What kind of duck is this

[Senna95]

Your doing better on your duck math than me. I only wanted 10-16 this year max. But my first hatch of welsh Harlequin was looking like nearly all males. 4 females 7 males, so to fix my ratio I started more eggs and ended up ordering 4 females. My friend the ducky enabler she is kept giving me more eggs. Which I had to try and hatch because they have the blue egg layer gene really strong in their flock. And well I want a Cayuga that lays blue eggs!

Now I am up to 26 ducklings. And I want to incubate more eggs still. I have 3 eBay ads I am watching for the last breed I might add. But I really shouldn’t. I already have 10 more ducks than planned and I still don’t know if they are male or female for sure on some!

I hate to say this, but this is why sometimes we have to be strong and cull some of the extra males. You will have chaos on your hands in the spring with that ratio

 

[Knighstar679]

I hate to say this, but this is why sometimes we have to be strong and cull some of the extra males. You will have chaos on your hands in the spring with that ratio

I know I am going to have to get rid of or cull some males. Even with my 6 young female ducklings that’s still 8 males and 10 females of just Welsh Harlequin. My Cayugas and crosses I don’t know what they are yet.

How does one decide who to cull so young and when they are so cute.

 

[Senna95]

I know I am going to have to get rid of or cull some males. Even with my 6 young female ducklings that’s still 8 males and 10 females of just Welsh Harlequin. My Cayugas and crosses I don’t know what they are yet.

How does one decide who to cull so young and when they are so cute.

I know. It's hard. I usually grow my males out in a separate area and pick the best 3 or 4 to keep, and send the rest to the freezer. I am lucky though, to have the room to be able to do that.

 

[Knighstar679]

I know. It's hard. I usually grow my males out in a separate area and pick the best 3 or 4 to keep, and send the rest to the freezer. I am lucky though, to have the room to be able to do that.

I only have one house and pen this year. Next spring I am hoping to replace my hoop house and expand my pen.

 

[happy duck]

I am loving the duck pen!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

What is the next breed your looking to get @Knighstar679

 

[Knighstar679]

I am thinking Muscovy. There are some interesting color combinations and it seems some can be personable.

 

[Finnie]

I hate to say this, but this is why sometimes we have to be strong and cull some of the extra males. You will have chaos on your hands in the spring with that ratio

I know I am going to have to get rid of or cull some males. Even with my 6 young female ducklings that’s still 8 males and 10 females of just Welsh Harlequin. My Cayugas and crosses I don’t know what they are yet.

How does one decide who to cull so young and when they are so cute.

I figure I'm going to have to sell or cull a lot of males too. I just learned how to process my first chicken a few weeks ago, so I think I would be able to send a duck to freezer camp too. Except I read that there are specific weeks that it needs to be done so you don't have a problem with removing all the pin feathers. I think I would rather sell them, if possible. And I want to wait till I know the genders of the youngest ones, so I can make a good decision on which would be the best males to keep.

Oh, and speaking of my males, of my first group, I know I have one female Cayuga and two male Black Swedish (or Golden 300s, as the case may be.) Then I have two that I thought were a Cayuga and a Golden 300. Well the "Cayuga" has turned brown, so I'm thinking it's another case of a black male Golden 300. I think I read that some breeds, the males will first feather up like females, and then molt in their adult male plumage. I also read that some drakes will be female colored during their molts. Well, here is a photo of the "former Cayuga" so you can see it's brown feathers. They seem to have black stippling in the centers of the feathers.

I tried to get a shot of my mystery duckling who was the original subject of this thread. I don't think the photo came out too well. That one hasn't kept up with the others on growth or in feather development. But it appears strong and healthy enough to my eyes. Just kind of weird.

 

[Knighstar679]

Looks a lot like my Rouen Cayuga crosses. They started out mostly black too then turned brown feathers, but some of mine have a green shine to their feathers after they fully come in.

 

[Finnie]

Looks a lot like my Rouen Cayuga crosses. They started out mostly black too then turned brown feathers, but some of mine have a green shine to their feathers after they fully come in.

That's interesting. Green shine would make it pretty. I'm sure the hatchery isn't sending mixed breeds to TSC. But the Golden 300 Hybrids are technically mixes, so maybe if it's that, it will have a similar result. But, I think starting out black dooms it to being male.