enjoy watching (pretty, unique, personality) and even befriending. Please tell me what your favorite breeds are and why. I will post the same question in the chicken breed forum as well.

 

[DuckyDonna]

I'm partial to runners probably because that's all I have but they are so funny and fun to watch with their little penguin walk. Great for eggs too!

 

[Beccazon]

I have heard that people who have them are partial to them. I have never seen one in person LOL. I might have to search up someone who has some nearby!

 

[Knighstar679]

I really liked my Welsh Harlequins and Cayugas I had last year. They were very pleasant and personable. The Welsh a bit more than my Cayugas likely because I was able to spend more time with them

 

[Ms Clucky]

Mallards. I love the color

 

[Jpat]

Pekins, Big goofy smiles

 

[FluffTheDuck]

So I have lots of favorites, but these are my main.
Pekin, Crested, White fawn runner, Cayuga, Swedish, Welsh Harlequin.
These are my favorites. All of them are my main favorite, it’s not like the last (Welsh Harlequin) I don’t like the most because I put it at the end.

 

[PATOS]

We love our KC/Runner hybrids, but what do I call them?

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Pekins, Big goofy smilesView attachment 1755305

You can’t beat em!

 

[Callender Girl]

We had Mallards when I was a kid, and what I remember best is searching through the run to figure out where they had laid their eggs; the coop was never an option. Maybe there were too many chickens in there.

All my ducks are runners. They are hilarious to watch because of their upright stance and jaunty gait. Although I have six hens and three drakes (one of whom was supposed to be a hen), there is very little serious squabbling. In the spring, some of the girls lose feathers on the back of their heads, but no one gets seriously injured.

They are easy to train to get back into their house at any time of day, and I don't have to worry about them flying over a 2-foot fence. With six girls, I usually get four to five eggs a day, and one of them lays lovely light green ones.

I hand-raised all but two, and they will eat out of my hand. However, they are reluctant to be picked up, so I usually just lure them to wherever I want them to go; they are extremely food motivated, although they forage all the time. They free range okay during the day with my chickens.

One of my favorite things to watch is when the geese decide to "herd" the ducks, and I get to see a parade of runners marching along.

I also love the sounds of quacking when everyone gathers around the water tank. It's like gossip at the office water cooler. I wish I could understand what they're talking about.