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Huge Mallard

6K views 26 replies 22 participants last post by  REM1100 
#1 ·
This has got to be the biggest mallard I have ever seen. I shot it yesterday and he had 4 curls. The one on the left is one i shot a week ago and had in the freezer.
 

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#10 ·
I believe he is just a mature, wild, drake mallard. Probably nearing 4 years old and has survived the gauntlet of his lifetime. Put him on the wall. Nice bird!
 
#11 ·
I did'nt know and have never counted the number of curls on the tail feathers. Ill have to start checking. I know couple weeks ago we noticed that one of our drakes had a huge head. Should have counted the feather before I ATE HIM!!!! :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: :lol3:
 
#12 ·
casprig said:
I believe he is just a mature, wild, drake mallard. Probably nearing 4 years old and has survived the gauntlet of his lifetime. Put him on the wall. Nice bird!
Sorry bud, but that mallard is either a farm duck or he is OVER 15 yrs old. Mallards live to be like 20...i killed one like that earlier this season and he was pushin 5lbs and dwarfed a normal mallard, funny thing about that duck is that i was only 600yds from a park LOADED with mallards :biggrin:
 
#14 ·
Duck Collector said:
casprig said:
I believe he is just a mature, wild, drake mallard. Probably nearing 4 years old and has survived the gauntlet of his lifetime. Put him on the wall. Nice bird!
Sorry bud, but that mallard is either a farm duck or he is OVER 15 yrs old. Mallards live to be like 20...i killed one like that earlier this season and he was pushin 5lbs and dwarfed a normal mallard, funny thing about that duck is that i was only 600yds from a park LOADED with mallards :biggrin:
We get a couple of birds like that every year. A friend got one this year that weighted 6lbs 5oz. And no, they are not farm ducks, assuming you're talking about a cross between a standard white Peking duck and a wild mallard. Whenever that cross occurs, the bird will generally exhibit the plummage of both species, but it also has a high tendancy of inheriting the flightless capabilities of the Peking duck. Long Island was a hotbed of duck farms not all that many years ago. Most farms were located on the south shore bays, but a few were on inland ponds and lakes. We used to shoot blackbirds and starlings at some of these farms. They were considered pest birds, and the farmers appreciated us taking care of them. We used to see a lot of mallard domestic crossing going on. But in every case that we ever saw, the birds could not fly.

Come the really cold weather around here, is when we generally get those big, old, Canadian red legs that tip the scales over 6 lbs.

Frank
 
#17 ·
Frank Lopez said:
Duck Collector said:
casprig said:
I believe he is just a mature, wild, drake mallard. Probably nearing 4 years old and has survived the gauntlet of his lifetime. Put him on the wall. Nice bird!
Sorry bud, but that mallard is either a farm duck or he is OVER 15 yrs old. Mallards live to be like 20...i killed one like that earlier this season and he was pushin 5lbs and dwarfed a normal mallard, funny thing about that duck is that i was only 600yds from a park LOADED with mallards :biggrin:
We get a couple of birds like that every year. A friend got one this year that weighted 6lbs 5oz. And no, they are not farm ducks, assuming you're talking about a cross between a standard white Peking duck and a wild mallard. Whenever that cross occurs, the bird will generally exhibit the plummage of both species, but it also has a high tendancy of inheriting the flightless capabilities of the Peking duck. Long Island was a hotbed of duck farms not all that many years ago. Most farms were located on the south shore bays, but a few were on inland ponds and lakes. We used to shoot blackbirds and starlings at some of these farms. They were considered pest birds, and the farmers appreciated us taking care of them. We used to see a lot of mallard domestic crossing going on. But in every case that we ever saw, the birds could not fly.

Come the really cold weather around here, is when we generally get those big, old, Canadian red legs that tip the scales over 6 lbs.

Frank
Pekin ducks are white, a mallard crossed with one would be extremely obvious. Rouen ducks on the other hand look identical to mallards and while they cannot fly they average close to 10 pounds. 6 lb pure strain wild mallards do not exist, it's as simple as that. If you're shooting 6 lb mallards they are almost indefinitely a hybrid with a Rouen. I believe Pacific Eiders are the only North American duck that reaches 6 pounds.
 
#18 ·
Yes, I'm aware of the Rouens. But a couple of things make me think that's not the case. First, crosses are a pretty rare occurance in the wild. In our experience, the occurance of these big birds is far more frequent. Second, and this is the big point, we get the same sized ducks late in the season with black ducks. Black ducks and mallards will and do interbreed. Usually, it is a male mallard and a female black duck. The thing with black ducks is that they seem to have a pretty fragile DNA and any outcross shows up easily. Mostly it's in the speculum. Any white in the speculum of a black duck indicates an outcross. Earlier this year we shot two ducks on the same hunt that went over 6 lbs a apiece. One was a drake mallard, the other was a black. The black's speculum was purple with black banding, indicating a pure strain.

I suppose that anything's possible, but there is no way to solve this without examination of a well trained duck biologist.

Frank
 
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