Jumbo Pekin vs Pekin

[bettythegreat]

My assorted ducks from the feed store turned 6 weeks this week (khaki's are 7 weeks). The older they get the more I'm sure the white one Huey is a pekin, but how do you tell if it is a jumbo, do the normal sized ones grow fast as well? I got him along with the others because the duck 'expert' in the store was pretty sure it was a white female layer, and he was smaller than the other ducks who were the same age. Huey is now quite a chunk compared to the others, and a feather is sticking up on the rump area, not fully curled yet; are normal sized drake pekins going to look this bigger than swedish at this age, or is he more likely a jumbo? He is a big sweetie with the other ducks who SEEM to be all female at this time, not positive yet. He forages, swims, overall gets nice exercise throughout the day, is that good or bad if he is a jumbo?

 

[Deleted member 94844]

Our Nibbler is a Jumbo, and he is BIG. Before we built the pond for him, he started getting bumblefoot from the added weight and stress on his feet. So that is definitely something to consider. Jumbo Pekins raised as pets really need to have a pool or pond to swim in all the time. Once the pond was finished his feet healed right up. He also hurt his leg once jumping off something, so I need to keep an eye on him, carry him down stairs, etc. I also try not to overfeed so as to keep his weight in check. I love him so much and want him to live a long life!

The upside is there is much more to cuddle!

 

[JFreeman]

I bought a Jumbo Pekin (Donald) from TSC, thinking it was a regular Pekin. Turns out to be a drake, and he is now about 10 weeks old. He was bought as a trio with an assorted straight run. I have a Bali/Runner mixed drake (Ducky) and a White Crested duck (Nemo). Obviously, I need to get more hens to even out the ratio, but I was wondering if I should get regular Pekins to keep their offspring from getting so large, or should I get Jumbo Pekins to keep Donald from squishing the girls during mating? I don't want him to breed Nemo since she is a Crested, but I do want to produce Pekins. Any advice?

 

[Duck Drover]

I have not had Pekins for many years because solid white is not my favorite duck color. I just got two groups of ducklings while looking for a companion for a Pekin hen that came with some Call ducks I purchased. My goal is to get her with her own kind because she is too big to be stepping around the Call ducks in a breeding pen. The ducklings from the older group were listed as Pekin while the younger ducklings were listed as jumbo Pekin. I tend to think of Pekins as jumbo sized ducks so I did not think there would be any difference from one Pekin to another. Now looking at pictures I see that the jumbos are bulkier.

My hen seems to be a regular Pekin because she is not as bulky while the drake is bulkier. His dad is huge so he looks like a small goose and his mother is built like my hen so I wonder if the drake from last year and this year's ducklings are regular, jumbo, or half and half. The ducklings are supposed to be 6 weeks old and they are fully feathered so they are either older than the person thought or they mature faster than my bantam ducks.

My goal is to be able to make breeding pairs with the ducklings when the younger 3-week-old jumbo Pekins are fully feathered but maybe that won't work after all if the older Pekin ducklings are not jumbo. I had also considered keeping the hens and selling the drakes but that would guarantee the drakes will be eaten rather than getting to live with a hen and make more ducks. Since the ducklings that are supposed to be 3 weeks older than the younger ducklings are so much larger and feathered, perhaps they are the fast growing jumbos and I can pair them together after all. I saw the parents when I picked them up but I don't know if they are jumbo or not.

 

[5DuckFarm]

Is the Pekin on the right a jumbo? He is a drake and a big boy indeed.

 

[JFreeman]

Is the Pekin on the right a jumbo? He is a drake and a big boy indeed.

Looks like it to me.

 

[5DuckFarm]

Looks like it to me.  

Thanks! Thought he was!

 

[kyexotics]

We bought what we thought were 3(2m/1f) crested Pekins and 2(1m/1f) jumbo Pekins(uncrested in photo)...The Male crested Pekin is HUGE and the 2 jumbos are bigger than the female crested Pekins but nowhere big as the male crested...So I'm not positive what I have other than 5 of the most beautiful ducks! The 6th is a male fawn crested runner that was born same day as the rest and they're like family...

 

[kyexotics]

My assorted ducks from the feed store turned 6 weeks this week (khaki's are 7 weeks). The older they get the more I'm sure the white one Huey is a pekin, but how do you tell if it is a jumbo, do the normal sized ones grow fast as well? I got him along with the others because the duck 'expert' in the store was pretty sure it was a white female layer, and he was smaller than the other ducks who were the same age. Huey is now quite a chunk compared to the others, and a feather is sticking up on the rump area, not fully curled yet; are normal sized drake pekins going to look this bigger than swedish at this age, or is he more likely a jumbo? He is a big sweetie with the other ducks who SEEM to be all female at this time, not positive yet. He forages, swims, overall gets nice exercise throughout the day, is that good or bad if he is a jumbo?





Your pictures caught my eye for some reason!

 

[av8torcrj]

For those considering jumbo pekin, my 2 cents. I ordered some jumbos and girmaud hybrids from Metzer. So far I'm not impressed. They strike me as suffering for the same cruel consequences of genetic manipulation as the cornish cross chickens, too much bird on too feeble a frame. Many are bow legged or step all over themselves. I've had to cull one already and another is pending due to becoming cripple. I know how to feed ducks and fully understand the consequences of niacin deficiency. They are recieving an appropriate waterfowl diet and all my other ducks have grown and developed without problems. I won't order these birds again and personally don't recommend them. They do have a curious nature and friendly personality but it makes me sad to see what I perceive as suffering.