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Author Topic: Inadvertently almost breeding Khaki Campbells  (Read 2767 times)

Offline Cindi

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Inadvertently almost breeding Khaki Campbells
« on: September 21, 2007, 10:12:05 am »
Onto a new topic about these ducks.  We have three species of ducks that we are breeding like crazy.  Muscoveys, Rouens, and Indian Runners.  They are all very cool ducks, but the friendliest are the Muscoveys.

The Indian Runner and Rouens love each other and cross breed.  They have very cool offspring, which are getting quite large and are hard to tell apart from the parents, except they don't look the same, take more after the Indian Runner side. 

We had a Rouen and an Indian Runner sitting on eggs in the same little house, when the babies hatched, both of these ladies took over the duties of raising them.  It was so darn cute to see these two girls running all over the place, sharing the load of motherhood.  I can't believe it.  The babies are full grown, but the mothers are still looking after them.  The Rouen is the protective one as far as the voice goes, the Indian Runner mother just makes her wha, wha, wha noise. So funny.

The biggest kick I get out of the Rouens is when they walk along with their heads pointed to the ground and turned sideways and they make a really weird sound, I can't even begin to describe it, they only do it now and then but it is a totally different sound than their regular duck sounds.  Its like they are showing something to the other ducks, but have to look sideways to do it.  Weird.

I will go out today and take some close up pictures of these ducks, but for now I have put in our forum some little bit "uncurrent" pictures taken a while ago.  I copied some information from the internet about these ducks that could be of some interest.
Khaki Campbell


"The Khaki Campbell was developed in England during the early 1900's by Adele Campbell. It was admitted to the American Standard in 1941. Though originally a cross of Indian Runner, Mallard, and Rouen, Campbells exceed all of these and most chicken breeds in egg production, with some strains averaging 300 eggs per year. They do not require special care or artificial lighting to produce a large number of eggs, which are white and weight about 2.5 ounces (not much larger than a Leghorn egg). Thought not usually raised for meat, Khakis make high quality, lean roasters of 3-4 pounds; they average 4-5 pounds as adults. Campbells are extremely hardy, are excellent foragers, and are at home on land as well as in water. They eat large quantities of slugs, snails, insects, algae, and mosquitos from ponds, but do not require swimming water to stay healthy. The ducks are mainly khaki colored and the drakes have greenish-bronze heads with brown-bronze tails, backs, and necks. They have green bills.

I tried to upload some pics to imageshack, but their server is not responding, the message was IE could not display the page so I will post this, edit it later on with some pictures.  Providing ImageShack is working later on today.  We'll see.  Have a wonderful day, best of our wonderful life.  Cindi

The two birds at the front are the Rouen mother and Indian Runner mother, as I said, they both share duties of rearing these babies.  I shot a bunch of close up pictures yesterday and will post some better ones another time.  Enjoy, these guys are cute!!!!!


« Last Edit: September 22, 2007, 11:01:33 am by Cindi »
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline MarkR

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Re: Inadvertently almost breeding Khaki Campbells
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2007, 08:31:53 am »
Cindi,

I always love seeing pictures of your place.  I had a couple of Muscovy's once.  The drake was very anti-people with a really nasty disposition.  He'd ambush me from the top of a brick wall every afternoon.  We ended up having to putting him into a lovely soup.  He was yummy.  I usually don't like eating my own animals, but I savored every sip of that soup.  Hope your's are friendlier.

 :-D

Mark

Offline Cindi

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Re: Inadvertently almost breeding Khaki Campbells
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2007, 11:20:53 am »
Mark, thanks.  The Muscoveys we have are very friendly, sweet, not intimidated by humans, as are the Rouens and Indian Runners.

I know what you are talking about when you speak of a nasty drake.  When I was a young woman (wow, that must have been a long time ago  :)), we had some Muscoveys, a drake and two females.  Man oh man was he a nasty dude. He would chase you and if he had the chance give you a bite on the calf that you wouldn't forget. 

Well one day, I was plain and simply fed up with the abuse from this old dude.  He came after me and boy did I turn the tale on him.  I turned around before he could get to me and I went after him.  I picked this heavy bird up by his head and (this may sound like exagerating, but I am not), whirled him around my head a couple of times and sent him flying.  I think that must have controlled his unruly behaviour, because I never had a fear of this ugly old red faced hidous looking Muscovey drake again.

Have a wonderful day, best of this great life.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline JP

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Re: Inadvertently almost breeding Khaki Campbells
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2007, 04:38:06 am »
That is just too funny Cindi! You taught that bird a lesson now, didn't you!
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