We have about 24 ducks at the farm. They were put out on pasture (compete with a plastic kiddy pool) two days ago and are loving the new digs. Our ducks are Pekin ducks, or Long Island Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domestica), the breed came from China in 1873. They are the most common breed raised for meat in the US. 95 % of the ducks consumed in the US are Pekin ducks. Pekin ducks grow quickly and reach market weight at 7 to 9 weeks. They will have consumed about 20 to 25 lbs of feed in that time, and should weigh about 8 to 11 lbs.
Pekin ducks are too heavy to be air-born, but one or two ducks may be the exception and succeed in short bursts of flight. They tend to "stand tall" and and an upturned rump. (I think this makes them look kind of snobby....)
Pekin ducks are quick to imprint on humans. Our ducks did not have much interaction with their busy farmer when they were younger. As a result, they are a bit skittish about humans (as I discovered while trying to move them from one pen to the other). We've started socializing the ducks by feeding them bread by hand and I've started sitting in the pen with them. Hopefully they will start to get used to us.
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