Duckling to Duck in 60 Seconds!

Ever wonder how fast your duckling grows? Ask us and we’ll say that at about 8 weeks they are 90% grown.

But that doesn’t really give people new to the duck world any idea.

A customer of ours made a really great video showcasing his Fawn and White Runner and Pekin ducklings and just how much and fast a duckling can grow. Take a look!

Pekin Ducks

Pekin Ducklings

The Pekin duck has a long history with records in China going as far back as the 1300s. It was introduced to Great Britain in 1872 and then the United State in 1873. It has since taken over the US market as the go-to commercial meat duck.

The Pekin was bred for its meat, but can be considered a very good egg layer, too. Averaging 8 to 12 pounds in weight, it can lay 150 to 200 eggs per year, making it a great multi-purpose duck.

They are typically processed at six to seven weeks of age with its breast filet being about 21% of the carcass. As such, it has become a very popular commercial duck with a fast growth time and excellent feed conversion (only 2.4 pounds of feed per pound of live body weight gain). In culinary circles, it is the main ingredient for roasted Peking duck.

Female and male Pekin

The dinner table is not the only place the Pekin has become famous. The Aflac duck is a Pekin which originally came from our farm and the
was also the inspiration behind Donald Duck.

We have two names for our Pekin: the Pekin and Grimaud Hybrid Pekin. The Pekin and the Grimaud Hybrid Pekin are the exact same bird, exact same price, just under different names. We did this because some people know what a Pekin is, but not a Grimaud Hybrid, while others may want the Grimaud Hybrid specifically.

The Grimaud Hybrid is named as such because we purchase day-old breeders from Frimaud Freres in France every four months. It is called a hybrid since the Grimaud Hybrid is produced by crossing two strains of Pekin, one strain bred for high meat production and one strain bred for high egg production. By crossing females from the egg laying strain with the males from the meat production strain, you hatch a lot of ducklings that can be grown for meat.

Outside of the commercial market, advertisement, and entertainment industries, the Pekin is a very popular duck among kids and 4-H groups. It does well as a meat class bird at the county fair and is an amazing addition for any backyard hobbyist.

Breed	Temperament	Weight	Egg Production	Mothering	Bluish Eggs	Egg Size
Pekin	Calm	8-12.25 pounds	150-200/year	Poor	<2%	90-100 grams
Fertility	APA Class	Foraging Ability	Conservation Status	Our Show Quality	Flying Ability	Origin
89%	Heavy	Fair	Abundant	Meat Class Only	None	China

Information from our Duck Comparison Table

How Do We Know Pekins Originate from Wild Mallards?

We have read that all domestic ducks (with the exception of Muscovy) originate from wild Mallards.  But how do we know that?

Charles Darwin wrote in 1883 that the middle four tail feathers curl upward in the males of only one breed of wild duck, the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).  This characteristic of a curly feather on the male is in all domestic ducks.  He felt, therefore, there was little doubt that the wild Mallard was the parent of all breeds of domestic duck.

                                       Notice the black, curly feather on the male's tail.


Are there similarities in growth, maturation and body composition between Mallards and domestic ducks?  Yes. 

• The maturation rate of Mallards and domestic ducks is very similar.  Both can lay their first eggs at about 20 weeks of age. 
• In commercial breeder operations the ratio of males to females is also very similar - about five females to every male to maintain peak fertility.
• Both Mallards and domestic ducks achieve mature body weight by about 12 weeks of age when both their primary and secondary wing feathers are mature.

                                Note the white, curly feather on the male Pekin duck.


In the wild, a female Mallard does not actively feed her ducklings and she may travel great distances to find feed.  The ducklings must feed themselves and keep up.  Therefore, thigh and leg muscle and bone, along with webbed feet, must develop rapidly to not only travel looking for food but to swim and escape predators.  Mallards and Pekins are very similar as theynormally achieve 80% of the mature weight and length of leg bones and muscle by 28 days of age!  They need these legs early!

On the other hand, breast meat weight, as a percentage of adult weight, is less than 20% by 28 days!  This is not surprising as Mallards don't have mature feathers until they are 12 weeks of age so there is no rush to get a large breast for flying until then. Pekins are also slow in breast meat development.

If you think of all the variety of domestic ducks, from the large Pekin to the slim, upright Runner, it is astounding that they all originate from the wild Mallard.  A great deal of genetic work has occurred over the hundreds of years to achieve such a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

Much of this information came from an excellent book I just received,  Domestic Duck Production - Science and Practice.   I have ordered ten copies from the publisher in England and will blog its availability once it arrives.  It is written for the commercial egg and meat producer but has fascinating background information on ducks, too.

A Friend's Great Duck Poem

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Feb 04, 2011 @ 07:19 PM 

Our county has three Farm Days each year.  These enable all third graders in the county to have a field day and learn about agriculture.  Denis Wagner helped me for many years at the Monterey Farm Day.  The other day I received a book he published titled "My Ducks - and other poems".  I typically do not read poetry but I really enjoyed his duck poems.... and wanted to share the first with you.  For those of you with ducks, these words will form pictures in your mind and a smile on your face.

My Ducks
Where are my ducks?
I look out my window to discover
they're out in the road stopping traffic,
waddling in the middle lane,
dipping into the water-filled swale in the asphalt,
mindless normads on a lark,
then the procession moves into the neighbor's yard
eating his chrysanthemums down to nubs.

I go to their pen and bang the feeding bucket
to get them to come home.  Instead
they move on to the water trough near the garden,
swim like partygoers in the Caribbean.
Wading and wiggling their tails,
then web walking like ice skaters over the adjacent grass.
God only knows their methodical evolution.
I look up to see mallards fly along the river, realizing
my white Pekings are malamutes of man's invention
having nothing to do with normalcy.
But they do pacify me into laughing hysterically.

What odd balls,
not much different than some of my acquaintances.
Nothing like myself.

Thanks, Denis.  Do any of you have favorite poems of waterfowl?  For more information on Pekins, you can go to our website.