Wild Duck Cross?

[christylynne11]

After my ducklings dried and fluffed today, I noticed that 5 of the ducklings that came from Rouen eggs were somehow brownish-blue with very large round heads, puffy cheeks, shorter bills, and small beady eyes. One even has a longer tail. At first, I thought they were Cayuga mixes, but then I realized that there were only 2 Rouens out of the 9 Rouen eggs that hatched. 5 were solid brownish-blue, and 2 were solid black. The 9 Cayuga-Rouen hatches were consistently black with a white chest, as they always have been. Obviously, a wild duck mated with my Rouen duck. The question is... What kind of duck was it?? I will try to post clear pics in the morning. Dark-colored ducks are so hard to get good photos of.

 

[ShannonR]

Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way first. What all breeds do you keep?

 

[christylynne11]

At the time that I collected the eggs, I had a male Rouen, a female Rouen, and a female Cayuga. The Cayuga has since been taken by a coyote. All of my other ducks are less than 3 months old. I've been hatching new ducklings to replace the flock of 13 that I once had several months ago before a family of foxes wiped them out, leaving me with only 3 ducks.

 

[christylynne11]

 

[Miss Lydia]

They sure are adorable little ducklingsCongratulations

 

[christylynne11]

I've researched every single wild species of duck found in Louisiana, and the only duck it could possibly be is a scoter. BUT, they are rare in Louisiana and only migrate here in winter. They don't breed here, and they choose lifetime mates. So, either I had a very lost Scoter in my yard, or it's an even more unlikely Brant or Ross's goose-duck hybrid. I may never know.

 

[Fishkeeper]

I'd wait until they grow up to try and guess what they are. Also, keep in mind it may not necessarily be a wild duck- could just be a feral one, or an escaped pet.

 

[christylynne11]

I'd wait until they grow up to try and guess what they are. Also, keep in mind it may not necessarily be a wild duck- could just be a feral one, or an escaped pet.

I'm definitely keeping them to see how they turn out. An escaped domestic duck would be highly unlikely because my yard is surrounded by an 8-foot privacy fence. It would have to be a flying duck or bird that got in. I frequently get crows and owls, but that's about it. And I know neither of those are possible mates lol. We do have nearby wild ducks and geese because we are near the bayou.

 

[christylynne11]

I'd wait until they grow up to try and guess what they are. Also, keep in mind it may not necessarily be a wild duck- could just be a feral one, or an escaped pet.

Indeed! After a week of intense research, I finally identified the mystery drake. It's a call duck! Either we have some wild call ducks, or someone's domestic call duck escaped. Since call ducks can fly, it would have been easy for one to access my fenced-in yard. My final clue was the obvious size difference between my mystery ducklings (should have been pure Rouens) and the Cayuga-Rouen ducklings (pictured is a double crested Cayuga-Rouen) after only a week. All hatched at the same time. The shorter bill, large round heads, puffy cheeks, and small round eyes are also consistent with call ducks. Plus, they come in all colors, including blue. The mystery is finally solved. I am at least 99% sure that these are call duck babies crossed with my rouen.