which breed!!!!!!! Anconas... Or swedishes!!!!!!!!! Help!!!

[Quacking]

If we were talking dogs or something, I think it would be extremely irresponsible to get one a few months then rehome it, but ducks I don't think care one way or another

I think it would matter. Especially if you were the duck. How is one animal different to another? All animals can bond with their owner and can be effected by change. I have read on these very pages many times that sometimes ducks and chickens will stop laying when rehomed due to the stresses invoved. Obviously it can effect them if that is a common occurance.

Then I'll cull the one's that don't fit

Sure is lucky that people consider animals are different from children. You sure cant rehome them or cull them if they dont fit.

Responsible animal owners make a commitment to care for and provide for an animal when they purchase it. They are not toys, ducks have a natural life span of around 8 years after they are no longer cute and fluffy.

Duckgirl89 your passion is admirable, but you only have to read these few pages here to realise that many people have some very valid opinions that have been gained from your posts on this forum. You are young and have only had ducks for a few months, I think people are worried that like other teenagers that you will loose interest in ducks when other things come along to take your fancy.​

 

[grawg]

A lot of good advice on this thread. I'll weigh in on this one as I'm the recipient of duckgirls 3 KCs. Now keep in mind I'm a newbie to raising ducks myself and have only purchased ducks twice.

My first purchase was from the earlier mentioned hatchery (they mention on their site they are NPIP certified and have over 25 years experience raising poultry). These ducklings ranged from 4-6 weeks old and all I know is they were terrified, dirty, and thirsty. Over the next few weeks they adjusted to their new home and seem healthy and I have had no health issues as of yet. (knock on wood). They are still somewhat standoffish but that's to be expected I suppose since they are runner ducks.

Fast forward 5 months and I purchased the KC trio from duckgirl89. The first thing I noticed was the demeanor of the ducks, they were very calm. As she loaded them into the crates there was hardly a sound or flap. I'm no expert on duck health but they looked fine to me. When I got them home they seemed to take to their new enclosure, no running and flapping or hiding in a corner of the cage. They went to bed quietly and what do you know? Two eggs on their first night here. Overall, I was very impressed with the ducks, within 15 minutes they were coming 1' from me.

The point I'm trying to make is responsible livestock ownership is different from responsible pet ownership. Don't assume because she is young and only dealing with a few animals she is raising ducks as pets. I certainly didn't buy pets, I bought livestock. Would I but livestock from her again? Sure, I thought the animals seemed healthy and well cared for.


Having said all that, I would also encourage you to stick with fewer breeds, simply because you do have a limited number of ducks you can own. You might find it quite rewarding to work on improving your WH stock and that could be difficult with only 1 drake. Good luck with whatever breeds you decide on

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Quote:
Im very glad you are enjoying them grawg. And that they gave you some eggs the first day. And I am NOT raising pets. These are livestock. No where close to pets...

Do I can for them? Yes, they are living breathing animals, and I care for them dearly! But they are ducks... I dont think of them as pets at all...

Really glad to here you like them!

 

[JulieNKC]

Quote:
x2. That's the point I was trying to make, but not as well as you have. Livestock raising is different than pets.

 

[bayyjayy]

Am I the only odd ball that considers my ducks my pets? I don't feel that I can get rid of any of mine, though I wish I ONLY had Anconas and didn't have to worry about seperating them during spring mating season. But, I have nine non-Ancona ducks that I just can't get rid of.....I like them all too much to pick and choose which ones to keep.

 

[Going Quackers]

Quote:
Well mine are pets but i am not attached to them like say my horses, dogs & cats.. They are above the fish tho lol However, i do consider them livestock, they are here for the eggs and bug control.. which they are all doing well with, they are amusing but considering the short lifespan.. and the fact they can get caught by predators i know better than to get super attached.. while i won't say they are not personable again they are no horse, cat or dog.. or perhaps i just haven't been lucky enough to get a duck that is..

 

[70%cocoa]

You can call them livestock or you can call them pets. Those are just words. The experience of being shipped around is the same to the ducks, whatever you decide to call them.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Quote:
Im sure there are more people who think their ducks are pets. But hey. . . . Everyone is differnt....

 

[DB_Tex]

So getting back to the original topic at hand for duckgirl:

I did a little bit of reading today and it bears mentioning that if you intend to breed show quality swedish, there are a couple things you need to be aware of. First, I know its been mentioned that only blues can be shown, but you will need silver and black breeding stock to breed blues. Second, the markings are extremely specific, including a limited number of white primary feathers, good bibs and good conformation on top of that. It seems like a very difficult breed standard to meet and if you are only allowed 12 ducks you'll have a smaller pool to work with and that might make it near impossible to manage a breeding program for them.
However, if your providing ducklings for a less demanding market (people that don't intend to show and just want them for pretty duckies) you won't have the difficulties.

As a pro toward anconas, the accepted markings are much broader, and the potential colors are not limited to black and white. There's lavender, silver, brown, and tri-color spotted anconas.

I like swedes but anconas "speak to me" more as a rare breed with good utility. Breeding for variety in colors versus color pattern is much more appealing to me.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Quote:
thanks for that info! there is another reason not to get swedes. . . . so i will just fill up the room i have with "better" quality welshies, i plan on keeping only a pair of rouens now, and have only wehsies pretty much.... right now i have 8 ducks, (if you look at my signiture you can see what breeds...) i would like to have some GOOD stock welshies, and i would LOVE to split a order from holderreads with someone, and get some good stock welshies. i would really like to show them, but need some good lines. my weshies arent looking like real weshies should....

so if anyone wants to split a order from holderreads with me PLEASE PM me!!!